RWANDA: MUGUNGA REFUGEE CAMP

(26 Jun 1995) Eng/French/Nat

Rumours are growing that there are plans for an invasion of Rwanda, following the re- arming of refugees in camps in Zaire.

More than one million Hutu refugees are still living in the camps, amidst claims it's too dangerous to go home.

But new reports say in fact they're gathering weapons and carrying out military training.

This is Mugunga, one of more than two dozen camps for Rwandan refugees in eastern Zaire. A year after fleeing the victorious advance of the Rwandan Patriotic Front rebels, the refugees are still here - more than a million of them in all.

Members of Rwanda's Hutu majority, they say it's too dangerous to go home. They fear they'd be attacked by the largely Tutsi Rwandan army.

But there are growing indications that some are preparing to regain their homeland by force. Could those who planned last year's genocide in Rwanda be re-arming themselves for a violent return ?

There have been reports of secret arms shipments and of military training around the camps.

SOUNDBITE
I ask all the people working with me, I ask the NGOs (non-governmental organisations) and everyone has the same impression, that a part of the population, and especially men, has gone somewhere.
SUPER CAPTION Elizabeth Reglat, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Coordinator in Goma, Eastern Zaire

Near Mugunga refugee camp, there's a dirt track leading through the bush.

At the end of it lies the Etat Major. This is the headquarters of the Forces Armees Rwandaises, the army of the former Rwandan regime.

SOUNDBITE French
There's no training, we can't have training on foreign territory. We are refugees like so many others. We are only waiting for a solution which would allow everyone to return to his country but we haven't got the authorisation, neither from the Zairean government nor the means of carrying out this training.
SUPER CAPTION Lt. Col. Juvenal Bahufite, Forces Armees Rwandaises

This vision is of the late Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana, when he surveyed the base. There's little evidence of a military buildup here now . If combat training is taking place, it's happening far away in the bush at night.

SOUNDBITE
I think it's propaganda. We've never received arms. We've been told that something like nine planes have landed since April. If I had nine planes that would be something like one hundred tonnes of equipment. I think we would no longer be here, we would be somewhere in Rwanda.
SUPER CAPTION Lt. Col. Juvenal Bahufite, Forces Armees Rwandaises

The human rights group, Human Rights Watch, has accused France, Zaire and South Africa of supplying the exiled former Rwandan government with arms.

An Amnesty International report also says that arms shipments are coming from Bulgaria and Albania. Both organisations accuse the Zairean authorities of supporting the former Rwandan regime.


SOUNDBITE
It's very difficult to know the state of preparation of those extremists who would like to return by force, very difficult.
SUPER CAPTION Joel Boutroue, U-N High Commissioner for Refugees Representative in Goma, Eastern Zaire

Aid agencies report a growing tension in the region. Some believe the former Rwandan army could be ready to launch a military offensive in a few months time.

Joel Boutroue is responsible for the security of local aid workers and he's taking no chances.

He says their plans for the evacuation of non-essential staff are already drawn up and they'll shortly hold a rehearsal.


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