The French Prime Minister Manuel Valls (pictured above) said on Tuesday accusations by Rwanda government that France was complicit in the genocide that killed a million people were “disgraceful”, the firmest rebuttal since a row broke out between the countries.
France was a principal ally of the Rwanda’s genocidal government.
“I cannot accept these disgraceful accusations that suggest France could have been complicit in a genocide in Rwanda when its honour is to always separate fighting factions,” Valls said in a speech to parliament presenting his new government’s policies.
While Paris has acknowledged mistakes in its dealings with Rwanda, it has repeatedly dismissed accusations it trained militias to take part in the 1994 massacres.
French President Francois Hollande, who had met Kagame in Brussels last week, avoided reference to the row on Monday saying in a statement that Paris stood by Rwandans to honour the memory of the victims.
French Foreign Ministry spokesman Romain Nadal said: “There was a warm meeting between president (Hollande) and Kagame in Brussels which is why we were extremely surprised by these statements.
“France did what was possible to save populations and avoid this genocide. Sadly there was a collective failure of the international community, but at the heart of this, France was exemplary.”
Nadal said France hoped to continue its existing cooperation and dialogue with Rwanda, but there had to be “mutual respect”, which was not the case with Kagame’s comments.
additional reporting–Reuters
Leave a Reply