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Viewing cable 06VATICAN59, HOLY SEE RAISES OBJECTIONS TO RWANDA'S GACACA TRIBUNALS

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
06VATICAN59 2006-04-03 13:49 2011-08-24 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Vatican
VZCZCXRO0467
PP RUEHGI
DE RUEHROV #0059 0931349
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 031349Z APR 06
FM AMEMBASSY VATICAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0294
INFO RUEHXR/RWANDA COLLECTIVE
RUEHROV/AMEMBASSY VATICAN 0322
UNCLAS VATICAN 000059 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PHUM SOCI VT RW
SUBJECT: HOLY SEE RAISES OBJECTIONS TO RWANDA'S GACACA TRIBUNALS 
 
 
1. (SBU) Summary.  Holy See deputy foreign minister Parolin 
asked ambassador to transmit to Washington a note verbale and 
accompanying text on the gacaca tribunals in Rwanda.  The Holy 
See believes that the tribunals are politically manipulated and 
procedurally flawed and are not serving their intended purpose. 
Embassy will fax these documents to desk.  End summary. 
 
2. (SBU) Ambassador and DCM called on Monsignor Pietro Parolin, 
Undersecretary for Relations with States (equivalent to deputy 
foreign minister) April 3 at Parolin's request.  Parolin gave 
ambassador a note verbale requesting that it be brought to the 
attention of the USG along with an accompanying note entitled 
"The Gacaca Traditional Tribunals in Rwanda".   This document 
describes the time and effort required to establish the gacaca 
tribunals, their organization and authorities, and their stated 
purpose.  It goes on to say that the gacaca structure is not 
serving its intended purpose because the innocent are wrongly 
imprisoned while the guilty are freed.  The document ascribes 
this failure to political considerations and procedural 
shortcomings, concluding that "the whole process seems to be a 
set-up". 
 
3. (SBU)  Parolin said the Holy See has also raised the matter 
with several EU governments but has not yet received any 
responses.  Parolin said the Holy See is well aware of the 
sensitivity of the subject, and does not have an alternative 
proposal at the moment, but believes it has reliable information 
from first-hand witnesses (including some priests).  He noted 
that relations between the Rwandan government and the Church are 
not good.  Parolin cited the example of Father Guy Theunis -- a 
Belgian priest arrested in Kigali in September 2005 on genocide 
charges, but now back in Belgium -- to illustrate the 
politicized nature of the gacaca.  He also noted that numbers of 
Catholics have been killed in recent years in Rwanda but no one 
seems to respond. 
 
4. (U) Embassy will fax copies of the note verbale and 
accompanying note to Vatican desk in EUR/WE, and would 
appreciate guidance on how to respond. 
 
ROONEY