French historian Duclert hands over the voluminous report on Genocide against the Tutsi to President Kagame

By Jean d’Amour Mbonyinshuti

The French historian Prof. Vincent Duclert on Friday submitted to the Rwandan President Paul Kagame a voluminous report on the role of France in the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi.

“President Kagame receives a President Kagame today {Friday) received French Historian Vincent Duclert, who presented the report titled France, Rwanda and the Genocide Against the Tutsi. The report was commissioned by President Emmanuel Macron two years ago and was done by a team of 13 researchers and historians,” reads a Friday Tweet from the president’s office.

Released on March 26, 2021, the report reveals an ‘Overwhelming and heavy responsibility' over the 1994 Genocide but denied any evidence of French complicity in committing genocide.

President Emmanuel Macron formed a commission of 13 experts led by Prof. Vincent Duclert to consult all France’s archives relating to the genocide” and “analyze the role and engagement of France between 1990 and 1994.

Early last week President Macron joined Rwanda and its people as a commemoration week started to morn over one million innocent people who lost their lives.

He said that France has committed to opening all archives related to the relationship and exchanges between Rwanda and France before and during the Genocide.

“April 7 is a national day of remembrance and meditation. We think of the victims of the Genocide against the Tutsi, the survivors, their families, the Rwandan people. The work of truth must continue through the opening of archives of this period,” Said President Macron.

President Macron granted rights of opening presidential archives of Francois Mitterrand relating to Rwanda between 1990 and 1994.

The access, according to France was extended to archives of Édouard Balladur and to the documents cited in the report of Duclert Commission.

Balladur is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France under François Mitterrand from 29 March 1993 to 10 May 1995.

President Kagame has blamed the former French officials of unwillingness to reveal the truth on France’s role in genocide and welcomed the current government led by President Macron move to reveal the truth.

“Recently, a commission of historians appointed by the French government released a detailed report after reading official archives that had remained secret. The report shows that President Mitterrand and his closest advisers knew that genocide against Tutsi was being planned by their allies in Rwanda,” he said as he launched the commemoration period last week on April 7, 2021.

“Despite that knowledge, the president decided to continue supporting them, because he believed this was necessary for France’s geopolitical position. Rwandan lives were just pawns in geopolitical games. We welcome this report because it marks an important step toward a common understanding of what took place,” he added.

He added it also marked a change, showed the desire, even for leaders in France, to move forward with a good understanding of what happened.

“We welcome this. We are going to have the report presented to us; I have been informed about it. It is a good thing. Rwanda will also have a word to say in the near future, maybe around the third week of this month,” he noted.

He said there were findings on the Rwandan side based on the work that has been done by people who were commissioned to do that in parallel to what was being done in France  stressing that the findings go in the same direction.

“The important thing is to continue working together to document the truth. This is the truth. The decades-long effort by certain French officials to cover up their responsibilities has caused significant damage,” Kagame concluded.