ICTR preparing to indict first Tutsis

The prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), Carla del Ponte, is currently investigating members of the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA) for crimes allegedly committed against Hutus in 1994, but is "not satisfied" with the level of cooperation received thus far from Rwandan authorities, her spokeswoman, Florence Hartman, told IRIN on Friday.

Following two meetings held respectively with Rwandan President Paul Kagame and with representatives from the RPA in 2001, del Ponte had requested and received guarantees of cooperation with all ICTR investigations, including those into alleged RPF atrocities, said Hartman. But the reality was proving to be quite different.

While investigations into three separate massacres were going well outside Rwanda, those inside were not as successful. The prosecutor was dissatisfied with access to archives, documents and witnesses in Rwanda itself, Hartman said. "We haven't been given the support that we expected," she said. The prosecutor was, however, hopeful that the situation would improve, and hoped to issue an indictment by the end of 2002.

The ICTR was established to investigate and indict those responsible for Rwanda's 1994 genocide. So far no Tutsi members of the RPA, which overthrew the extremist Hutu regime responsible for the killing of about 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus, have been charged by the court.