Death close to home

As Saddam Hussein receives a death sentence – and Iraqis react to the verdict – more recent atrocities are being uncovered:

French troops trained Rwandan soldiers and militia responsible for most of the killings and joked with them during the 1994 genocide, a government inquiry commission heard on Wednesday [in Kigali].

On the second day of public hearings in a probe into France’s alleged complicity in the genocide, a former employee of the French cultural centre in Kigali said his boss had boasted about the training France had provided.

Venuste Kaijamahe, who worked at the centre for more than 20 years, said: “My boss told me that their army had trained the young men so well that they could defend the country from any attack by Tutsi rebels or their accomplices.”… 

In Rwanda, the French are treated with both scepticism and contempt.

Text and images ©2024 Antony Loewenstein. All rights reserved.

Site by Common