France yesterday accused Rwanda of making “unacceptable accusations” by alleging Paris played an active role in the 1994 genocide, but said it was still determined to mend damaged ties with Kigali.
A 500-page report released on Tuesday in the Rwandan capital alleged that France was aware of preparations for the genocide, and that the French military in Rwanda contributed to planning the massacres and actively took part in the killing.
It names 13 senior politicians and 20 military officials as responsible raises the prospect of Rwandan legal action against them.
“This report contains unacceptable accusations made against French political and military officials,” French foreign ministry spokesman Romain Nadal told reporters.
The spokesman cast doubt on the “objectivity” of the Rwandan commission that produced the report, which was explicitly asked to “gather evidence showing the implication of the French state in the genocide carried out in Rwanda in 1994.”
Nadal added that France had not received the report through “official channels.”
Initially on Tuesday the French government had refused to comment on the report, before referring reporters back to a general statement of policy from February last year.
On Wednesday the French foreign ministry suggested France would not let the report further sour relations between Paris and Kigali, which severed diplomatic ties in November 2006 over the question of responsibility for the genocide.
“Our determination to build a new relationship with Rwanda, moving beyond our difficult past, remains intact,” Nadal said.
He highlighted a meeting in December between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame, and a visit to Kigali by Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner as steps towards warming ties.
Rwandan Foreign Minister Rosemary Museminali told a press conference on Tuesday that the report should not undermine diplomatic ties with France.
“This report is an important step of which France should be happy,” she said. “For diplomacy, it is a very good basis, the relation between Rwanda and France should be based on the truth.”
But the Rwandan government reaffirmed yesterday that it hoped legal proceedings would be opened against those accused in the text.
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