The UN special envoy to Rwanda said in mid-August 1994 that he had assurances from the country's new Tutsi dominated government that it would not dispatch its forces into the southwest of the country when French forces guarding Hutu refugees there pulled out. UN replacement forces, mainly African, were instead promising to protect the refugees who were fleeing into Zaire (Congo) ahead of the French pullout in fear of Tutsi reprisals.
UN special envoy Shaharyar Kahn says he has what he describes as a very clear understanding from Rwanda's new prime minister: an understanding that Rwanda's armed forces will not move into the southwestern French security zone to ensure law and order after the French leave.
Instead the UN diplomat says Prime Minister Faustin Twagiramungu has promised to temporarily leave security matters to the UN peacekeeping troops now taking up positions in the southwest. Mr. Kahn says the new government will dispatch representatives to establish a new civil administration in the zone.
But he insists the Prime Minister will await the UN's go ahead before sending any soldiers of the victorious Tutsi-led Rwandese Patriotic Front.
“He has assured me that the military elements of the RPF will not move in to the French area protection zone and that they would wait for the green light that we would provide before they move in, and that their insistence all along have been that their civilian representatives (administrators) should move into the zone to be able to take over the administration.”
In a joint appearance before reporters in Kigali, Mr. Kahn and the new UN military commander in Rwanda, Canadian Major General Guy Tousignant acknowledged there are ongoing security problems in the zone, problems such as looting and attacks by members of extremist groups tied to the ousted Hutu led government. They say such inflammatory activities have fueled what they characterize as a climate of uncertainty in the zone and contributed to the steady flow of Hutu refugees crossing into neighboring Zaire.
Still, envoy Kahn says the numbers of those fleeing, while significant, do not yet amount to a catastrophe.
“I think that today we may be with a problem, perhaps with a crisis, but it is not yet of catastrophic proportions of an exodus, and there seems to be for the present a movement which you may call critical but perhaps not, hopefully not, catastrophic.”
In an effort to restore order and create a climate of confidence in the southwest, top UN officials in Rwanda say they will do everything possible, even if that means carrying out disarmament operations.
Meanwhile, the outgoing commander of UN military forces in Rwanda told reporters that extremists linked to the ousted Hutu-led government were hampering a return to normalcy in the country and he predicted they would become a serious destabilizing threat if something was not done quickly to halt their activities. In mid-August 1994 I reported on the farewell news conference of Canadian Major-General Romeo Dallaire who said the international community should address the problem of the Hutu extremists promptly.
General Dallaire says it's no secret that what he calls subversive elements are now sitting in refugee camps in Tanzania and Zaire (Congo), receiving food, water, and medical assistance while plotting how to return power in Rwanda.
The outgoing UN force commander tells reporters in Kigali these elements tied to the former Hutu-led Rwandan government aren't yet ready to mount a full-scale assault on the country and its new leaders, installed last month by the mainly-Tutsi rebel Rwandese Patriotic Front.
But at a farewell news conference he says they will become a serious threat if the international community does not act quickly. He believes every day they are allowed to remain at large, they make a return to normalcy in Rwanda more complicated.
“It doesn't take many fanatics or extremists to destabilize and so I think the international community has got to get in there.”
The Canadian Major-General suggests an effort to remove the extremists from the camps may also relieve the enormous burden posed by the more than one million Hutu refugees now languishing in countries neighboring Rwanda. He says most of these refugees are innocent of any involvement in the ethnic and political bloodbath that occurred in Rwanda but are now being used as pawns.
“I think enormous amounts of those Rwandans were forced out of their country and I think there are still a lot of people among them who are forcing them to stay out and we got to get at those people.”
General Dallaire says he believes most of the refugees want to return to their homes and will do so -- but not until they can make a decision free from interference by the extremists. He says that could be a job for the UN forces now deployed in Rwanda and without offering any elaboration he indicates there are contingency plans for such an operation.
He says UN officials have already discussed the problem with Zairean (Congolese) authorities, and further talks are being held. He says neither the Zaireans (Congolese) nor the Tanzanians are happy about the presence of subversive Rwandan elements among the refugees, and are looking for the UN to help find a solution.
Rwanda’s new government has also accused Hutu extremists of effectively holding the vast majority of the refugee population hostage. Prime Minister Faustin Twagiramungu has said he would welcome foreign action to remove subversives from the camp, but has questioned whether the international community is up to the task.
UN special envoy Shaharyar Kahn says he has what he describes as a very clear understanding from Rwanda's new prime minister: an understanding that Rwanda's armed forces will not move into the southwestern French security zone to ensure law and order after the French leave.
Instead the UN diplomat says Prime Minister Faustin Twagiramungu has promised to temporarily leave security matters to the UN peacekeeping troops now taking up positions in the southwest. Mr. Kahn says the new government will dispatch representatives to establish a new civil administration in the zone.
But he insists the Prime Minister will await the UN's go ahead before sending any soldiers of the victorious Tutsi-led Rwandese Patriotic Front.
“He has assured me that the military elements of the RPF will not move in to the French area protection zone and that they would wait for the green light that we would provide before they move in, and that their insistence all along have been that their civilian representatives (administrators) should move into the zone to be able to take over the administration.”
In a joint appearance before reporters in Kigali, Mr. Kahn and the new UN military commander in Rwanda, Canadian Major General Guy Tousignant acknowledged there are ongoing security problems in the zone, problems such as looting and attacks by members of extremist groups tied to the ousted Hutu led government. They say such inflammatory activities have fueled what they characterize as a climate of uncertainty in the zone and contributed to the steady flow of Hutu refugees crossing into neighboring Zaire.
Still, envoy Kahn says the numbers of those fleeing, while significant, do not yet amount to a catastrophe.
“I think that today we may be with a problem, perhaps with a crisis, but it is not yet of catastrophic proportions of an exodus, and there seems to be for the present a movement which you may call critical but perhaps not, hopefully not, catastrophic.”
In an effort to restore order and create a climate of confidence in the southwest, top UN officials in Rwanda say they will do everything possible, even if that means carrying out disarmament operations.
Meanwhile, the outgoing commander of UN military forces in Rwanda told reporters that extremists linked to the ousted Hutu-led government were hampering a return to normalcy in the country and he predicted they would become a serious destabilizing threat if something was not done quickly to halt their activities. In mid-August 1994 I reported on the farewell news conference of Canadian Major-General Romeo Dallaire who said the international community should address the problem of the Hutu extremists promptly.
General Dallaire says it's no secret that what he calls subversive elements are now sitting in refugee camps in Tanzania and Zaire (Congo), receiving food, water, and medical assistance while plotting how to return power in Rwanda.
The outgoing UN force commander tells reporters in Kigali these elements tied to the former Hutu-led Rwandan government aren't yet ready to mount a full-scale assault on the country and its new leaders, installed last month by the mainly-Tutsi rebel Rwandese Patriotic Front.
But at a farewell news conference he says they will become a serious threat if the international community does not act quickly. He believes every day they are allowed to remain at large, they make a return to normalcy in Rwanda more complicated.
“It doesn't take many fanatics or extremists to destabilize and so I think the international community has got to get in there.”
The Canadian Major-General suggests an effort to remove the extremists from the camps may also relieve the enormous burden posed by the more than one million Hutu refugees now languishing in countries neighboring Rwanda. He says most of these refugees are innocent of any involvement in the ethnic and political bloodbath that occurred in Rwanda but are now being used as pawns.
“I think enormous amounts of those Rwandans were forced out of their country and I think there are still a lot of people among them who are forcing them to stay out and we got to get at those people.”
General Dallaire says he believes most of the refugees want to return to their homes and will do so -- but not until they can make a decision free from interference by the extremists. He says that could be a job for the UN forces now deployed in Rwanda and without offering any elaboration he indicates there are contingency plans for such an operation.
He says UN officials have already discussed the problem with Zairean (Congolese) authorities, and further talks are being held. He says neither the Zaireans (Congolese) nor the Tanzanians are happy about the presence of subversive Rwandan elements among the refugees, and are looking for the UN to help find a solution.
Rwanda’s new government has also accused Hutu extremists of effectively holding the vast majority of the refugee population hostage. Prime Minister Faustin Twagiramungu has said he would welcome foreign action to remove subversives from the camp, but has questioned whether the international community is up to the task.
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