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ElmerFundie
Unregistered User
(8/17/03 6:28 pm)
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SDA is the first church leader to stand trial/genocide
ARUSHA, Tanzania -- A Rwandan pastor and his son are due to stand trial on genocide charges on Tuesday in one of the highest profile cases for the U.N. tribunal for Rwanda.

Pastor Elizaphan Ntakirutimana, who is represented by former U.S. attorney-general Ramsey Clark, has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

He is accused of acts of genocide carried out in 1994 when Hutu extremists massacred 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

U.N. prosecutors say Ntakirutimana encouraged a large group of Tutsi men, women and children to seek refuge in a church and hospital in the Kibuye region of western Rwanda and then called Hutus to come and kill them.

Prosecutors say he and his son Gerard, a former doctor, actively participated in the massacres, and later hunted down and killed Tutsi survivors.

The U.N. tribunal investigating the Rwandan genocide said: "The attack resulted in hundreds of deaths and a large number of wounded among the men, women and children who had sought refuge at the complex."

The pair are also accused of participating in the massacre of around 50,000 Tutsis who had taken refuge on the mountain of Bisesero in western Rwanda between April and June 1994.

The genocide erupted in April 1994, after Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana was assassinated. Hutu extremists turned on the country's Tutsi minority, leaving an estimated 800,000 dead over three months.

Ntakirutimana's family says the minority Tutsis who sought shelter in his church had done so before in times of trouble and that the killers would have known shelter was being offered there, without being told.

Ntakirutimana, a Seventh Day Adventist pastor, is the first church leader to stand trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).

The tribunal has so far convicted eight people for leading the genocide since it was established in November, 1994.

Human rights groups say some church leaders from various denominations played a leading role in the genocide, using their authority to encourage the massacres and join in the killing.

Four Rwandans, including two Catholic nuns, were sentenced to between 12 and 20 years in prison by a Belgian court in June for helping Hutu extremists kill more than 5,000 Tutsis who had sought refuge from the bloodletting.

An Anglican bishop is also in detention at the ICTR awaiting trial on genocide charges after being arrested in Kenya earlier this year.

Ntakirutimana, 76, fled to Texas after the genocide, but was arrested by U.S. authorities in 1996.

When the genocide ended and a Tutsi-led government took power, Ntakirutimana, 76, fled the country for the U.S. where he settled in Laredo, Texas, with his family.

He worked in a health food store and preached occasionally in local Seventh-day Adventist churches.

He was arrested in September 1996 and has spent most of the time since then fighting extradition.

After losing several appeals against his extradition, he was finally transferred to the ICTR in the Tanzanian town of Arusha on March 24.



I CAN NOT find the outcome of this trial. . . anyone know the outcome?

MarcusMe
Registered User
Posts: 1
(2/19/06 12:31 am)
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Outcome of trial and appeal
They have been convicted and sentenced to Prison but are appealing. You can read about the ongoing trial here:

www.hirondelle.org/hirond...enDocument

As an SDA I am deeply saddened by what occured. Id like to think there was a good reason for thier actions but do not know the whole story and may not till we get to the kingdom. Hard to beleive that a person who heals people and one who teaches obedience to God even unto death (remember Daniel, Hananiah, Azuriah and Mishael) would intentionaly harm others. Knowing my bretheren and I am inclined to believe thier accounts over others (remember Joseph and pontifers wife). However I am reminded that we all have sinned and are in desperate need of our Lord and savior.

Anyone one who knows adventists know we profess and strive to keep ALL of God commandments; "if you love me, keep my commandments", " How do we know we know him? cause we keep his commandments" this includes thou shalt not kill. Sin is the transgression of Gods law and we believe Gods laws reflect his love and will for us. Just like the stop sign on the local corner is not to limit us but keep us safe. His commandments are not grevious. Duet 5:29.

As followers of Jesus we know he came here to give us a better life and life more abundantly. Our efforts to this cause should be clearly visible and through our teachings and works. The hospitals, sanitariums and wellness centers reflect our health message, habits and logevity; www7.nationalgeographic.c...index.html "in Loma Linda, California, researchers studied a group of Seventh-day Adventists who rank among America's longevity all-stars."

This does not preclude individuals from acting on thier own and against chrurch principals and policies. If one or two bad apples spoil the whole bunch then I fear we all are damned. I pray for all the victims of this massacre.

Here is another insite into who we are and what we believe in regards to Rwanda;

www.itiswritten.com/tvpro...ing-nation

I invite all who would read this to get to know the Seventh Day Adventists better by visiting www.adventist.org/ especially our fundamental beliefs page. Or better yet, visit your local SDA church and find the church of revelation 12:17.

Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
Remember the Sabbath day to keep it Holy!

Peace and Gods blessings to all
Mark

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