Government ready to cancel travel restrictions

The Rwandan government has said it is prepared to revert to old travel regulations for witnesses due to give evidence at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha, northern Tanzania, if the new rules are troublesome.

"We are now prepared to revert to the old system if the tribunal feels that the new immigration regulations are causing inconveniences. But they must state so officially," Internews quoted Martin Ngoga, Rwanda's representative at the tribunal, as saying.

He was responding to allegations that the Rwandan government was delaying the trials by preventing witnesses from traveling. Asked whether the tribunal would complain officially, its spokesman, Kingsley Moghalu, told IRIN, "Rwandans have an obligation to cooperate with the tribunal and to facilitate the travel of witnesses. The onus is on them, not on us".

Ngoga told reporters in Arusha that the "new" regulations, blamed for holding up two trials at the court - the "Butare trial" and that of a former minister, Eliezar Niyitegeka - had always been in place for ordinary Rwandans, and were only new for the tribunal's witnesses. Internews reported him as saying Kigali had introduced tighter controls on travel to the court in an effort to deal with complaints regarding the harassment of witnesses, and allegations that some had died shortly after giving evidence.

The new regulations, introduced two weeks ago, require each witness to produce an identity card, a photograph and a "Certificate of good Conduct" from their local authorities prior to being issued with a passport, Internews reported. Formerly, all witnesses names were put on one temporary travel document.

"We set up this system in good faith and there has been no communication from the ICTR that this is an inconvenience," Ngoga said.