From: Biniam Haile \(SWE\) (eritrea.lave@comhem.se)
Date: Tue Aug 05 2008 - 17:01:43 EDT
France accused over Rwanda genocide
Tue, 05 Aug 2008 19:59:29 GMT
French troops were directly involved in Rwanda's 1994 genocide in which
800,000 people were massacred, Rwanda's justice ministry says.
It named 33 senior French military and political figures including late
president Francois Mitterrand (president from 1981 to 1995), two former
prime ministers Dominique de Villepin and Edouard Balladur of direct
involvement in the massacres from April to July 1994 and said they
should be prosecuted.
Hutu militias slaughtered minority Tutsis and politically moderate
Hutus.
The report threatened to further mar relations between the two
countries, which severed diplomatic ties in November 2006.
France has refused to comment on the report and had previously denied
any involvement. France has acknowledged making "mistakes" in Rwanda but
denies any responsibility for the killing spree.
The French foreign ministry told the BBC it would only respond to the
fresh allegations after reading the report, which was released on
Tuesday afternoon.
Rwandan Justice Minister Tharcisse Karugarama, presenting the 500-page
report in Kigali, said: "French forces directly assassinated Tutsis and
Hutus accused of hiding Tutsis... French forces committed several rapes
on Tutsi women."
Karugarama said his country had no immediate plans to issue indictments,
but the report "could be the basis for potential charges against
individuals or the state."
He added that it took more than two years for a special commission
assigned with probing France's involvement in the genocide.
The report further said that France was aware of the preparations for
the genocide, contributed to planning the massacres and actively took
part in the killing.
Elsewhere the statement said that considering the seriousness of the
alleged crimes, the Rwandan government has urged the relevant
authorities to bring the accused French politicians and military
officials to justice.
FTP/PA
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