Rwandan president Paul Kagame and French president Nicolas Sarkozy
Rwanda begins to repair French connections
Published: 31 March, 2010
Despite lingering resentment over France’s alleged involvement in the Rwandan genocide, the relationship between the two governments is improving, which could help efforts to bring those responsible to justice
The decision to join the Commonwealth, an association of principally Anglophone states, was not motivated by Rwanda’s ongoing dispute with France, according to the country’s foreign minister, Louise Mushikiwabo. Speaking as the country formally joined the organisation, Ms Mushikiwabo also praised French president Nicolas Sarkozy for his role in the budding rapprochement between the two countries.
“Rwanda’s decision to mend ties with France is a response to the personal involvement and the request for trust that we have got from President Sarkozy,” she explained.
The two countries have been at odds over Kigali’s criticism of France’s role in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. The Rwandan government has accused France of training and arming the Hutu extremists who perpetrated the mass killings. Paris was close to the government of Juvenal Habyarimana, whose assassination was used as an excuse to trigger the genocide. France denies the claim, and relations were broken off in 2006 when a French judge, Jean-Louis Bruguière, alleged that Rwandan president Paul Kagame and members of his government were involved in the plot that shot down Mr Habyarimana’s plane.
The country changed its language of instruction in schools from French to English in 2008, and its accession to the Commonwealth, an association of states almost entirely comprised of former British colonies, was seen as a further snub to Paris. However, Ms Mushikiwabo said that it was merely reflective of a desire to better integrate into international associations, such as the East African Community, and to bring more international perspectives into Rwandan society. “Belonging to the Commonwealth, contrary to some of the interpretations that we’ve seen, is not an action or a reaction to our relationship with France,” she said.
On a historic visit to Kigali in February, Mr Sarkozy stopped short of issuing an apology, but did admit that France had made “errors of judgement”. He told a press conference: “What happened here is unacceptable, but what happened here compels the international community, including France, to reflect on the mistakes that stopped it from preventing and halting this abominable crime.”
On the Rwandan side, Ms Mushikiwabo said that, with the conclusion of several genocide trials and the long period of reconciliation within Rwanda, it was time to begin to rebuild bridges. “We are at a time in our post-genocide history where we think we have to move on,” she said.
“We are, I would say, at the second stage of our post-genocide life. We in the country have learned to reconcile. It’s not an easy thing, so for us to bring back normalcy in the country we have to sacrifice justice a little bit and privilege reconciliation. So we had no reason not to respond to France’s bid to better our relations.”
When Ms Mushikiwabo spoke to journalists at the newly-renamed High Commission in London, there were indications that the divisions, beneath the current air of understanding, remain deep and bitterly felt. “We feel that keeping this sort of tug of war with France was not beneficial,” she explained.
