Simon Bikindi on trial at the Int’l Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
September 19th, 2006 | by resist | filed in africa | organise, mobilise, resist, protest!
A renowned Rwandan musician has gone on trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, accused of using his songs to incite violence during the 1994 genocide. The prosecution say Simon Bikindi used his music to mobilise young people to join the Interahamwe militia which led the genocide of around 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus in Rwanda.
The singer has denied all charges against him. Mr Bikindi’s lawyers also argue the charges violate his right to freedom of speech.
Background
Bikindi, an ethnic Hutu, was born in Rwerere in the northwestern prefecture of Gisenyi, the same region from which President Habyarimana and many of the key figures in his MRND regime originated.At the time of the genocide, he was a “well-known composer and singer of popular music and director of the performance group Irindiro Ballet.” He was additionally a civil servant of the Ministry of Youth and Sport and a member of the MRND party.
In the months prior to the genocide, Bikindi allegedly “consulted with President Juvénal Habyarimana, Minister of Youth and Sports Callixte Nzabonimana and MRND-aligned military authorities on song lyrics†before releasing them to be played on the Hutu Power radio station RTLM. [1]
During the 100 days of genocide from 7 April to 14 July 1994, Bikindi is alleged to have participated personally in the killings, both in Kigali and Gisenyi prefecture, and helped to recruit and organize Interahamwe militias. [2]
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we're tryin to locate fotos of this two.bit cocaine hustler and former house thief. the only ones we have is this one, the one of him sittin in his vest in suriname and that famous black and white mug shot one.
