A Rwandan report made public yesterday accuses senior French officials, including the then French president, of supporting Hutu elements in the Rwandan government responsible for months of killing in 1994 that left 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus dead.
According to Politico website, the report, which was compiled by a special investigative commission, singles out the late President François Mitterrand, the prime minister of the time, Edouard Balladur, and the then-foreign minister, Alain Juppé, for their involvement through the support that they provided the Rwandan government before and during the genocide.
The report also names Dominique de Villepin, who was a senior aide to Juppé at the time, Defence Minister François Léotard, and the secretary-general of the Presidency, Hubert Védrine, among 13 French officials who were “complicit” in the genocide.
Such accusations had been made before, but have now received the official backing of the Rwandan government.
The report’s most graphic accusations concern the role of French military personnel in Rwanda during the genocide. “French forces directly assassinated Tutsis and Hutus accused of hiding Tutsis,” a statement by the Rwandan justice ministry said. It also concluded that “French forces committed several rapes on Tutsi survivors.”
The 500-page report calls for the officials and for 20 military staff who are also named in the report to be brought to justice for their actions. Investigators conducted preliminary interviews with almost 700 potential witnesses, 66 of whom were then heard by the commission. It also reviewed extensive documentary evidence.
KI/PR
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