French Secretary of State Charles Josselin is set to make a one-day official visit to Rwanda on Saturday, 15 January, in what would be the first visit of a high-ranking French government official since the 1994 genocide, news organisations reported on Tuesday. Josselin was expected to visit one genocide site and meet Rwandan government officials, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) reported. Observers recalled that France’s ‘Operation Turquoise’ in southwest Rwanda during the 1994 genocide was strongly criticised by the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) for allowing the Interahamwe and ex-FAR to flee into neighbouring the then Zaire. Josselin’s itinerary is also to include visits to Tanzania and Uganda, and discussions with Congolese rebel groups. Josselin’s delegation of eight parliamentarians would Bernard Caseneuve, who chaired the French national assembly’s commission on the Rwandan genocide, DPA reported.
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