France's Colonial Sins In Africa: Is France Really Not An Accomplice To The Rwandan Genocide?
Authors: Tulun Teoman Ertuğrul 
Published: October 2021

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.