French court begins hearing Kagame libel suit

A Paris court on Monday began hearing a libel suit against a Cameroonian journalist, Charles Onana, who wrote a book naming Rwandan President Paul Kagame as the main suspect behind a plane crash that preceded the country's 1994 genocide, AP reported.

Kagame filed a suit against the Paris-based journalist, whose book, "The Secrets of the Rwanda Genocide - Investigation into the Mysteries of a President", was published in December, AP said, adding that the trial would continue on 29 April.

According to AP, the book alleges that Kagame and his Rwandan Patriotic Front organised the 6 April 1994 downing of the plane that killed former Rwandan Hutu President Juvenal Habyarimana and his Burundian counterpart, Cyprien Ntayamira, as it approached Kigali airport.

This crash triggered the 100-day massacre in which at least 500,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed.

AP quoted Kagame as saying last weekend that he and the Rwandan state were demanding that the author "supply evidence to show that what he is saying is true". "Those who should be questioned are people in charge of security of Kigali at the time," Kagame said. He is also asking that the author be forced to pay a symbolic one euro (about 87 US cents) to the Rwandan state.