France made possible the genocide against Tutsi, a genocide that was nevertheless predictable: here is the main conclusion of the report on the role that France ordered in 2017 by the Rwandan government from a US law firm and was published on Monday 19 April in Kigali. A report which, like that of the Ducler Commission, concludes that the French state has a heavy responsibility, but not that it is involved in the genocide.
as reported from Kigali, Laure broulard
“French officials armed, advised, trained, equipped and protected the then Rwandan regime,” the Levy Firestone Muse lawyers said in a report presented to the Rwandan government this afternoon. According to them, France has ignored the will of the government of Juvénal Habyarimana to destroy the Tutsis in Rwanda and has acted to strengthen and expand its power and influence in Africa.
In contrast to Duclert report, the Muse report evokes the period after 1994 and condemns a camouflage action by the French state, which would have buried its past in Rwanda, distorted the truth and protected genocide.
The survey is based on more than 200 interviews with witnesses, newspaper articles, academic works and official documents…. It does not conclude that France is involved in genocide and does not recommend legal proceedings against French political leaders.
The Duclert report and the Muse report have different approaches, but converging conclusions were made by Vincent Biruta, the Rwandan foreign minister, at a press conference this afternoon.
President Kagame is now chairing a special government session where Bob Muse of @LevyFirestone Law Firm will present the report entitled “A Predictable Genocide: The French Government’s Role in the Tutsi Genocide.” pic.twitter.com/K9b6dESVVd
Presidency | Rwanda (@UrugwiroVillage) April 19, 2021 “A new political space” opens between France and Rwanda, says Paris
This report, published by Rwanda on France’s role in the 1994 Tutsi genocide and Kigali’s reaction, with the exception of Paris’ involvement, opened “a new political space” for “projects towards a common future”, the French Presidency responded on Monday. France also welcomes the Rwandan authorities who exclude legal proceedings through the voice of their Foreign Minister Vincent Biruta, interviewed by the newspaper. The world, we emphasize at the Élysée
The Muse report “indicates that France enabled a foreseeable genocide”, but “I believe that France did not take part in the planning of the genocide and that the French did not take part in the killings and abuses”, explained in this interview the Rwandan minister and assured that “the Rwandan the government will not take this matter to court “.
The head of Rwandan diplomacy estimates in this interview that the publication of this report, a few weeks after the report by a commission of French historians ending the “heavy and overwhelming” responsibility in Paris in the tragedy, “will contribute to reconciliation between France and Rwanda”.
“These two reports give rise to conclusions that are not the same, but they have in common the point of moving the lines and opening up a new political space,” the Elysee responded Monday, underlining an “important step in the political speech that accompanies it. ”.
On May 18, France will host Rwandan President Paul Kagame in Paris as part of a summit on the financing of African economies, according to the French Presidency, recalling that Emmanuel Macron intended to “go to Rwanda this year”.
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