Lessons not learned from the genocide
We know today, in particular thanks to the work of the “Duclert commission” which was able to access the French state archives, that this genocide which left at least 800,000 dead in Rwanda could have been avoided.
Soldiers, diplomats, aid workers, “simple” witnesses had warned against the excesses of the ruling clan, had reported massacres, warned of the imminence of a humanitarian catastrophe, but the Élysée would not listen. . President François Mitterrand had his objectives, his priorities, his calculations and his friendships. So he didn't want to see when he could still avoid the worst. He refused to question himself when the worst happened.
“France had all the means to stop this genocidal process in Rwanda”
Thirty years later, the archives speak, the truth is emerging but the lessons of this drama have not been assimilated, the risks of history stuttering are more relevant than ever in this region of the Great Lakes, under -soil rich in all these raw materials which swell the appetite of world powers.
Today, therefore, by calculations, by interest, by fear of being ousted for the benefit of an adversary, these nations, these international institutions are ready to turn a blind eye to the excesses of the powers in place – whatever the way. where they settled – and too bad for the medium or long term consequences.
The hatred that led to this genocide is once again making its maddening music heard in the region. Songs, texts, threats, massacres reappear. As in the years preceding the genocide, the international community pretends not to see. Local dictators are well in court, welcomed, pampered. Our diplomats “deplore” at most on X (formerly Twitter) their excesses, the threats they pose – notably by reintroducing the death penalty or by threatening to stone homosexuals. A short-term diplomacy which carries with it the seeds of all the excesses to come. Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, no one will be able to say they didn't know.
