French troops 'raped girls during Rwanda genocide'

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/africa/article2914409.ece

By Steve Bloomfield in Kigali
Published: 31 August 2007

French soldiers stationed in Rwanda during the genocide in 1994 have been accused of "widespread rape" by a Rwandan commission investigating France's role during the conflict.

The commission, which is due to publish its final report in October, will also provide fresh evidence that French soldiers trained the Interahamwe, the extremist Hutu militia responsible for most of the killing, and even provided them with weapons.

The allegations threaten to plunge relations between Rwanda and its former colonial master to a new low. It could also lead to Rwanda seeking reparations from France at the International Court of Justice. "That is something we are considering," said one government official.

France's support for the genocidal Rwandan regime – both before and during the slaughter – has been well documented, but the new report sheds some light on the extent of that backing.

In particular, it provides the first evidence that French soldiers sent to Rwanda during the genocide as part of a UN-mandated force to protect civilians carried out "widespread rape" of genocide survivors. Jean Paul Kimonyo, one of the commissioners, said: "They were asking for Tutsis – not women – Tutsis."

The commission was established by the Rwandan president Paul Kagame in April last year and is headed by a former minister of justice. France has accused the commission of being little more than a kangaroo court and when the seven commissioners visited France earlier this year, French authorities made it clear that they were not welcome.

...K/R

during war, rape is used as a tool to "shame" and "humiliate" their husbands, fathers, and brothers.

As with any type of rape, it is not a sexual act as much as it is an act of brutality and humiliation... an acting out of hostility, rage, and power over the woman being raped or the males to whom she is attached/related.

In many cultures, especially those under Shia law, women who are raped are extected to either commit suicide for shaming their families, or are subject to laws under which, they -- not their rapists -- are given the death penalty.

Just remember, rape is NOT a sexual crime, it is a crime of rage, brutality, power, and aggression. That should explain why it and war go hand-in-hand.

TC

...since it is well known that widespread rape also spreads the genes of the soldiers / rapists, and those born as a result are half breeds with the blood of the conquerors coursing through their veins. For some reason, throughout history, this has been a tactic employed by marauders as they overtake new lands.

TC

genocide?

1991

France continues to send military advisors and arms. The army grows from 5,000 to 28,000.

All under the same leadership.

Don

with it,, but I also know it happens

Tuesday, 24 October 2006
France accused on Rwanda killings

"The BBC's Geoffrey Mutagoma in Kigali says that it is also alleged that French soldiers provided escape routes to militia escaping to the Democratic Republic of Congo after the massacres.

French soldiers were deployed in parts of Rwanda in the final weeks of the genocide under a United Nations mandate known as Operation Turquoise to set up a protected zone.

But Rwanda says the soldiers allowed Hutu extremists to enter Tutsi camps.

"Operation Turquoise was aimed only at protecting genocide perpetrators, because the genocide continued even within the Turquoise zone," Mr Bihozagara said."


October 24, 2006

French Role in Slaughter under Investigation

"The panel will hear testimonies from 25 people, including Rwandans who lived in areas within the French buffer zone -- Operation Turquoise -- during the height of the 1994 genocide and claim to have witnessed French soldiers facilitating the massacre. "This is an important inquiry that should be witnessed by everyone interested in this important episode in history," Mr. Mucyo was quoted by AFP."

" French soldiers were sent to Rwanda under a UN mandate during the height of the killings to secure a humanitarian buffer zone. The New Times in Kigali says some 50,000 people are reported to have been killed after French forces brought Tutsi's out of hiding under the false pretext that they had secured the peace."


May 5, 1998

French official defends France's role in Rwanda


"France has been accused of mounting the operation to protect its old Hutu friends and to protect many involved in the massacres.


Vedrine argued France's policy of seeking a cease-fire, then mounting Operation Turquoise despite a lack of international support, was to maintain stability in French-speaking Africa, where Paris has numerous mutual defense treaties."

Why the probe?
A special National Assembly committee is probing allegations that French forces in Rwanda propped up the Hutu-led government, slowed the advance of rebel Tutsi forces seeking to end the 1994 massacre of moderate Tutsis and Hutus and helped genocide organizers flee Rwanda for safe havens in other countries. The panel also wants to determine who shot down the plane carrying Rwandan Hutu President Juvenal Habyarimana in April 1994 -- the incident that triggered the killings.


April 7, 1998
U.S. denies supplying missiles that killed African leaders


I'm supplying the above link because of other claims regarding France, Rwanda and the plane being shot down.