The New Times (Kigali)

Rwanda: France Turns Shame Into Terror

Stephen Rwembeho

18 November 2008


opinion

Kigali — In 1994, unknown people brought down President Juvenal Habyalimana's plane killing him instantly. He was returning from Arusha after signing a peace agreement between his government and the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF).

Until today, the circumstances surrounding the plane-crash still remain obscure. What could have revealed the truth about the cause of the crash, according to experts, is the 'BLACKBOX'.

However, nobody can trace the whereabouts of the voice recorder. There is no doubt that the gadget was hidden by the first person(s) to arrive at the scene of the crash. These were none other than Habyarimana's Presidential Guards, popularly known as GP and their allies.

They are highly suspected because they were in charge of the aerodrome security. Nonetheless, the plane crash was only a climax to start the long planned Tutsi Genocide. Genocide deniers seek to use the plane crash to explain the systematic killing of Tutsis in Rwanda.

As the genocide went on, the Rwanda Patriotic Front/ Army moved fast and toppled the murderous regime, hence stopping the genocide.

The French however, who were the prime supporters of the regime, created a safe haven for the fleeing genocidaires, in what it called Zone Turquoise.

What they did in the zone is on record, and was recently echoed by the Mucyo report on the role of France in the genocide.

The Jean de Dieu Mucyo report released recently comes after the ministry of justice, commissioned an inquiry into the role of the French in the Tutsi Genocide. The shame of participating in the genocide soured relations between the France and Rwanda.

The arrest of Rose Kabuye by the German police therefore, is part of the relentless efforts by the French government to sabotage and terrorise the Rwandan government and its people.

Since France was implicated in the 1994 Tutsi Genocide, it has lived with great shame, which unfortunately is turning into terror.

It is doing everything to sabotage the government that stopped the genocide and consequently protect the people who were behind human destruction.

This is a great shame for a country that claims to be developed in all spheres; that is: democratically, economically, militarily, etcetera.

When the so-called Jean Luis Bruguière indictments were released and the government of Rwanda ultimately severed relationships with France, legislators in France convened an adhoc-closed door meeting. It was a top secret meeting meant for the few in leadership- no outsider can tell what they discussed.

The new development however could be beginning to show us the 'signs' of the secrets, with the arrest of innocent Rose Kabuye being one of them.

France is a safe haven for the top most planners of the 1994 Genocide, including Agathe Kanzinga Habyalimana, who is accused of masterminding numerous crimes against humanity. She actually, appears on the first list of Genocidaires wanted by the Rwandan judiciary.

The Mucyo report 'worked' so much on the French government, because it implicates individuals and groups who were directly and directly involved, in the plans to exterminate the Tutsi.

The report named 33 senior French military and political figures that it said, 'should be prosecuted'. Among those named in the report, were former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin and late President François Mitterrand.

It is against this background that I view Kabuye's arrest as motivated by shame that was unravelled the role of the French in the 1994 Genocide. And it is France's a long plan to discredit the government of Rwanda and undermine all its efforts to heal the nation.

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Author: NoherisFriend
Wed Nov 19 03:39:05 2008

This article again reminds me of how little I am able to understand both the causes of the genocide and the current state of affairs with a government representative being held for trial in France. So far, all I am getting is that (1) the former President of Rwanda was possibly murdered by plane crash, and (2) that act somehow inspired Hutus (?) to go on a rampage and murder millions of Tutsis, along with Hutus who were sympathetic to the Tutsis' situation.

As I understand it, Hutus (the majority population) and Tutsis (those in position of political power) actually got along well - intermarried and lived amicably together - before the massacre.

What I still don't understand is how it is that Rwanda still has a Tutsi President (if the idigenous majority population is Hutu); why Pres. Kagame has so much of a problem with the French; and whether the Hutu population has an equal vote in Rwanda's government.

Sorry to be so abysmally ignorant, but I'm sure I'm not alone, and all the stories I see are either focused on the genocide and remembrances or to the current legal problem with holding a Rwandan official captive for trial in France.

This is a truly baffling situation that I WANT to understand because I sponsor a young boy in Rwanda and very much care about the world he is growing up in.

Thank you to whoever might be willing to help improve my understanding.

Author: Ange
Thu Nov 20 01:44:08 2008

I think you are falling into the trap of division as many people did before and during and after genocide. If Rwanda is composed of majority or minority groups that doesn't prevent any Rwandan from becoming a leader. Kagame is the president of Rwanda as any Rwandan can become a president. I am surprised to see how you are confused about the situation of Rwanda. there are many information about Rwanda history. I would like to inform you that in new Rwanda no hutu, tutsi or twa but three in one group "ABANYARWANDA". Rwandans need to reconstruct their countries and are tired of hearing some deliberate words of division.

Author: Gasore.
Wed Nov 19 11:59:33 2008

If Obama can become president of the U.S then Kagame became President of Rwanda period. Hope that is one of the answers yuo need ie Obama is not from the majority whites though ours was and is still being amplified from overseas.


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