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Macron to Address Missed Chance for Rwanda Genocide in ’94

The presidency has stated that President Emmanuel Macron holds the belief that France, along with its Western and African allies, possessed the capability to prevent that occurred in Rwanda genocide in 1994.

However, they lacked the determination to intervene and put an end to the mass killing of approximately 800,000 individuals, predominantly ethnic Tutsis.

For Rwanda genocide message, President Emmanuel Macron will address the failure to prevent the Rwanda genocide during the 30th anniversary commemoration, stating that France and its allies had the capability to intervene but lacked the determination to do so. The French president’s statement will be delivered in a video set to air on Sunday.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, stated for Rwanda genocide message, that France and its western and African allies failed to prevent the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, which resulted in the deaths of approximately 800,000 people, mostly ethnic Tutsis.

The president Macron will stress in a video message released on Sunday, marking the 30th anniversary of the genocide, that the international community had the capacity to intervene when the mass extermination of Tutsis began.

He pointed out that the world had previous experiences of genocide, such as the Holocaust during the second world war and the mass killings of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey during the first world war. Macron will acknowledge that France, along with its western and African partners, had the ability to stop the genocide but lacked the determination to do so.

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Despite not attending the genocide commemorations in Kigali this Sunday with Rwanda’s president, Paul Kagame, Macron will be represented by France’s foreign minister, Stéphane Séjourné.

Macron, during a visit to Rwanda in 2021, recognised France’s “responsibilities” in the genocide and said only the survivors could grant “the gift of forgiveness”. But he stopped short of an apology and Kagame, who led the Tutsi rebellion that ended the genocide, has long insisted on the need for a stronger statement.

The historical commission established by Macron and headed by historian Vincent Duclert reached a similar conclusion in 2021, highlighting a failure on the part of France during François Mitterrand’s presidency. However, the commission also stated that there was no evidence to suggest Paris was complicit in the killings.

Marcel Kabanda, the president of the Ibuka France genocide survivor association, expressed his appreciation for Macron’s recent message. He stated that Macron’s message not only aligns with the findings of the Duclert report and his previous message in Kigali in 2021, but also goes beyond them. Kabanda emphasized his joy in seeing France portrayed positively as a country that acknowledges its mistakes and evolves by confronting its past.

The presidency announced that in his video message, Macron will emphasize the importance of remembrance and the need to promote and share historical knowledge, especially through educating the younger generations in France.

French historian Vincent Duclert, who chaired the commission responsible for shedding light on the role of France in Rwanda between 1990 and 1994, told RFI that Macron’s speech was an example of ongoing efforts to recognised what happened.

He said France, which had military forces on the ground in Rwanda, could have intervened in April 1994.

The troops and other western troops had “all the means to do so” and organise “evacuation operations”, he told RFI. “This is the way to resolve past traumas.”