French President Macron in Rwanda to reset ties
French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday arrived in Kigali to commemorate the victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, as both countries aim to definitively renew ties following years of tensions.
Macron, is the first French leader since 2010 to visit the East African country, which has long accused France of complicity in the mass killings of Rwandan Tutsis.
Years of mutual finger-pointing came to an abrupt halt in March 2021, when a commission appointed by Macron returned a damning indictment of France’s role in the bloodshed.
In findings accepted by the French government, the historians accused Paris, which had close ties to the ethnic Hutu regime behind the massacres, of being “blind” to preparations for the genocide and said it bore “serious and overwhelming” responsibility.
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However, the commission found no proof of French complicity in the bloodshed.
Kigali tour
During his Kigali tour, President Macron’s first stop will be the Kigali Genocide Memorial which is home to remains of over 250,000 victims of the Genocide Against the Tutsi.
Meanwhile, survivors of the Genocide maintain that France apologises for its role in the bloodshed and offer reparation.
Survivors also hope that France will stop offering a safe haven to genocide fugitives including Agathe Kanziga Habyarimana, the widow of former President Juvénal Habyarimana and a central figure in a powerful group known as the akazu, mostly made up of close relatives and influential Hutu extremists accused of planning and executing the Genocide against the Tutsi.
French officials say Macron could also use the visit to name an ambassador to Rwanda, filling a post left vacant since 2015.
Strategic interests
Apart from fully restoring diplomatic ties, France has recently supported Rwanda’s strategic interests, including backing Rwanda’s efforts at the United Nations Security Council to recognise “Genocide against the Tutsi” as the official reference of the 1994 genocide.
It also backed Ms Louise Mushikiwabo, Rwanda’s Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, to head The International Organisation of the Francophonie (OIF).
Edited by Olajumoke Adeleke
