France declassifies 1994 Genocide documents

France has declassified documents in the presidential archives relating to the 1994 Rwandan genocide. The declassification of the documents relating to Rwanda between 1990 and 1995 was decided to mark the anniversary of the massacres.

French President Francois Hollande announced a year ago that “France must provide proof of transparency and facilitate remembrance of this period.” The French presidency specified that the papers, which include documents from diplomatic and military advisers as well as minutes from ministerial and defence meetings, will be available to both researchers and victims’ associations.

Rwandan authorities unanimously welcomed France’s decision. Justice minister Johnston Busingye told Radio France International that with the declassification of the documents “perhaps the goings on at the time will finally be opened up, and it will shed light on the many dark and gray questions still unaddressed”. He however added that “one only hopes that the declassification is total,” giving voice to a wide diffidence in the country. France and Rwanda have been engaged in a long-standing dispute as Rwandan President Paul Kagame’s government accuses Paris of complicity in the genocide, which left hundreds of thousands of dead among the Tutsis and moderate Hutu.

Marking the 21st anniversary of the atrocities, the Rwandan New Times daily published an open letter signed by various top political and social figures, including France’s former Foreign minister Bernard Kouchner, calling on Hollande to “put an end to this silence, and announce with clarity the truth about the genocide.”

The letter indicates the responsibility of “a handful of people, from the right as well as the left, responsible at the highest level of the state apparatus during the second term of François Mitterrand.” “Certain individuals, who led secret politics, continue to play a role on the political stage and are still present in our institutions,” says the letter.

[misna]