France supports prosecution of genocide suspects

The French government has said it supports efforts to bring to justice all those suspected of genocide and crimes against humanity in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide. “All of those who have been accused of genocide must be brought to justice. There should be no exception to this principle,” French foreign minister Hubert Vedrine said on Monday during his meeting with Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame. “France was overcome by a wave of horror and compassion in the aftermath of the genocide. We know that today the task is to build a modern Rwanda,” a statement from Kagame’s press office quoted him as saying.

“The French people are willing to assist the people of Rwanda in doing that,” he added. “Our talks today have been frank, open, honest and confident. We are talking about what we can usefully undertake with Rwanda for the future,” he said. Kagame, for his part, renewed Rwanda’s commitment to the Lusaka agreement and highlighted some of the challenges preventing the full implementation of the accord. Vedrine said that the “problems being encountered were very real and serious as demonstrated by recent events”.

He was referring to the country’s border security. “We know that the Lusaka accord can only succeed if all of the actors agree to implement them fully and at the same time. President Kagame expressed to me Rwanda’s commitment to implement the accord.”