Join on WhatsApp
Join on Telegram
Rabat – At Rwanda’s Kigali Genocide Memorial, French President Emmanuel Macron asked for forgiveness for France’s complicity in the Rwandan genocide of 1994. In his speech, the French president did not offer an official apology, instead asking for reprieve from the victims of the tragedy.
In the early summer of 1994, Hutu extremists committed acts of genocide against the Tutsi minority and political opposition. The group killed 800,000 people and many consider the Rwandan genocide to be one of the worst acts of genocide in the last three decades.
“Standing here today, with humility and respect, by your side, I have come to recognise our responsibilities,” said Macron during the event on Friday, April 29.
The president added that France “was not an accomplice” to the genocide but stood idly by knowing that Rwandans were suffering.
In the years leading up to the Rwandan genocide, France supported the Hutu government and provided military support, training and arms to the majority group. Following the genocide, France became a place of refuge for many of its Hutu perpetrators.
Macron is the first French president since 2010 to visit Rwanda and speak on the issue.
“His words were something more valuable than an apology. They were the truth,” said Rwanda’s current President Paul Kagame.
After 100 days of slaughter, Kagame led the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) into Rwanda to restore order in the country.
Although the French president did not offer an official apology and accept responsibility for France’s role in the genocide, many of the survivors thanked the president for acknowledging the genocide and showing understanding.
“[Macron] really tried to explain the genocide, how it happened, what they didn’t do, their responsibilities – it’s very important, it shows that he understands us,” said president of Rwanda’s Ibuku survivor group Egide Nkuranga.
Under the presidency of François Mitterrand, France watched silently as the genocide unfolded. France is guilty of having “armed, advised, trained, equipped, and protected the Rwandan government,” despite knowing about the ethnic cleansing of the Tutsi minority.
The French half-apology on Friday preceded Germany’s decision to officially apology for its role in the colonial-era genocide in Namibia.
It appears the powers of Europe are beginning to slowly accept the consequences of their bloody, colonial past to move forward into a future of prosperity between the EU and Africa. Still, the French are resisting calls for an official apology for its brutal war against Algerian independence.
