France at the forefront of Genocide Negationism

France, by far remains the leading country in the world that harbours revisionist forces working tooth and nail to negate the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, at least that is what most scholars and researchers on the Rwandan Genocide concur on. The revelation was made by prominent speakers and scholars during the three-day International Symposium on the Genocide against the Tutsi currently taking place in Kigali. The Symposium brings together participants from different parts of the world under the theme “15 years after the Genocide against Tutsi in Rwanda: Stakes, challenges and future prospects” is aimed at assessing where the country is 15 years after Genocide, its ideology and revisionism at the international level. Several speakers who presented topics centred on Genocide against Tutsi, its preparation and execution, preventing and curbing the Genocide ideology, singled out France as one country that has exhibited its ‘willingness’ to deny the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi that claimed over 1million people. One of the presentations ‘Negationism in France: Its modes of expression and operation’ researched by Prof. Jose Kagabo, Dr. Etienne Smith and Helene Dumas, notes that negationism of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi has ‘strongly, powerfully and methodically’ been expressed in France. The paper also goes on to assert that on top of playing a major role in preparing and actively participating in the 1994 Genocide, France has gone ahead to harbour revisionist campaigns that are aimed at denying the 1994 Genocide, openly backed by the French political machine. It was also noted that France is a safe haven of revisionists who have resorted to posting all kinds information on the internet and engaging in other activities all aimed at negating the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Among these include claims that there was a double genocide where Hutus equally died as their Tutsi colleagues. They now call it the Hutu Genocide in which they claim 4 million were killed. The groups mainly made up of top Genocidaires have also gone ahead to describe themselves as ‘survivors’ and use terms such as ‘Ibuka’ as used in Rwanda. France, remembered for its role in the 1994 Genocide is also accused of developing asymmetrical approaches and theories all in a bid to deny its active role in the Genocide and among these is the linking of the Genocide to the downing of a plane carrying the then President Juvenal Habyarimana. Earlier presentations on the history of the Genocide also pinned France’s leadership at the time under Francois Mitterrand for conspiring with the Rwandan leadership at the time to cultivate hate between Hutus and Tutsis which eventually led to the former descending on the latter, murdering them in their millions in just 100 days. Speaking on the opening day, Prime Minister Bernard Makuza appealed to Rwandans to come up and put their own experiences on paper instead of relying on publications of foreigners who lack first hand information on the Genocide. He noted that Rwandans have the right and capacity to write and distribute the right information on the Rwandan Genocide because they witnessed it themselves but because they lack a writing culture, the whole world depends on literature distributed by foreigners who were not even in Rwanda at the time of the Genocide. He further noted that the reason revisionists such as Paul Rusesabagina have gone on to sell falsehoods about Genocide, propelling themselves into ‘fame’ is because there is no enough literature to counter them. He noted that as years go by information disappears and later there will be no persons to tell the true story. The symposium which continues today is part of the activities to mark the 15th Commemoration of the 1994 Genocide. The First Lady Jeannette Kagame also attended the conference and took a tour around the stalls where an exhibition of a collection of Genocide literature and memorabilia was on display. Several Ministers, government officials and diplomats were also in attendance. Ends

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France at the forefront of Genocide Negationism