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Rwanda: when women become killers
US doctors defend
right
impassioned, almost desperate, An campaign by physicians,activists lawyers,
and other human-rights to the and protect principles processes of asylum for victims of torture and persecution has succeeded by the narrowest of margins in the US Senate. But the battle is far from over. At issue were an anti-terrorism act, passed by both houses of Congress and signed into law by President Clinton in April, 1996, and a bill to make substantial changes to immigration policies and laws. The anti-terrorism act provided for the "summary exclusion" by low-level immigration officers of asylum claimants who arrive in the USA without valid travel documents. Asylum seekers would also be denied access to legal representation, interpreters, and the right of appeal. The immigration bill required all asylum applicants to file their claims within 30 days after their arrival or lose the right to apply forever. Such legislative measures reflect a widespread anti-immigrant sentiment in the USA-particularly the specific charge that the asylum process is somehow being abused.
to
asylum Extracts from case-reports for two asylum claimants "Ms G, a virgin 18-year-old Guatemalan woman, was taken by soldiers from her university dormitory room...blindfolded, hand-cuffed...taken to an unknown location...gang-raped on numerous occasions for a period of 3 weeks... abandoned on a country road. She was mute for 2 months. Fearing for her life she came to the USA. It took over a year of medical assistance before she could even speak about the rapes...To require such victims of torture to present a formal asylum application within 30 days ignores the reatity of being a
victim."
22-year-old woman from Somalia...The last time she half-sister, and step-mother was the day she fled. They were unconscious, beaten, and had been raped...She had endured 1 year of being "t recently interviewed
saw
a
her mother,
kept inside her home...and five separate incidences of gang rape that she can remember...The need to ’forget’ plus the need to secure physical safety should be expected to over-ride the comprehension required to pursue asylum in
an
effective
manner
in less than 30
that survivors of torture will not be able to apply for asylum within 30 days. Survivors have suffered extreme physical and psychological damage, and many have post-traumatic stress
disorder. Harrowing the
impair function,
events
ability of individuals
to
even to recount their traumatic experiences. In addition, these survivors usually have a profound fear of all
government authorities, tion with their
a
preoccupa-
days." from 30 for
days to 1 year (with waivers special cases). When the bill went
before the full Senate, Senator Patrick
Leahy (Democrat, Vermont) proposed an amendment to strike the "summary exclusion" provisions from the bill, in effect nullifying these provisions in the anti-terrorism act. On the day of the vote (May 1, 1996) physicians and lawyers went door-todoor in the Senate buildings to plead for their patients and clients. The amendment was passed by 51 to 49
immediate survival needs, and limited access to votes. legal and medical assistance. To document their objections, : : Despite this success, the Senate for Human called action must now be reconciled in Physicians Rights on its Asylum Network-more than conference with the House of 250 volunteer physicians and other Representatives, which had supported health professionals who examine these attacks on asylum claimants. asylum claimants for evidence of But even if that struggle is won, one torture and give expert testimony at activist said, "it’s just one battle in a generalised war on both legal and illeasylum hearings-to send their caseto the Senate. (see gal immigrants... and, so far, we’re reports panel) Dr Allen Keller of Physicians for Human After furious : lobbying, proponents losing that war". were able to convince the interviews claimant of Rights asylum asylum H Jack Geiger Senate Judiciary Committee to Physicians for Human Rights, 100 Boylston Street, Suite 702, Boston, MA 02116, USA For months before the crucial extend the limit on filing for asylum Senate vote, Physicians for Human Rights, the Lawyers Committee for Rwanda: when women become killers Human Rights, the Center for Victims of Torture, and other of : activists campaigned to preserve the The 100 days of killing in Rwanda at happens to the minds : to that citizens was not a spontaneous outburst but law-abiding right asylum. They argued in are forced to when those them to was authority urge many genuine refugees instigated and driven by those flee persecution without valid travel and as : holding political, military, and identify neighbours colleagues the "enemy"? We need only look to : administrative posts. Civil servants, documents because any application for such documents in their countries Germany in the 1930s, Bosnia, and journalists, businessmen, judges, acaof origin might endanger their lives, Rwanda. One facet of this resonant : demics, priests, teachers, students, or because the desperate circumquestion concerns women. Accounts : doctors, nurses, traders, and staff of of war generally assign women the stances of their flight make it impossilocal and international agencies were ble to obtain travel documents. In role of victim, but an important pub- : involved, directly or indirectly. Many lication by African Rights, a London- : of these were women, with the edu1995, there were 3287 such asylum seekers in the USA. The new restricbased human rights organisation, cated providing encouragement and tions would return many refugees to documents how in Rwanda in 1994 : role models for the illiterate. Two women were active participants in : women ministers in the interim govpersecution and torture. The campaign groups also argue ernment promoted genocide, one of genocide.’
W ordinary,
1816
:
whom was Pauline Nyiramasuhuko, the Minister for Women and the Family. She visited refugee camps and supervised the slaughter of hundreds of Tutsi men. Educated women from every walk of life participated actively. Some of the most cruel local government officials organising the killings, especically in Kigali, were women. African Rights concludes that teachers played a key role, but also documents how nuns closed the door on their desperate parishioners, or handed people over to the militias. Sister Julienne Kizito, from the convent at the Monastery of Sovu, Butare, spent three months in the company of local killers. Eyewitnesses recall how she handed out petrol and then watched as people were burnt alive. Such nuns and priests were, no doubt, encouraged by the stance of senior churchmen (including archbishops) of both the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches, who had close connections with the Hutu government, failed to protest against the murders, and issued intentionally
who ists’ and into staff their education and status. Patients and staff were macheted or blown apart by grenades thrown into clinics. The largest massacre at the University Hostel of Butare was on April 28, 1994, was facilitated by doctors and nurses who identified their Tutsi colleagues and patients and betrayed their hiding places. At Kibuye Hospital, a nurse marked Tutsi children by shaving their heads.
imprisoned
Fermin and Fortunato Taco, have been in
doctors, Nery Medina Two Quispe Graciano Sumina
since September, 1992, convicted under Peruvian anti-terrorism legislation. Both doctors have been adopted as prisoners of conscience by Amnesty International which is calling for their unconditional release. Dr Medina, a paediatrician, and Dr Sumina, an internist and surgeon, at Camana Public Hospital in Arequipa province, were arrested in early September, 1992, by members of the police anti-terrorism branch. The arrests followed accusations made by individuals detained for links with the Communist Party of Peru (PCP; Shining Path). Dr Medina was a leader, and Dr Sumina a member, of the Izquierda Unida (IU), a legally-registered coalition of
prison
left-wing parliamentary parties opposed to PCP activities. Although there is no credible evidence that either doctor has links with any armed group, they have twice been jointly charged, convicted, and sentenced for terrorismrelated crimes in separate trials. In the first prosecution, they were charged with giving medical attention
by their husbands. Responsibility for the genocide started with its chief male architects,
whose strategy was to involve as much of the population as possible. How this worked, particularly how ordinary Hutu women were mobilised, needs the closest possible : analysis, both in respect of specifi: cally Rwandan factors and those that might be more generally applicable. Many of the prominent perpetra: : tors of genocide are in exile, includ: ing several nuns who are being sheltered by their religious order in : Belgium. A number of well-attested : killers, including ex-Minister Pauline Nyiranasuhuko, have found their way : onto the payroll of international aid : agencies serving victims. And the proposed war crimes tribunals face
women Elsewhere, joined machete-wielding mobs that surrounded places of refuge. Some acted as cheerleaders, ululating the killers : huge logistic difficulties. into action, and stripped the dead Derek Summerfield and barely living of their jewellery, Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture, money, and clothes. They betrayed i 96-98 Grafton Road, London NW5 3EJ, UK their own neighbours, friends, and African Rights, 11 Marshalsea Road, London, relatives to the militia. Just as some SE1 1EP, UK men refused to host people their i 1 African Rights. Rwanda not so innocent. wives had agreed to protect, some When women become killers. London: women hounded out fugitives hidden African Rights, 1995.
:
misleading statements.
Peru: doctors
: a hundred nuns and priests murdered, including Hutus refused to embrace the extrem- : cause. Hostels, health centres, : clinics turned were maternity slaughterhouses, Tutsi medical : being prime targets because of :
About were
under anti-terror law
members of the armed opposition : and of collaborating with Socorro Popular, a welfare organisation : attached to the PCP. In the second : case, they faced the same charges (in breach of the principle that a defen-: dant should only be tried once for any one charge) but were also accused of being leaders of the : Socorro Popular. It is believed that their accusers made false statements in order to benefit from Peru’s Repentance Law, introduced in May, 1992, which exempted from prosecution those charged with terrorism, or commuted their in sentences, information for to exchange leading the arrest of other alleged PCP members. The law was abolished in November, 1994, and is believed to have been widely abused during its period of application. The doctors were sentenced to 20 years’ impris: onment following the first trial in : to
April, 1993 (overturned on appeal : the following year), and to 22 years following the second. The Peruvian : Medical Association, led by its President Dr Cardenas, has called for :
.
the release of the doctors. : Polite letters should be sent to the Peruvian Minister of Justice, Sr
Carlos Hermoza
Moya (Ministry of
Justice, Scipion Llona 350, San Peru) and to Peruvian Mdro, Lima, diplomats in your own country to urge that Drs Medina and Sumina be released immediately and allowed to
Dr Cardenas, (left to right)
Dr
Sumina, and Dr Medina
medical practice. National medical associations should also be encouraged to write. Copies of letters could be sent to the Federacion Medica Peruana (Jr Almirante Guisse 2165, Lince Lima, Peru). return to
James Welsh Medical Office. Amnesty International. International Secretariat. 1 Easton Street, London WC1X 8DJ, UK
1817
right
impassioned, almost desperate, An campaign by physicians,activists lawyers,
and other human-rights to the and protect principles processes of asylum for victims of torture and persecution has succeeded by the narrowest of margins in the US Senate. But the battle is far from over. At issue were an anti-terrorism act, passed by both houses of Congress and signed into law by President Clinton in April, 1996, and a bill to make substantial changes to immigration policies and laws. The anti-terrorism act provided for the "summary exclusion" by low-level immigration officers of asylum claimants who arrive in the USA without valid travel documents. Asylum seekers would also be denied access to legal representation, interpreters, and the right of appeal. The immigration bill required all asylum applicants to file their claims within 30 days after their arrival or lose the right to apply forever. Such legislative measures reflect a widespread anti-immigrant sentiment in the USA-particularly the specific charge that the asylum process is somehow being abused.
to
asylum Extracts from case-reports for two asylum claimants "Ms G, a virgin 18-year-old Guatemalan woman, was taken by soldiers from her university dormitory room...blindfolded, hand-cuffed...taken to an unknown location...gang-raped on numerous occasions for a period of 3 weeks... abandoned on a country road. She was mute for 2 months. Fearing for her life she came to the USA. It took over a year of medical assistance before she could even speak about the rapes...To require such victims of torture to present a formal asylum application within 30 days ignores the reatity of being a
victim."
22-year-old woman from Somalia...The last time she half-sister, and step-mother was the day she fled. They were unconscious, beaten, and had been raped...She had endured 1 year of being "t recently interviewed
saw
a
her mother,
kept inside her home...and five separate incidences of gang rape that she can remember...The need to ’forget’ plus the need to secure physical safety should be expected to over-ride the comprehension required to pursue asylum in
an
effective
manner
in less than 30
that survivors of torture will not be able to apply for asylum within 30 days. Survivors have suffered extreme physical and psychological damage, and many have post-traumatic stress
disorder. Harrowing the
impair function,
events
ability of individuals
to
even to recount their traumatic experiences. In addition, these survivors usually have a profound fear of all
government authorities, tion with their
a
preoccupa-
days." from 30 for
days to 1 year (with waivers special cases). When the bill went
before the full Senate, Senator Patrick
Leahy (Democrat, Vermont) proposed an amendment to strike the "summary exclusion" provisions from the bill, in effect nullifying these provisions in the anti-terrorism act. On the day of the vote (May 1, 1996) physicians and lawyers went door-todoor in the Senate buildings to plead for their patients and clients. The amendment was passed by 51 to 49
immediate survival needs, and limited access to votes. legal and medical assistance. To document their objections, : : Despite this success, the Senate for Human called action must now be reconciled in Physicians Rights on its Asylum Network-more than conference with the House of 250 volunteer physicians and other Representatives, which had supported health professionals who examine these attacks on asylum claimants. asylum claimants for evidence of But even if that struggle is won, one torture and give expert testimony at activist said, "it’s just one battle in a generalised war on both legal and illeasylum hearings-to send their caseto the Senate. (see gal immigrants... and, so far, we’re reports panel) Dr Allen Keller of Physicians for Human After furious : lobbying, proponents losing that war". were able to convince the interviews claimant of Rights asylum asylum H Jack Geiger Senate Judiciary Committee to Physicians for Human Rights, 100 Boylston Street, Suite 702, Boston, MA 02116, USA For months before the crucial extend the limit on filing for asylum Senate vote, Physicians for Human Rights, the Lawyers Committee for Rwanda: when women become killers Human Rights, the Center for Victims of Torture, and other of : activists campaigned to preserve the The 100 days of killing in Rwanda at happens to the minds : to that citizens was not a spontaneous outburst but law-abiding right asylum. They argued in are forced to when those them to was authority urge many genuine refugees instigated and driven by those flee persecution without valid travel and as : holding political, military, and identify neighbours colleagues the "enemy"? We need only look to : administrative posts. Civil servants, documents because any application for such documents in their countries Germany in the 1930s, Bosnia, and journalists, businessmen, judges, acaof origin might endanger their lives, Rwanda. One facet of this resonant : demics, priests, teachers, students, or because the desperate circumquestion concerns women. Accounts : doctors, nurses, traders, and staff of of war generally assign women the stances of their flight make it impossilocal and international agencies were ble to obtain travel documents. In role of victim, but an important pub- : involved, directly or indirectly. Many lication by African Rights, a London- : of these were women, with the edu1995, there were 3287 such asylum seekers in the USA. The new restricbased human rights organisation, cated providing encouragement and tions would return many refugees to documents how in Rwanda in 1994 : role models for the illiterate. Two women were active participants in : women ministers in the interim govpersecution and torture. The campaign groups also argue ernment promoted genocide, one of genocide.’
W ordinary,
1816
:
whom was Pauline Nyiramasuhuko, the Minister for Women and the Family. She visited refugee camps and supervised the slaughter of hundreds of Tutsi men. Educated women from every walk of life participated actively. Some of the most cruel local government officials organising the killings, especically in Kigali, were women. African Rights concludes that teachers played a key role, but also documents how nuns closed the door on their desperate parishioners, or handed people over to the militias. Sister Julienne Kizito, from the convent at the Monastery of Sovu, Butare, spent three months in the company of local killers. Eyewitnesses recall how she handed out petrol and then watched as people were burnt alive. Such nuns and priests were, no doubt, encouraged by the stance of senior churchmen (including archbishops) of both the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches, who had close connections with the Hutu government, failed to protest against the murders, and issued intentionally
who ists’ and into staff their education and status. Patients and staff were macheted or blown apart by grenades thrown into clinics. The largest massacre at the University Hostel of Butare was on April 28, 1994, was facilitated by doctors and nurses who identified their Tutsi colleagues and patients and betrayed their hiding places. At Kibuye Hospital, a nurse marked Tutsi children by shaving their heads.
imprisoned
Fermin and Fortunato Taco, have been in
doctors, Nery Medina Two Quispe Graciano Sumina
since September, 1992, convicted under Peruvian anti-terrorism legislation. Both doctors have been adopted as prisoners of conscience by Amnesty International which is calling for their unconditional release. Dr Medina, a paediatrician, and Dr Sumina, an internist and surgeon, at Camana Public Hospital in Arequipa province, were arrested in early September, 1992, by members of the police anti-terrorism branch. The arrests followed accusations made by individuals detained for links with the Communist Party of Peru (PCP; Shining Path). Dr Medina was a leader, and Dr Sumina a member, of the Izquierda Unida (IU), a legally-registered coalition of
prison
left-wing parliamentary parties opposed to PCP activities. Although there is no credible evidence that either doctor has links with any armed group, they have twice been jointly charged, convicted, and sentenced for terrorismrelated crimes in separate trials. In the first prosecution, they were charged with giving medical attention
by their husbands. Responsibility for the genocide started with its chief male architects,
whose strategy was to involve as much of the population as possible. How this worked, particularly how ordinary Hutu women were mobilised, needs the closest possible : analysis, both in respect of specifi: cally Rwandan factors and those that might be more generally applicable. Many of the prominent perpetra: : tors of genocide are in exile, includ: ing several nuns who are being sheltered by their religious order in : Belgium. A number of well-attested : killers, including ex-Minister Pauline Nyiranasuhuko, have found their way : onto the payroll of international aid : agencies serving victims. And the proposed war crimes tribunals face
women Elsewhere, joined machete-wielding mobs that surrounded places of refuge. Some acted as cheerleaders, ululating the killers : huge logistic difficulties. into action, and stripped the dead Derek Summerfield and barely living of their jewellery, Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture, money, and clothes. They betrayed i 96-98 Grafton Road, London NW5 3EJ, UK their own neighbours, friends, and African Rights, 11 Marshalsea Road, London, relatives to the militia. Just as some SE1 1EP, UK men refused to host people their i 1 African Rights. Rwanda not so innocent. wives had agreed to protect, some When women become killers. London: women hounded out fugitives hidden African Rights, 1995.
:
misleading statements.
Peru: doctors
: a hundred nuns and priests murdered, including Hutus refused to embrace the extrem- : cause. Hostels, health centres, : clinics turned were maternity slaughterhouses, Tutsi medical : being prime targets because of :
About were
under anti-terror law
members of the armed opposition : and of collaborating with Socorro Popular, a welfare organisation : attached to the PCP. In the second : case, they faced the same charges (in breach of the principle that a defen-: dant should only be tried once for any one charge) but were also accused of being leaders of the : Socorro Popular. It is believed that their accusers made false statements in order to benefit from Peru’s Repentance Law, introduced in May, 1992, which exempted from prosecution those charged with terrorism, or commuted their in sentences, information for to exchange leading the arrest of other alleged PCP members. The law was abolished in November, 1994, and is believed to have been widely abused during its period of application. The doctors were sentenced to 20 years’ impris: onment following the first trial in : to
April, 1993 (overturned on appeal : the following year), and to 22 years following the second. The Peruvian : Medical Association, led by its President Dr Cardenas, has called for :
.
the release of the doctors. : Polite letters should be sent to the Peruvian Minister of Justice, Sr
Carlos Hermoza
Moya (Ministry of
Justice, Scipion Llona 350, San Peru) and to Peruvian Mdro, Lima, diplomats in your own country to urge that Drs Medina and Sumina be released immediately and allowed to
Dr Cardenas, (left to right)
Dr
Sumina, and Dr Medina
medical practice. National medical associations should also be encouraged to write. Copies of letters could be sent to the Federacion Medica Peruana (Jr Almirante Guisse 2165, Lince Lima, Peru). return to
James Welsh Medical Office. Amnesty International. International Secretariat. 1 Easton Street, London WC1X 8DJ, UK
1817