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French troops 'raped girls
during Rwanda genocide'
Steve Bloomfield
London
Independent
Friday Aug 31, 2007
French soldiers stationed in Rwanda during the genocide in 1994
have been accused of "widespread rape" by a Rwandan
commission investigating France's role during the conflict.
The commission, which is due to publish its final report in October,
will also provide fresh evidence that French soldiers trained
the Interahamwe, the extremist Hutu militia responsible for most
of the killing, and even provided them with weapons.
The allegations threaten to plunge relations between Rwanda and
its former colonial master to a new low. It could also lead to
Rwanda seeking reparations from France at the International Court
of Justice. "That is something we are considering,"
said one government official.
France's support for the genocidal Rwandan regime – both
before and during the slaughter – has been well documented,
but the new report sheds some light on the extent of that backing.
(Article continues below)
In particular, it provides the first evidence that French soldiers
sent to Rwanda during the genocide as part of a UN-mandated force
to protect civilians carried out "widespread rape" of
genocide survivors. Jean Paul Kimonyo, one of the commissioners,
said: "They were asking for Tutsis – not women –
Tutsis."
The commission was established by the Rwandan president Paul
Kagame in April last year and is headed by a former minister of
justice. France has accused the commission of being little more
than a kangaroo court and when the seven commissioners visited
France earlier this year, French authorities made it clear that
they were not welcome.
Dr Kimonyo, himself a former press aide to Mr Kagame, said he
initially shared some of those fears.
"The law which established the commission said France was
guilty already. We were very uneasy about it. But the evidence
is overwhelming."
Based on testimony given at public hearings by genocide survivors
and former soldiers trained by French forces, plus evidence from
piles of official paperwork left by the fleeing Hutu regime, the
commission believes it has enough proof to convince the international
community.
Dr Kimonyo said: "France was directly involved in the preparation
of the genocide. They were training the Interahamwe in a systematic
manner. They were training them to kill, to kill as fast as possible
as one witness said, using knives and machetes. What were they
training them for? It is very disturbing."
France has so far refused to acknowledge any role it played during
the genocide. Instead, last year a French anti-terrorism judge,
Jean-Louis Bruguière, claimed Mr Kagame was responsible
for the act which started it, accusing the-then head of the RPF
of shooting down the plane carrying then president Jubenal Habyarimana.
Most experts believe the plane was shot down by the same Hutu
extremists who had been planning the genocide.
Mr Habyarimana's death prompted a wave of killing by Hutu extremists,
that resulted in 800,000 Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus
slaughtered in just three months. In response, Mr Kagame threw
the French ambassador out of Kigali, ordered the closure of the
French cultural centre and removed Radio France International
from the airwaves.
As relations with France have progressively soured, those with
Britain have improved dramatically. English has become one of
three official languages, Rwanda has applied to join the Commonwealth,
and last year they established a national cricket board.
More importantly in Rwandan eyes, the UK has become the largest
donor, spending £46m last year. France has gone from being
the largest international donor before the genocide to the smallest
now.
There are small signs that France's attitude towards Rwanda may
be shifting slightly. The last ambassador had been attempting
to build bridges and was widely liked by Rwandan government officials.
The role of France's new Foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner,
will be crucial. M Kouchner, who has signalled his intention to
visit Rwanda before the end of the year, was there during the
genocide, as the head of a French humanitarian organisation. Although
he was seen as being close to the French president, François
Mitterrand, M. Kouchner later publicly admonished his government's
lack of support for Mr Kagame after the Rwandan genocide ended.
How France intervened
October 1990
Tutsi-led rebel forces, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), invade
the north of the country. President Juvénal Habyarimana,
a Hutu backed by the French, calls in support. Three hundred French
paratroopers secure Rwanda's International Airport and fight off
the invading forces. In a few days 600 more French troops are
sent in to "protect and evacuate French citizens".
1991
France continues to send military advisors and arms. The army
grows from 5,000 to 28,000.
February 1992
Lieutenant Colonel Chollet, the commander of French forces in
Rwanda, becomes army chief of staff and advisor to the Rwandan
presidency.
3 February 1993
The RPF launches a major attack, capturing the town of Ruhengeri
and moving towards the capital. Hundreds of French troops are
sent to Rwanda along with huge quantities of ammunition to back
up the government forces.
20 February 1993
Threatened by the rapid French deployment, the RPF forces call
a unilateral ceasefire and withdraws.
6 April 1994
President Habyarimana's plane is shot down, triggering the genocide
of almost one million Tutsis and moderate Hutus.
June 1994
French troops launch "Operation Turquoise", aiming
to establish a "safe zone" in the south-west of the
country. Although some killings continue in the zone, President
François Mitterrand later claims it has saved "tens
of thousands".
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