Rwandans file lawsuit over French complicity in genocide
 

Rwanda lawsuit for French troops
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4272437.stm

Six Rwandan citizens have filed a lawsuit in France accusing French soldiers of complicity in genocide.

The Paris army tribunal - the only court that can try French troops for crimes committed abroad - will decide whether to take up the complaint.

The suit was filed against unnamed defendants by lawyers of the six, who survived the 1994 massacres.

Some 800,000 people, mostly Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus, died during the Rwandan genocide.

According to the plaintiffs - five men and one woman - French troops allowed Rwandan troops and Hutu extremists to enter camps where Tutsis had sought refuge.

UN-mandated French troops had been deployed to south-western Rwanda to create safe havens for minority Tutsis.

"From our point of view, these facts can be seen as complicity genocide as there was an actual participation by French troops in operations against a specific ethnic group," said lawyer Antoine Comte.

Mr Comte said witnesses had reported seeing French troops putting Tutsis in helicopters and throwing them out.

France, which supported Rwanda's former Hutu-led government, denies any responsibility.

Its been a bad decade for the French in terms of international popularity.

From what i understand its not uncommon for PEacekeepers to allow the subject populations to be masacred . . . why should the Frnech be punished for it?

Because you can't hold the Belgians accountable... the soldiers involved in guarding a "safe zone" were all captured and tortured to death in front of the Canadian commander of the mission...

On another note I looked through the accounts of the French actions in the Genocide... umm... and the only references I found were to the French Foreign Legion going out on revenge missions against Hutus after they came upon a church "killing ground"... and yes there was mention of Hutu's being dropped from a helicopter - in the words of the French commander "do onto others as you yourself would have done onto you"; so the armed Hutu's were killed in the same manner as their victims...

The Canadian peacekeepers in the area tried to intervene but were outgunned - out numbered - and their vehicles had no fuel left... all a unfortunate result of the ceasation of fuel and ammo supplies from the UN because Delaire proposed the use of force to stop the genocide...

Frankly I do hope this goes to court and gets media attention, because then the deplorable actions of others may be exposed.

They were more involved than that. France was selling arms to the Rwandan army at the time of the genocide, and they were able to exercise enormous influence over the government. While they may not be charged with being complicitly involved with the genocide, they absolutely were.

Really I'd like you to explain this line of reasoning... because the French "puppet" if you will was the guy who's death touched off the whole thing... because without something more substantial the same could be said of Russia, Belgium, or the US - all sold arms to the military, and all had influence with the government before the genocide...

I take it that you still haven't seen Hotel Rwanda. Get back to me when you have.

Nah, coop's big into defending even the most deplorable of French actions, so I'd imagine he'll either a.) block out the parts that matter or b.) figure it to be a 'sensational Hollywood reinterpretation' or somesuch revisionism

Actually I've seen the movie as well as the other two covering Rwanda - Last Just Man and Shake Hands With The Devil (which won at Sundance).

I just can't stand the current conservative 'blame France' agenda or crusade... so I try to educate people or at least provide the 'devil's advocate' perspective...

Right now if we are going to blame the French for the military aid to Rwanda... you better check nail the other two major contributers:
France - 6.0 Million USD between '91-'94
South Africa - 5.9 Million USD between '91-'94
United States - 3.0 Million USD between '91-'94
All supplied arms and advisors to the Rwandan government to help defeat the rebel faction (Tutsi's) during this time...

Or perhaps we should take action against the Canadian General at the UN who failed to listen to Dellaire and pass this on to the council?

Or perhaps we should condemn whomever pushed through Resolution 912 in the Security Council revoking the peacekeepers military role and support?

But hey the NPR wouldn't want either because then France isn't the 'bad guy' anymore...

This was my whole point, man - I get everything else you said, and it's all true and important, but you seem to direct your vitriol more toward American conservativism, even when perhaps there's some blame to be directed elsewhere. Sometimes it's over the top, to where "devil's advocate" can't even begin to describe it - and really, it's sort of disrespectful and disingenuous. We're all relatively intelligent here, even (especially?) the "conservatives" that you so vehemently disagree with (here's a hint: neither Russ nor myself voted for Bush . . . or Kerry), so feel free to present the other side as just that, instead of making implications and thinly veiled jabs.