France to declassify Rwanda genocide documents

France is expected to make public about 8 000 archive documents, including some that were previously classified, with immediate effect. Last Wednesday marked the start of the 27th commemoration of the 1994 Rwanda genocide against the Tutsi. The New Times reports that the archives were examined by a commission of experts led by historian Vincent Duclert who was tasked with analysing the role and engagement of France from 1990 to 1994. The commission was formed by French President Emmanuel Macron in April 2019 and it submitted its report late last month. It found France had an ‘overwhelming responsibility’ for the genocide. It revealed how then-President Francois Mitterrand and the small group of diplomats and military officials surrounding him shared views inherited from colonial times, including the desire to maintain influence over a French-speaking country. Naphtal Ahishakiye, executive secretary of Ibuka – the umbrella organisation for survivors – said the declassifying ‘shows solidarity of people around the world in revealing the truth about the genocide’.

Full report in The New Times

An international tribunal for Rwanda has turned down a request for the early release of Theoneste Bagosora, a suspected mastermind behind the 1994 genocide. Justice Carmel Agius denied the application, saying ‘the extremely high gravity of Bagosora's crimes weighs very heavily against his early release’. AFP notes that Agius heads up the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals, which oversees the completion of work by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), that wound up at the end of 2015. Radio France Internationale reports that the Maltese judge said he considered Bagosora's failure to demonstrate rehabilitation as counting against his early release. Bagosora, a former choirboy, was sentenced to life in prison for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes by the ICTR in 2008, but had his sentence reduced to 35 years on appeal three years later. During his appeal, it was argued that Bagosora did not order the killings, but as a top military official he knew the crimes were going to happen and did not try to stop them.

Full Radio France Internationale report