Journalist admits genocide role

Arusha - A Belgian journalist being tried by a United Nations court pleaded guilty yesterday to two charges related to Rwanda…

Arusha - A Belgian journalist being tried by a United Nations court pleaded guilty yesterday to two charges related to Rwanda's 1994 genocide.

Georges Ruggiu told the UN's International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) that he had no defence against charges his broadcasts helped incite and promote the slaughter of over 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus during the genocide. "I want to confirm that it was indeed a genocide and that unfortunately I participated in it," the non-governmental news agency Hirondelle, which reports on the ICTR's activities, quoted Ruggiu as telling the court.