Politics
10:12, 14-Dec-2017
Rwanda-backed report alleges France’s role in 1994 genocide
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France helped arm and protect the perpetrators of the 1994 Rwanda genocide in which over 800,000 people were killed, a new report has alleged.
France has in the past enjoyed significant influence in Rwanda, and the report, commissioned by the East African nation's government, risks deepening a feud between the two nations.
The report, which was prepared by US law firm Cunningham Levy Muse, cites evidence that purportedly shows French complicity before, during and after the genocide by ethnic Hutu extremists against ethnic Tutsi and some Hutu moderates.
It says French officials provided safe sanctuary to some genocide suspects and have obstructed attempts to bring them to justice.
April 4, 2014: Human skulls on display at the Genocide Memorial inside a Catholic church at Nyamata, where thousands were slaughtered during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. /VCG Photo
April 4, 2014: Human skulls on display at the Genocide Memorial inside a Catholic church at Nyamata, where thousands were slaughtered during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. /VCG Photo
The report is “a damning summary of conduct by French officials” at the time of the genocide, Rwandan Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo said in the report.
In a statement to The Associated Press, the French foreign ministry said it has “taken note” of the report provided by the law firm “at the request of the Rwandan authorities.”
The statement said France is “fully committed to prosecuting those who took part” in the Rwandan genocide. It said the French legal system has already convicted several people and was examining several more cases.
The Bisesero memorial, where 50,000 Tutsi were killed during the Rwandan Genocide. /VCG Photo
The Bisesero memorial, where 50,000 Tutsi were killed during the Rwandan Genocide. /VCG Photo
The new report underscores the increasingly strained relations between France and Rwandan President Paul Kagame’s government, which recently recalled its ambassador.
Last year Rwanda published a list of 22 French senior military officers it accused of helping plan and carry out the genocide, including Gen. Jacques Lanxade, France’s army chief of staff from April 1991 to September 1995.
Source(s): AP