Burundi-Rwanda: Asylum seekers intimidated to return home, UN agency says

[uppityperson]

It is still going on, people killing people, people threating human shields.

NAIROBI, 17 May 2005 (IRIN) - Hundreds of Rwandan asylum seekers, who had fled to Burundi in fear of tribunals at home, may have been intimidated to return to Rwanda, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has reported."UNHCR is not organising these departures and is often not present when the asylum seekers are leaving the sites," Ron Redmond, UNHCR spokesman, was quoted as saying on Friday in Geneva.
<clip>
The UNHCR reported that according to the asylum seekers at the Ntega site in Burundi's northeastern province of Kirundo, the "Burundian military broke into their shelters on Wednesday and beat them with batons". The asylum seekers were warned they would be beaten again unless they had left the site by the end of the next day, the agency added.
<clip>
According to the agency, the asylum seekers said they fled to Burundi because of fears over the Gacaca courts - which are based on a traditional justice system - looking into the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

They also cite threats and rumours of massacres and revenge attacks as reasons for leaving Rwanda, the agency reported. The asylum seekers had been living in makeshift conditions along the border since early April.

More at site. http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47145&SelectRegion=Great_Lakes&SelectCountry=BURUNDI-RWANDA

[shoelace414]

1. no, we're talking about Newsweek this week.

[uppityperson]

2. interesting MSR report 11/04 regarding same sort stuff

http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/publications/reports/before1999/breaking_1994.shtml
It was happening then, it is still happening.