Africans should believe in themselves, even in the face of bigots

It is very interesting to read comments in the international media and on internet chat forums on the recent release of what has come to be known as the Mucyo report on the role allegedly played by France in the 1994 Genocide of Tutsis. The line has been drawn in the sand, much to the displeasure of the deniers of the Genocide, those who tend to believe the contents of the report are overwhelming. They are calling for France to re-examine itself and its historical African policies. In the deniers’ camp on the other hand, especially Rwandans connected to the old regime and possibly its crimes, it is a matter of sour grapes and self impaling to their self esteem or what is left of it. They argue that the Mucyo Commission’s work was a waste of time and money; that France will simply ignore the findings and then Rwandan authorities will have been put in their right place. The other argument is that the commission was not competent to carry out the inquiry because there were no foreigners on its board. That is the self-defeating mentality that led them to seek outside help in carrying out their domestic killings. The patronising messages coming from former power brokers in the Hexagon further goes to show that die-hard Mitterandians had wallowed far too long in the glory from some of their former African client states. They seem to miss the point that no amount of stonewalling will keep the truth from coming out. If Sarkozy is serious about mending fences with Rwanda, he should start by disregarding the ‘State security” arguments from the old guard and come clean, or call for an independent international inquiry to get to the bottom of the matter. It would also be in everyone’s interest for a rapprochement between the countries, but not at the expense of selling our souls to the highest bidder, be they powerful or rich, or simply unrepentant and patronising bigots. Ends

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Africans should believe in themselves, even in the face of bigots