The Hindu Explains | France’s role in the Rwandan genocide

In Kigali, French President Emmanuel Macron asked Rwandans for “forgiveness” for France’s role in the 1994 killings.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday for his country’s role in the 1994 Rwandan massacre in which about 800,000 people, mostly ethnic Tutsis, were killed. Speaking at the genocide memorial in Kigali, Rwanda’s capital, Mr. Macron said France chose “silence over examination of the truth” for too long, but stopped short of issuing an apology, saying France had not been an accomplice in the genocide. France, which enjoyed close ties with Rwanda’s Hutu-led government of President Juvénal Habyarimana, has long been criticised for its role in the killings of the Tutsi minorities in the months of April to June 1994. In May 2019, President Macron, promising a new beginning with Rwanda, set up a 15-member expert committee to investigate his country’s role in the genocide. The committee, which had access to official files and secret documents, submitted its findings to the government in March, which stated that France, which was then ruled by President François Mitterrand, bore “heavy and overwhelming responsibilities" for being “blind” to the events that led to the killings. The report blamed Mitterrand for a “failure” of policy towards Rwanda in 1994. Rwanda had commissioned a separate inquiry, which concluded in a report submitted to the Cabinet in April that France “enabled” the genocide. The 600-page report stated that France did “nothing to stop” the massacres, and tried to cover up its role and even offered protection to some of the perpetrators. President Macron said on Thursday, “I come to recognise the extent of our responsibilities”.