Paul Rusesabagina admits backing rebels, denies violence

Paul Rusesabagina, portrayed in a 2004 Hollywood movie as a hero who helped save Tutsis during the Rwandan genocide, has admitted to a Kigali court that he formed an armed group but denied he supported any violence or killings. The 66-year-old former hotel manager was propelled to fame after the Oscar-nominated film Hotel Rwanda depicted him using his connections with the Hutu elite to protect Tutsis fleeing slaughter during the 1994 blooshed. After years in exile, where he became a fierce government critic, he appeared under arrest in Rwanda’s capital last month after apparently being lured into a private jet under false pretences. In recent years Rusesabagina co-founded the Rwandan Movement for Democratic Change (MRCD), an opposition party based abroad. While he has previously expressed support for the National Liberation Front (FLN), which has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks in Nyungwe, near the border with Burundi, his exact role has been unclear. “We formed the FLN (National Liberation Front) as an armed wing, not as a terrorist group as the prosecution keeps saying. I do not deny that the FLN committed crimes but my role was diplomacy,” he told the court, wearing a pink prison uniform. “The agreement we signed to form MRCD as a political platform included the formation of an armed wing called FLN. But my work was under the political platform and I was in charge of diplomacy.” Wearing a pink prison uniform for his bail hearing on Friday, Rusesabagina told the court that he helped to form the National Liberation Front to assist Rwandan refugees, but said he never supported violence. The judge postponed ruling on his application for bail until October  2. style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0; bottom: 0; right: 0; left: 0;">