France’s report on role in 1994 Genocide big step, but more truth lacking

French soldier checking the identification cards of Rwandan refugees

Ever since he became President of France in May 2017, Emmanuel Macron worked on a pragmatic diplomatic rapprochement - one that has probably not been seen before - with President Paul Kagame.

This progressively enhanced the Franco-Rwanda cooperation that was otherwise affected by France’s failure to recognize the role it played in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, let alone apologise for it.

History and facts will always keep the records straight when it comes to France’s role in the Genocide against the Tutsi. A strong ally of Rwanda, France’s support to the Juvenal Habyarimana government, and later to the genocidal government is well documented.

The year 2019, marked a new beginning for France in possibly correcting its past mistakes on this very sensitive matter, with the establishment of a special commission by President Macron to examine the extent of France’s role in what happened in Rwanda 27 years ago.

The commission, composed of seasoned historians and researchers, was led by Vincent Duclert. After two years of work, the long-awaited report was finally handed to Macron a few days ago. From its summary, the experts outlined France’s military and political failure in Rwanda. But, oddly, they ruled out France’s complicity in the Genocide against the Tutsi.  Did the commission deliberately resort to telling half-truths and cover-ups in its 1,200-page report? Well… let us get back to the historical facts and check if the role played by France was just a “military and political failure” and if there was no complicity between France and the genocidal regime.

Twenty seven years ago, more than a million Tutsi were killed in Rwanda, as French diplomats and military watched. As close allies of the genocidal government, France decided to launch a “humanitarian mission” to Rwanda, dispatching troops under the infamous Operation Turquoise.

The French troops that landed in Kigali deliberately ignored the massacres that were being carried out against the Tutsi across the country and instead extended support to the killers mainly in south-western Rwanda, by creating a safe haven for them.  French troops were seen training the Interahamwe militia and arming them.

French soldiers training Interahamwe militia

The French humanitarian mission quickly revealed itself to Rwandans as a planned operation to support the then Rwandan government to re-organize better against the advancing Rwanda Patriotic Army (RPA). It is when the French failed in their mission that they helped create a safe corridor through which the marauding militiamen and former government soldiers escaped into Zaire with their entire arsenal.

When French troops arrived in Rwanda, they knew a Genocide was taking place. They saw it happening but chose to side with evil because to Habyarimana, then French President Francois Mitterrand was a big brother (grand frère). They did not only evacuate French national but also members of  the inner circle of Habyarimana known as(Akazu) who were involved in the planning and execution of Genocide.   The UN Force Commander, Gen Romeo Dallaire, lamented that “the French commander showed no interest in cooperating with us,” an indication of the sinister motives of the French operation in Rwanda.

French troops in the Bisesero area of western Rwanda especially lied to the Tutsi who were hiding in their area of operation that they were safe with them. The hundreds of Tutsi came out of their hiding places and were handed over to Interahamwe who instantly killed them.

Photos of French soldiers playing volleyball on a fresh mass grave at the former Murambi technical school in Nyamagabe District is another piece of evidence showing on whose side the French troops were. Choosing to extend military, political and logistical support to the genocidaires before and during the Genocide, and later organize the controversial escape of the former government forces and Interahamwe militia into Zaire  is crystal clear evidence of France’s complicity in the Genocide against the Tutsi as well as their complicity in flouting international conventions.

Worse still, a safe heaven was created for prominent genocidaires in France when they were facilitated to migrate from Zaire after their botched attack on Rwanda after the Genocide. To date, a good number of them still enjoy freedom and impunity in different cities of France. Many Genocide masterminds are now naturalized French citizens despite the international arrest warrants for their role in the Genocide.

Among them is Agathe Uwilingiyimana, Habyarimana’s wife and infamous Catholic priest Wenceslas Munyeshyaka, who killed thousands of people in Kigali, mainly at St Famille Catholic Church. Munyeshyaka who dressed in military uniform and brandished a pistol during the Genocide   continues to grace the pulpit in France, despite indictments against him.

The Duclert Commission is definitely a bold step forward in repairing France’s mistakes in Rwanda, and one that is highly regarded by Rwandans.

But the fact is, for the last 27 years, evidence of France’s complicity in the Genocide os still out in the public domain. Since President Macron came to power, a promising trend in Franco-Rwanda cooperation has been observed. Business communities have engaged in joint ventures. Rwanda became, again, an active member of La Francophonie and a lot more is likely to be achieved in this regard.

As we move forward by seeing the France-Rwanda cooperation taking a promising turn, we also hope to see France’s researchers coming out clear on historical facts. This is the only way France can truly repair its past grotesque image in Rwanda.