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Witness implicates Bagosora via video linkBy Hirondelle News Agency A prosecution witness testifying by video link from The Hague, Tuesday alleged before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), that in 1994, the former director of cabinet in the Rwandan ministry of defence, Colonel Theoneste Bagosora, was in possession of a list of people to be killed. The witness code-named "A" to protect his identity, affirmed that Bagosora, who is one of the four senior officers of the former Rwandan army (ex-FAR) on trial at the Tribunal, had produced the list "between April 9 and 12 1994". "The persons to be killed were Tutsis and businessmen?, revealed "A" who quickly added that he had been made aware of the list in 1997 by the former prime minister of the Rwandan interim government, Jean Kambanda, during a conversation they had together "in Africa". Kambanda was arrested the same year in Nairobi, Kenya. He pleaded guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity on September 4 1998 and was sentenced to life imprisonment. The witness continued that Tutsis had been massacred in Kigali a day after the shooting down of a plane carrying President Juvenal Habyarimana on April 6, 1994. "A" affirmed that he had personally seen bodies strewn around Kiyovu residential area and had "learnt that soldiers and militias" were responsible for the massacres. According to the witness, the list produced by Bagosora "was an indication that the massacres had been planned". To support his argument, "A" declared that in 1993, the ministry of defence had given 800 guns to the former ruling party, the MRND, through its president Mathieu Ngirumpatse. Ngirumpatse is currently on trial at the ICTR together with three other former senior politicians. Half of the alleged weapons were distributed to the Interahamwe militia while the other half was sold to an opposition political party in neighbouring Burundi. The Interahamwe was the youth wing of the MRND and is considered to have spearheaded the genocide in which, according to Rwandan government sources, an estimated one million Tutsis and Hutu members of the opposition were killed. Colonel Theoneste Bagosora is accused by the prosecution of being the "mastermind" of the genocide. He is jointly being tried with the former head of military operations in the Rwandan army, Brigadier Gratien Kabiligi, the former military commander of Gisenyi 8north western Rwanda) region, Lieutenant Colonel Anatole Nsengiyumva and Major Aloys Ntabakuze, former commander of the elite Kanombe Para-Commando battalion in Kigali. All have pleaded not guilty to genocide, crime against humanity and war crimes. The so-called "Military 1" trial is seen as the most important trial brought before the tribunal and it is taking place in Trial Chamber One of the ICTR composed of Judge Erik Mose from Norway, (presiding), Serguei Aleckseievich Egorov from Russia, and Judge Jai Ram Reddy of Fiji. "A" is the 63rd witness to be called in this trial which opened April 2 2002. His testimony continued Wednesday afternoon with the defence conducting cross-examination. Testifying by video link is authorised by the tribunal ?for exceptional reasons of security?. Both prosecution and defence witnesses usually come to testify in Arusha where their protection is theoretically assured.
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