UPDATE 2 - France's Macron honors victims of 1994 Rwandan genocide

ADDS MORE REMARKS BY FRENCH, RWANDAN LEADERS ON BILATERAL RELATIONS

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) – France played a role and bears political responsibility for the 1994 Rwandan genocide of ethnic Tutsis, said the French president in the African country on Thursday.

“Standing here today, with humility and respect, by your side, I have come to recognize our responsibilities” in the genocide, said Emmanuel Macron, speaking at a genocide memorial in the Rwandan capital Kigali, the final resting place of over 250,000 genocide victims.

In his speech, Macron asked genocide survivors for forgiveness, but fell short of offering an apology.

He added that France must recognize the suffering inflicted on Rwanda through its silence.

Macron arrived in the East African country Thursday morning, the first French leader to visit Rwanda since then-President Nicolas Sarkozy’s 2010 visit, and admitted to "serious mistakes" and a “form of blindness” on France’s part during the genocide.

Macron, who was received by Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame, said he had visited Rwanda to “recognize our responsibility.”

- History, complicity

Rwanda has long accused France of complicity in the 1994 genocide of Tutsis.

Macron's visit followed the release of two reports this year detailing France’s role in the genocide.

A Rwandan government report released in April said the French government bears significant responsibility for enabling a foreseeable genocide in Rwanda.

“French officials armed, advised, trained, equipped, and protected the Rwandan government, heedless of the [then-President Juvenal] Habyarimana regime’s commitment to the dehumanization and, ultimately, the destruction and death of Tutsi in Rwanda,” the report said.

In March, a French commission appointed by Macron said France was “blind” to the coming genocide and downplayed the country’s role as an accomplice to the genocidal operation.

Regardless, Macron on Thursday again claimed that France “was not complicit” in the genocide.

Speaking later at a joint press conference with Macron, Kagame hailed the French leader’s speech at the memorial site as “more valuable than an apology.”

Ahead of the visit, Macron tweeted: “As I take off for Kigali, I have a deep conviction that over the next few hours we will be writing together a new page of our relationship with Rwanda and Africa.”

In the genocide, between April 7 and July 15, 1994, an estimated one million people, mainly from the Tutsi ethnic community and moderate Hutus, were killed over the span of 100 days.

- Macron moves to mend ties

Macron and Kagame discussed several areas of bilateral cooperation including investment, digitization, climate change, gender equality, and cultural exchange.

The French leader sought to flip the page on a quarter century of tensions between France and Rwanda, announcing at a press conference huge sums of money for several programs in Rwanda.

He announced €500 million ($609 million) for agriculture partnership, health, digital development, and youth empowerment startups.

Macron also announced he had named a new ambassador to Rwanda to cement the bilateral ties after six-year gap and promised France will step up efforts to bring justice to Rwandan genocide fugitives in France.

There are nearly 50 indicted Rwandan fugitives living in France, according to the Rwandan Justice Ministry.

Additionally, Macron announced 100,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine for Rwanda under the global vaccine sharing scheme, COVAX.

Kagame, who described Macron as a friend, said his visit was “fundamentally about the future, not the past.”

France and Rwanda are going to relate much better economically, politically and in terms of culture for the benefit of people of both countries, he said.

“We wish to form a strong and sustainable relationship based on priorities that matter to both Rwanda and France.”

After Rwanda, Macron is due in South Africa, where he will hold talks with President Cyril Ramaphosa about the fight against COVID-19 and its impact on the global economy.