Silent Accomplice: The Untold Story Of France's Role In The Rwandan Genocide

SILENT ACCOMPLICE For my Mother and my Father SILENT ACCOMPLICE The Untold Story of France’s Role in the Rwandan Genocide Andrew Wallis Reprinted in 2007 by I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd 6 Salem Road, London W2 4BU 175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010 www.ibtauris.com In the United States of America and Canada distributed by Palgrave Macmillan a division of St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010 First published in 2006 by I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd Copyright © Andrew Wallis The right of Andrew Wallis to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. ISBN 10: 1 84511 247 4 ISBN 13: 978 1 84511 247 9 A full CIP record for this book is available from the British Library A full CIP record for this book is available from the Library of Congress Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: available Printed and bound in The Czech Republic by FINIDR, s.r.o. From camera-ready copy edited and supplied by the author Contents Abbreviations and glossary Preface Map of Rwanda vii x xiv 1. A Policy of Bad Habits 2. Invasion and Intervention 14 3. Civil War and Peace Talks 37 4. Militia, Massacres and Arusha 51 5. Retreat 79 6. Arming the Genocide 102 7 Operation Turquoise 122 8. Bisesero and Withdrawal 146 9. Burying Genocide 180 Conclusion Notes References Index 1 206 217 228 233 Roho z’Intungane Ziri Mu Biganza by ‘Imana, Kandi nta n’igitotezo kizongera kubageraho. Mu Maso y’ibipfamutima bameze nk’abapfuye burundu, barigendeye basa nk’aho bagushije ishyano, bagiye kure byitwa ko barimbutse nyamara bu bibereye mu mahoro. But the souls of the virtuous are in the hands of God. No torment shall ever touch them. In the eyes of the unwise, they did appear to die, Their going looked like a disaster Their leaving us, like annihilation, But they are in peace. Wisdom 3, verses 1–3. (Notice above the door of the Kaduha genocide memorial) Abbreviations and Glossary AEMG AFP Akazu APC bourgmestre CDR CEA CEPGL CIEEMG CNN CRAP DAMI DGSE Autorisations d’exportation de Matériels de Guerre. An export licence the French Ministry of Defence gave for arms shipments Agence France-Presse Literally ‘little house’ or inner circle around Madame Habyarimana, which became a meeting point for Hutu power extremists and the planning group behind the genocide armoured personnel carrier local government leader in charge of a ‘commune’ or district. There were 229 communes Coalition pour la Défense de la République. A fervently anti-Tutsi Hutu extremist party Central and Eastern Africa Communauté économique des Pays des Grands Lacs Commission interministérielle pour l’étude des exportations des matériels de guerre. French commission that gave official sales notice to arms exports Cable News Network. American news channel Commandos de Recherche et d’Action en Profondeur. Elite reconnaissance/special forces unit based within French regiments Détachement d’assistance militaire et d’instruction. French military training and assistance troops based in Rwanda from late 1980s to instruct Habyarimana’s army Direction générale de la Sécurité extérieure. French external secret service comparable to