The French opened a Pandora’s box by their complicity in the 1994 Rwandan Genocide

You may already be asking yourself what opening Pandora’s Box mean. Pandora was one of literature’s first conniving beauties. Pandora is considered the world’s first woman. She was created in retribution for Prometheus’ crime of stealing fire from the gods. Pandora was built to deceive. She bewitched and married a gullible man who was the brother to Prometheus. Beside showering her with irresistible charm and beauty, the gods had given Pandora a box (or a jar in some versions of the story) and instructed her not to open it. Eventually, her curiosity got the better of her, and she opened the container, unleashing all manner of evil and misery on the world. To open a Pandora’s box therefore, means to unwittingly unleash chaos on yourself and those around you. The French supported a despotic regime for centuries until they were deceived by the very regime, that they could silently kill a sect of Rwandans until it is finished. They therefore took things for granted and promised to offer its servant all the necessary assistance. They created a strong relationship between the French military and the armed forces of the Rwandan government. It is with the help of the French army and government that the pro-government Interahamwe militias and the Rwandan army officials were able to organise the massacres perpetrated against the Tutsi civilian population and moderate Hutu. The French’s complicity was further manifested when they supported the Rwandan government then in the allegedly humanitarian mission, known as Operation Turquoise. They quickly despatched troops to Rwanda to protect the Interahamwe and possibly help them fight back to Kigali. They never managed to do so, but guided them to a safe haven in the Congo-Kinshasa. And this was humiliation number two for the French. The French government and its media brushed off the Rwandan Genocide as a mere conflict that was a product of an age-old cultural antagonism between Hutu and Tutsi. Yet they knew that ethnic conflict was an ideological construct, which was meant to serve the political ends of the then regime. They thought that their wrongs and criminal acts, could not be unearthed. But they were completely disillusioned as the cold massacres of Tutsi grew out of proportion. It is my profound conviction that the truth about genocide cannot be entirely hidden. The phenomenon of genocide is too grave a matter and it appeals to the conscience of humanity as a whole. There are those who think that the consequences of their political turpitude will never be known, because they played themselves out in the black hole that is Africa: the heart of darkness, as Joseph Conrad put it. The French therefore were not happy when the massacres of Tutsi in Rwanda were qualified to be called genocide. It is again due to the fear of this shame, that they risked sending their super soldiers with super weapons, to the front line to repulse the RPA. But it never worked as you cannot fight a people’s army, a liberating force. After all this, the French gave up and started working with the deposed regime in western countries. They gave them hospitality and never bothered bringing them before justice in Arusha or take them to their own courts. Up to now France hosts the highest numbers of category one genocide suspects that went scott free. No wonder Rwanda had to break off diplomatic ties with France after one judge shamelessly accused the heroes of Rwanda of various crimes. This irresponsible act caught the France unawares and its cabinet had to call an ad hoc closed-door meeting. They had realised that they ‘opened the pandora’s box’ when they joined the 1994 genocide. It was a shame to all of them, and if I can read between the lines of many French men who are not part and parcel of their government’s politics and policies in Rwanda, they live to regret and have failed to reverse the trend. However, I am here to console them, by reminding them that since their leadership has promised to re-think its policies in Africa, they will be safe from further humiliations. Contact: mugitoni@yahoo.com

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The French opened a Pandora’s box by their complicity in the 1994 Rwandan Genocide