French ‘failures’ enabled Rwanda genocide but no complicity, says report

Government officials believe report by historical commission can help improve relations with nations across Africa

FILE - In this Sunday, April 7, 2019 file photo, people attend a candlelit vigil during a memorial service marking 25 years since the genocide, at Amahoro stadium in the capital Kigali, Rwanda. A commission that spent nearly two years uncovering France's role in 1994's Rwandan genocide concluded Friday, March 26, 2021 that the country reacted too slowly in appreciating the extent of the horror that left over 800,000 dead and bears "heavy and overwhelming responsibilities" in the drift that led to the killings, but cleared the country of any complicity in the slaughter that mainly targeted Rwanda's Tutsi ethnic minority. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)

A candlelit vigil at a service marking 25 years since the 1994 Rwanda genocide. A report by historians has found no evidence of French complicity in the slaughter of 800,000 people. AP

Simon Rushton

Mar 27, 2021

France bears responsibility for the 1994 genocide in Rwanda but was not complicit in the slaughter, a report by French historians has concluded.
It said France was blind to the preparations that led to the atrocities.
The historical commission submitted to President Emmanuel Macron a report that concluded there had been a "failure" on France's part and that the country bears "heavy and overwhelming responsibilities".

Members of the 15-member commission, appointed by Mr Macron two years ago, studied officials French files.
French officials believe the inquiry can help improve relations with nations across Africa, not just Rwanda.
France has been dogged for decades by allegations that it did not do enough to stop the genocide, and the report published on Friday is an attempt to find answers.

FILE - In this Friday, April 4, 2014 file photo, the skulls and bones of some of those who were slaughtered as they sought refuge inside the church are laid out as a memorial to the thousands who were killed in and around the Catholic church during the 1994 genocide in Ntarama, Rwanda. A commission that spent nearly two years uncovering France's role in 1994's Rwandan genocide concluded Friday, March 26, 2021 that the country reacted too slowly in appreciating the extent of the horror that left over 800,000 dead and bears "heavy and overwhelming responsibilities" in the drift that led to the killings, but cleared the country of any complicity in the slaughter that mainly targeted Rwanda's Tutsi ethnic minority. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File) — The remains of some of those who were slaughtered are laid out as a memorial. AP/file

Francois Mitterrand, president at the time, had a central role in developing Rwanda policy.
"The research, therefore, establishes a set of responsibilities, both serious and overwhelming," the report said.
About 800,000 people, mainly belonging to the ethnic Tutsi minority, were slaughtered between April and July 1994 in Rwanda.

Skulls of the victims of the 1994 Rwandan genocide are on display at the Nyamata church near Kigali. AP

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The commission's report apportioned blame to France for failing in its "political, institutional, intellectual, ethical (and) moral" responsibility, officials in Mr Macron's office said.
But the report also says researchers found no evidence that French weapons were delivered to Rwanda after the start of the genocide.

It ruled out accusations of wrongdoing by Operation Turquoise, a French-led military intervention in Rwanda that has been accused of being a failed attempt at propping up the Hutu-led government.

The report excluded any “complicity in the genocide” by France, saying there was no evidence of an intention to carry out genocidal actions.

The report found the French government failed to appreciate the magnitude of the situation, and in so doing made poor decisions moving forward.
The commission made it clear that its report did not seek to vilify anyone.

Mr Macron ordered the establishment of the 15-member commission in May 2019 to shed light on events in Rwanda between 1990 and 1994.