France admits genocide ‘mistakes’
Story from BBC NEWS:
africa/8535803.stm
Published: 2010/02/25 12:35:46 GMT
The French president, visiting Rwanda, has acknowledged the errors
made by the international community, including France, during the 1994
genocide.
In the first visit of its kind since the mass killings, Nicolas
Sarkozy admitted "mistakes" had been made.
But he added that he hoped all those behind the killings would be held
responsible and punished.
The visit is intended to symbolise a commitment by both countries to
move on after years of acrimony.
Trigger charge
Rwanda accuses France of training and arming the Hutu extremists who
killed some 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus – charges denied
in Paris.
During the visit, the first by a French head of state since the
killings, Mr Sarkozy visited a memorial for the victims of the
genocide, accompanied by Rwandan President Paul Kagame.
The two countries broke off diplomatic relations in 2006 over
accusations by a French judge that Mr Kagame was involved in the
shooting down of the plane carrying former Rwandan President Juvenal
Habyarimana – the incident that triggered the genocide.
Mr Kagame led the Tutsi rebels who took power and ended the genocide.
He says the plane was shot down by Hutu extremists in order to justify
the killings.
Language switch
Ties between France and Rwanda were restored last November, although
BBC East Africa correspondent Will Ross says, beneath the surface, the
rift is likely to continue.
He says it is difficult to patch up such a deep breakdown in
relations, which prompted all French institutions in Rwanda to be shut
down, including schools and cultural organisations.
Some of these are now being reopened. Rwanda’s official language has
even been switched from French to English.
Late last year Rwanda joined the Commonwealth – a group almost
exclusively made up of former British colonies.
Mr Sarkozy will only be in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, for a few
hours during a tour of French-speaking African countries.
On his way to Rwanda, Mr Sarkozy met former French hostage Pierre
Camatte in Mali.
Mr Camatte was freed on Tuesday after being abducted in November by
the North African wing of al-Qaeda.