| Abstract: |
Roughly speaking, the "Scramble for Africa" refers to the infamous invasion by
the West European colonists between 1884 and 1914 of Africa and the dividing
of the continent into different zones under the so-called names of
protectorates, colonies, and free-trade areas. Hence, it can be said that West
European colonialism set the stage for most of the deep sufferings of today's
Africa by sowing the seeds of future conflicts through unbridled greed and
selfishness. During the Rwandan genocide of 1994, members of the Hutu ethnic
majority murdered as many as 800,000 people, mostly of the Tutsi minority.
France did not have a direct role as a colonial administration in Rwanda.
However, since France has historically played a leading role in the
colonization of Africa, she tried to be the dominant actor in the region in
every sense in the 1990s.France's efforts to manipulate domestic politics in
Rwanda; its close ties with the ruling Hutu government; her arms sales to the
country; her use of military force under the guise of defending the la
francophonie (French-speaking world) and while doing so pushing aside the UN
force; taking a stand with the Hutu forces in "Opération Turquoise" instead of
being impartial as stipulated in the UNSC resolution caused France to be
confronted with serious allegations that she was complicit with the Hutu in
the Tutsi genocide in Rwanda.Recently published comprehensive report prepared
by an US law firm upon the request of Rwandan government about the role of the
French government in connection with the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi in
Rwanda ends up with the conclusion that "the French government bears
significant responsibility for enabling a foreseeable genocide." French
President Emanuel Macron on 5 April 2019, by sending a letter to Prof. Vincent
Duclert, a historian and Inspector General of French National Education, asked
the establishment of a commission under his presidency to examine all the
French archives concerning Rwanda, covering the years 1990-1994. The report
prepared by the Research Commission (the Duclert Report) was presented to
President Macron on 26 March 2021. It is mentioned in the report that "The
Commission doubtlessly missed certain documents, those that either disappeared
or were never deposited in public archival centers." It is understood from the
statements of Duclert in the interviews he gave after the publication of the
report that the President of the French National Assembly did not grant access
to the archives of the Parliament on this subject. The Duclert report stated
that “the French authority demonstrated a continual blindness in their support
for a racist, corrupt and violent regime... The Rwandan crisis ended in
disaster for Rwanda and in defeat for France.”. However, the report also
claimed that France is not an accomplice to the genocide of the Tutsi. The
report explained this point in the following way: “Is France an accomplice to
the genocide of the Tutsi? If by this we mean a willingness to join a
genocidal operation, nothing in the archives that were examined demonstrates
this.” The 1990s constitute a "critical juncture" in world history.In this
context, it should be remembered that notable political events and
developments were concentrated in the 1990s.In fact, the 1994 Genocide against
the Tutsis in Rwanda is one of the most horrific chapters of this "critical
juncture". Despite what was written about the actions of French governments in
Rwanda in the 1990s before, during, and after the genocide, the truth about
the responsibility of the then French authorities continues to be obscured. |