YouSaid · the spoken record

Lukabu Khabouji Nzaji

lines on the record: 37
first: 1995-06-09
most recent: 1996-04-23
sittings or episodes: 2
sources: un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“It will enjoy the open cooperation of the Government of the Republic of Zaire, aimed at seeking out all evidence of the truth in the interests of the international community.”
1996-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3656 (1996) · source
“The embargo having been decreed under Chapter VII, no banking institution can hide behind the screen of financial secrecy. All those who gave orders in the Seychelles operation must be clearly identified so as to allow all these international swindlers to be brought down. Believing that the draft resolution that is about to be adopted authorizes the Commission to resume its work, as we had wished, Zaire asks the Commission to provide answers to the many questions it asked in its letter of 3 March 1996 (document S/1996/241). This will allow us to conclude fruitfully the investigation we are currently pursuing. The Government of the Republic of Zaire eagerly awaits the return to the region of the Commission of Inquiry and hopes that it will leave its prejudices in the dustbin of history and get down to its investigation.”
1996-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3656 (1996) · source
“The arms traffic in the region is being blown out of all proportion, while it has been forgotten that the weapons that killed hundreds of thousands of people in Rwanda were not cannons or mortars but mere machetes, weapons available to the simplest peasant. It was the machete that did the killing in Rwanda. Lastly, on a more positive note, let me point to a provision that could be useful in moving the inquiry ahead. Paragraph 9 calls upon States, particularly those whose nationals - native or naturalized - have been implicated by the report, to carry out their own investigations, the results of which paragraph 10 calls upon them to make available. Indeed, the Council must require respect for paragraph 1 (c) of resolution 1013 (1995).”
1996-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3656 (1996) · source
“I wish to take this opportunity to ask the Secretary- General through you, Sir, to use his influence to persuade the Ambassador of Rwanda to the United Nations to return the Zairian passport he continues to hold. Who knows: He may make use of it, and I would find myself with another Bagasora on my hands. In connection with the draft resolution, operative paragraph 7 singles my country out for attention. This paragraph reveals the Council's ignorance of the realities of the region. The tragedy of Rwanda was predictable and the respective foreign offices of the members of the Council must have informed them correctly. But no one was willing to raise their voice, so let us shed no crocodile tears today.”
1996-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3656 (1996) · source
“Rwanda has simply to assume its responsibilities and welcome its returning people. It is as if one were to suggest that the young people on Iwawa Island were not entitled to be there. They are Rwandans trained in Rwanda. They came from a Zairian camp, but we cannot be responsible for actions committed in Rwanda by refugees who then return to Zaire. I therefore wish to inform the Council, on behalf of the Government of Zaire, that there are no Zairian refugees in Rwanda. There is a movement of Rwandese located in Zaire. I might add that the Ambassador of Rwanda returned to his country and assumed his responsibilities, but he too was a refugee in my country.”
1996-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3656 (1996) · source
“The land belongs to the tribes. Claims of ownership were made by this refugee population over the local inhabitants of the Masisi, and the situation was further aggravated because the transplanted population was not integrated into the local population. They even refused to marry the locals and married only among themselves. One result of this is the degeneracy visible among them. The Younde population in the Masisi continues to contest the presence of the transplanted population on its lands. When that population learned that their brothers had seized power in Kigali by military action, they joined the war in Rwanda, participating physically and providing material and financial contributions. They decided to return to Rwanda, their native land. But I have seen none of the Zairian refugees who are supposed to have returned to Rwanda.”
1996-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3656 (1996) · source
“Moreover, among its contradictory statements, the Commission recognizes this danger in paragraph 61 of its final report. The Council must take the refugee dimension into account in all its undertakings in the region and exert pressure on Kigali to bring its population home. Here, I must digress, because I have heard it claimed that the Government of Kigali received 8,000 Zairian refugees. That is not so; here is the truth. In 1927 and 1959, following famines, there were two mass migrations from Rwanda to the Masisi plains in Zaire. The transplanted population living on these plains consisted mainly of Tutsis, but it must be understood that the Great Lakes region has one feature specific to itself: the peasants who live there are greatly attached to their land. There is no free land in the Great Lakes region.”
1996-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3656 (1996) · source
“The twelfth preambular paragraph, which reflects a biased view of the central threat to security in the region, should have been firmer in its assessment of the danger represented by the refugee element in the region. Indeed, we offered a more realistic draft, which read: "Recognizing that the massive presence of refugees in the Great Lakes region is a major factor for destabilization in the region and an ongoing threat to international peace and security, and that every effort must be made to allow these refugees to return to their country of origin as soon as possible in order to make the region more secure". Zaire firmly believes that, so long as the question of refugees has not been successfully resolved by their return to their respective countries, the region will long continue to be in a state of upheaval.”
1996-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3656 (1996) · source
“This is simply an invention on the part of those who still wish to discredit Zaire despite the sacrifices it made in the Rwandan crisis. Since, in the eyes of the Council, these planes are known and identified, perhaps we can be told where they came from, and also the origin of the arms they were carrying? The airports of Goma and Bukavu are transportation routes from the east of Zaire. They are open and serve the purposes for which they were constructed. It is high time for the Council to stop basing its decisions on indications or unproven allegations because there are many other allegations published by serious sources that have not received the same attention from the Council. Why do we have these double standards for some and no standards at all for others?”
1996-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3656 (1996) · source
“Is the Security Council entitled to take hold of any document that is produced in the world and involve it in its decisions? As far as I know, this Declaration has never been published as a document of the Security Council. Zaire believes that a simple statement by the President of the Council would have been sufficient to take note of this report, which is extremely contradictory in many respects. No one acknowledges that it has any particular merit, not even the Council, as can be seen from preambular paragraph 11 of the draft resolution. But despite that, it describes the report as excellent. Preambular paragraph 10 of the draft resolution refers to aircraft that are continuing to land at Goma and Bukavu with arms.”
1996-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3656 (1996) · source
“The Government of the Republic of Zaire, on the basis of information, albeit incomplete, drawn from the two reports of the Commission, undertook to carry out its own inquiry on the transaction with Seychelles and will supply the Council with its conclusions. Consequently, we would urge that all countries whose nationals, be they individuals or legal entities, that took any part in the Seychelles transaction should undertake to carry out their own inquiries and communicate the results of those inquiries to the Security Council. The draft resolution before the Council calls for the following comments. In the third preambular paragraph, reference is made to the Tunis Declaration, and operative paragraph 6 also refers to that Declaration. I should like to raise a prejudicial question.”
1996-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3656 (1996) · source
“It will receive the same cooperation and the same facilities from the Government of Zaire as it did on its first visit to the country." Imagine Zaire's astonishment that no reference is made to that letter in the report, whereas communications received at almost the same time, or even later, are inserted in the report. Paragraph 44, in fact refers to a letter dated 20 February, and paragraph 51 speaks of a note received on 8 March 1996. With respect to the case mentioned in the report dealing with the purchase of arms in Seychelles, my delegation confirms for the Council its concerns, expressed in the letter dated 3 April 1996, issued as document S/1996/241.”
1996-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3656 (1996) · source
“It is a strange kind of cooperation, because these are two bodies created by the Security Council. And it is Zaire which is criticized for lack of cooperation. Despite these accusations of lack of cooperation, Zaire delivered to the President of the Council a letter dated 23 February 1996 (S/1996/132) stating that: "I am also authorized to tell you that, since the International Commission of Inquiry left Zaire of its own accord, it is for it to decide, and to inform the Zairian authorities accordingly, what it considers to be an appropriate moment for it to return to Zaire to complete its work there.”
1996-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3656 (1996) · source
“The General also informed the Commission that French forces had confiscated approximately a thousand weapons from the retreating Rwandan government forces ((RGF) - also known as Forces Armees Rwandaises (FAR))" - an acronym easily confused with that of my own country's army, FAZ. "At the conclusion of Operation Turquoise, they said they had inventoried those weapons and handed them over to the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR). The Commission had already heard of this matter and had written to UNAMIR asking about the disposition of the arms. No reply has been received." (ibid., para. 12) I think the Council will agree that this is a strange example of the kind of cooperation that the Commission received and of which it boasts in paragraph 58 and appendix I of its report.”
1996-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3656 (1996) · source
“29) In other words, any reply that does not corroborate what is contained in the Commission's reference documents is regarded as a sign of lack of cooperation. While reaffirming the content of our letter addressed to the President, contained in document S/1996/241, we would like to add the following. In an attempt to explain the influx of arms into the region, the Commission states in paragraph 12 of its report that: "General Lafourcade" - the Commander of Operation Turquoise - "told the Commission that French forces had brought with them no arms except those they required for their own use. No weapons were left behind, and all had been fully accounted for on their departure.”
1996-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3656 (1996) · source
“Throughout its investigation, the Commission remained the prisoner of its own reference materials, which it had taken with it when it left New York. It never tried to seek the truth beyond the writings of certain non- governmental organizations that hoped for some international attention. Completely benighted by its desire to prove that the allegations that its mission was to investigate were well founded, the Commission forfeited its objectivity and was swayed by prejudices. In paragraph 29 the Commission illustrates the extent of its prejudice when it says that: "The Government of Seychelles and Mr. Michel cooperated fully with the Commission and provided it with information that amply corroborated the statements made in the Human Rights Watch report." (S/1996/195, para.”
1996-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3656 (1996) · source
“I would invite the Council to reread the statement he made at that time. In its report, the Commission does not indicate to the Council exactly when the Seychelles authorities decided to sell to Mr. Bagosora and Mr. Ehlers the cargo from the ship Malo, which had been seized. It tells the Council that the two individuals entered Seychelles on 4 June 1994. They even provide the immigration slip of Mr. Bagosora, but fail to provide that of Mr. Ehlers, even though he seems to have played a key part in the negotiations with the Seychelles authorities. I should like to draw the attention of the members of the Council to a slew of questions which arise from this report and to which it does not provide the expected replies. These are detailed in the letter which we sent to the President of the Council.”
1996-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3656 (1996) · source
“Some 2 million refugees had crossed the border and had completely flooded the relief organizations, which led the authorities to suspend the implementation of the immigration and customs regulations in order to speed up the delivery of assistance. The Council should bear in mind that during that same period, the Government of the regime that had been expelled from Rwanda was still fighting on the soil of Rwanda, and that Rwanda was represented in the Security Council by an envoy from the regime that today is decried. It must be recalled that Kigali did not fall until 4 July 1994. Therefore, all the authorities in Kigali at that time still represented legality in Rwanda - a fact borne out by the adoption of resolution 918 (1994) at a meeting in which a Rwandan representative from the Hutu fringe participated unchallenged.”
1996-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3656 (1996) · source
“One must understand that most of the final report deals with a single case, which is pompously entitled "Case study: arms purchase in Seychelles", as if Seychelles had suddenly become an arms-producing country. But I would like to dwell on this transaction, in which my country's name is mentioned more than once. Let us consider the period during which this transaction took place. I should like to remind the Council of an observation made by my Minister for Foreign Affairs to the Commission of Inquiry. He pointed out that during the period when the so-called arms deliveries were supposed to have been made in violation of the embargo - in the middle of 1994 - the situation around Goma was marked by considerable upheaval and confusion.”
1996-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3656 (1996) · source
“The Commission even gave a testimonial to its providential interpreter by saying in its report that there was no reason to doubt the accuracy of his interpretation, although none of the members of the Commission understood Kinyarawanda and therefore were unable to assess the accuracy of this fortunate interpretation. These are the key facts that claim the attention of the Commission. And what about the final report? The Commission, in its search for truth, was curiously content, after certain inquiries, with laconic replies and often with a simple letter from the party approached indicating simply that, in his case, there had been no violation of the embargo.”
1996-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3656 (1996) · source
“The Commission stayed in Rwanda for two days only, and it proposed to stay in Zaire for 20 days, forgetting that the area in which they were to operate was a highly unsafe area and that Security Council resolution 1013 (1995), in paragraph 5 (a) and (b), imposes on the States visited by the Commission, within the context of its inquiry, the responsibility to ensure the safety of the members of this Commission. Furthermore, during its inspection mission on Iwawa Island, in Rwanda, the Commission was assisted by officers of the Rwandan Patriotic Army, who even provided interpretation services, whereas the same favourable treatment was refused to Zaire.”
1996-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3656 (1996) · source
“But what, in that case, can be the content of the report after all these productions, if in fact they took place? And why did it demand to stay in Gisenyi, in the territory of Rwanda, while carrying out inquiries in Zaire? Only the members of the Commission know the answer to that question. Council members may undoubtedly wonder what point we want to make with all these quotations and tiresome recollections. Zaire desires to demonstrate to the Council through these quotes the unequal treatment given to Zaire by the Commission, as well as its discriminatory methods.”
1996-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3656 (1996) · source
“Likewise, the Government earnestly hopes that throughout their work in the north and south of Kivu, the members of the Commission will reside on the territory of Zaire, where every arrangement will be made to welcome them and ensure their safety, as was the case in the other countries they visited". In what I have just recalled on behalf of the delegation of Zaire, there was no intention whatever on the part of Zaire to renegotiate the terms of reference, but rather simply a concern to provide the Commission with the conditions that would make it possible for it to properly pursue its inquiries on the soil of Zaire. Is there a single person who can tell us why the Commission demanded that press conferences be held immediately upon its arrival in Zaire, during its inquiries and after its inquiries?”
1996-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3656 (1996) · source
“In note verbale number 130 of 27 November 1995, which the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Zaire addressed to the Representative of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) Liaison Office in Zaire, the following was expressed: "T 0 this effect and in accordance with the terms of the letter from the Prime Minister to the Secretary- General of the Organization of the United Nations, dated 23 June 1995, the Minister invites the Director of the Liaison Office to convey to him, at his earliest convenience, the terms of reference of the Commission's mission, so that the Government can make all the necessary arrangements for the proper functioning of the international inquiry and to establish the date of their arrival in Zaire as quickly as possible." The note verbale goes on to say: "The Ministry would point out to the representative of UNAMIR that the Government attaches the highest importance to the calmness and the objectivity that should characterize the work of said Commission, and strongly suggests that it refrain from making any statement or holding any interview or press conference at the outset, during or at the end of its mission, and that it reserve its conclusions for the Secretary-General and the Security Council.”
1996-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3656 (1996) · source
“This is the truth. In paragraph 35, finally, the report says that the Zairian side seemed to wish to renegotiate the mandate of the Commission and insisted that it be present at its talks with potential witnesses - further untruths served up to the Council. So, where is the truth, one might ask. The truth is as follows.”
1996-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3656 (1996) · source
“It indicates in its letter addressed to the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Zaire that "the Commission has no objection to permanently remaining in Zaire throughout its inquiries on the territory of Zaire, provided that the Zairian Government is prepared to provide the members of the Commission and its support personnel with suitable lodging and to ensure them an adequate level of safety, and provided that the steps taken by the Zairian authorities are acceptable to the Commission." Just imagine that I have just given you the main factor that affected the working relations between Zaire and the Commission of Inquiry. As my Government was unable to make available to the Commission suitable housing, pointing out that it had the resources to arrange for its own lodgings, this had the effect of subjecting Zaire to discriminatory treatment.”
1996-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3656 (1996) · source
“The Commission indicates in paragraph 24 of its report that it had intended to visit Zaire on 22 November 1995 and that it had drawn up its itinerary with the assistance of the liaison officer of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) in Kinshasa. The Commission was given to understand that the planned duration of its stay in Zaire - initially, 20 days or so - was too long and had to be shortened, and that its plan to stay in Gisenyi, in Rwanda, while carrying out its inquiries in Goma, on the other side of the border, would be rejected. The Security Council can imagine what the state of mind of the Commission would be when it arrived in Zaire. It wished to be housed in Rwanda and to carry out its inquiries in Zaire.”
1996-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3656 (1996) · source
“It emerged from the replies given by the young people interrogated by the Commission that they were Rwandans and that they had lived in the Mugunga camp, close to Goma, in Zaire. They had been trained in the handling of weapons on the island under the supervision of a commander of the former Rwandan government forces and of a civilian. No foreigner was apparently involved in this operation. I am citing paragraphs 18, 19 and 20 of the interim report of the Commission of Inquiry. Zaire wonders how it can be implicated in an affair that is occurring entirely on the territory of another sovereign State, where the actors are nationals of that country, albeit former refugees of a Zairian camp. And to crown that, this is the only training case that the Commission inquired into during the investigation.”
1996-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3656 (1996) · source
“The Commission adds in its report that the most senior officer present of the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA) informed the Commission that some of the working arms had been taken and distributed to RPA members, but that none of the weapons were new. Still on Iwawa Island, the President and some of the Commission members then interrogated some young people and a junior officer of the former Rwandan government forces who, as they were told by the RPA officer present, had been captured on the island. The members of the Commission had to request that officer to serve as an interpreter during their conversations, but had no reason to doubt the accuracy of his interpretation.”
1996-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3656 (1996) · source
“In my delegation's view, the interim report and the final report drafted by the Commission of Inquiry cannot be considered separately from each other. This is why my delegation takes the liberty of recalling before the Council certain facts from the interim report it considers essential. The Commission notes in its report that during its stay in Rwanda it went to Iwawa Island, in Rwandan territory. There the Commission inspected arms, explosives and other materiel, most of which was found to be obsolete and unusable, while the new materiel, still wrapped in plastic, consisted mostly of disassembled machine-guns. Thus, the Commission has provided us with important information, but that information is incomplete, because it gives the Council no way of knowing where those weapons came from.”
1996-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3656 (1996) · source
“Mr. Lukabu Khabouji N'Zaji (Zaire) (interpretation from French): The delegation of Zaire is very pleased to see you, Sir, presiding over the work of the Security Council for the month of April. We are confident that your exceptional qualities as a seasoned diplomat, your acute sense of consensus-building and your knowledge of the affairs of the United Nations will serve to make you an excellent President. We would also like to address our congratulations to a brother, the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Botswana, who presided with such tact, firmness and humour over the work of the Council during the month of March. I would like, finally, to thank the Secretary-General for having made possible the publication of the final report of the International Commission of Inquiry.”
1996-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3656 (1996) · source
“I should like to conclude by appealing for the question of a specific timetable for the repatriation of the refugees to be discussed by the Council when the question of Rwanda is next studied, i.e., one month from now, as stipulated in the draft resolution before the Council now.”
1995-06-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3542 (1995) · source
“In order to put an end to the fantastic accusations often levelled at my country, I should like to reiterate publicly the request made by the Republic of Zaire's Foreign Minister at the Bujumbura meeting for the creation of an independent commission of inquiry to establish the truth about alleged arms transfers across Zaire's borders. Zaire is astounded at the Council's short- sightedness and wishes to remind it that the international community would benefit if it were provided with all the information relating to the countries from which those weapons - if any - come. The Government of the Republic of Zaire commits itself to participating actively in the consultations that are to be conducted with the Secretary-General and in due time will state its views on how the observers should be deployed along the border.”
1995-06-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3542 (1995) · source
“It is not normal for any Government to claim the participation of all its people when half its population is living in confinement in camps. The Kigali authorities must get down to creating conditions that will make possible the speedy return of refugees to their homes. Paragraph 6 of the draft resolution "Requests the Secretary-General to consult the Governments of neighbouring countries on the possibility of the deployment of United Nations military observers in order to monitor the sale or supply of arms and materiel referred to above". On behalf of the Government of Zaire, I wish to inform the Council that Zaire is not an arms producer, much less an arms merchant. Explicit reference is made to my Government. We thank the Council for its acknowledgement of the burden the Rwandan tragedy has placed on my country.”
1995-06-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3542 (1995) · source
“That subparagraph states that UNAMIR will "Assist the Government of Rwanda in facilitating the voluntary and safe return of refugees and their reintegration in their home communities, and, to that end, support the Government of Rwanda in its ongoing efforts to promote a climate of confidence and trust through the performance of monitoring tasks throughout the country with military and police observers". These measures should be accompanied by a specific timetable for the speedy repatriation of those refugees still in camps in Zaire. My country, which has borne the greatest burden of the Rwandan crisis can do no more. My Government appeals to the international community to help Rwanda to take back the half of its population now in our territory.”
1995-06-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3542 (1995) · source
“Zaire welcomes the adjustment of UNAMIR's mandate and hopes that UNAMIR will bring all its weight to bear so that the objectives enumerated in paragraph 3 of the draft resolution are accomplished. My country fervently hopes that the provisions of subparagraph (a) of paragraph 3, which calls on UNAMIR to "Exercise its good offices to help achieve national reconciliation within the frame of reference of the Arusha Peace Agreement", will be speedily implemented. Furthermore, the Government of the Republic of Zaire hopes the objective outlined in subparagraph (b) of paragraph 3 will be met.”
1995-06-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3542 (1995) · source
“Mr. Lukabu Khabouji N'Zaji (Zaire) (interpretation from French): It is an honour for my delegation to be the first to address the Security Council under your presidency, Sir. I wish to take this opportunity to congratulate you on your assumption of the presidency of the Security Council for the month of June and also to congratulate the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of France on his outstanding presidency last month. Zaire welcomes the draft resolution the Council is considering for adoption and believes that the extension of the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) is a positive step that will contribute to helping Rwanda emerge from the quagmire in which it is sunk.”
1995-06-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3542 (1995) · source