French inquiry a “partisan whitewash”

Rwanda has described the conclusions of a French parliamentary inquiry into the 1994 genocide as a “partisan whitewash”. Rwandan radio broadcast a statement from the president’s office which said the parlimentary commission was set up to “absolve France of any role in the genocide”. France played a “key role” in the genocide and participated in the “disinformation campaign” which misled the international community, the statement said. Later, France set up the “Zone Turquoise” in southwest Rwanda with the aim of reorganising the ex-FAR and Interahamwe militia, according to the statement. It added that France had “systematically undermined efforts to address the course and the aftermath of the genocide in Rwanda”.