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Excuses but no Sarkozy apology for Rwanda genocide

26 February 2010 03:00 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. French President Nicolas Sarkozy acknowledged that France made mistakes during the 1994 genocide, paid homage to the victims but stopped short of apologising during his landmark visit to Kigali Thursday, APA reports citing AFP.

"What happened here is unacceptable, but what happened here compels the international community, including France, to reflect on the mistakes that stopped it from preventing and halting this abominable crime," he said.

Marking the first visit to Rwanda by a French president since the 1994 massacres, Sarkozy spoke at a joint press conference with Rwandan President Paul Kagame, who has repeatedly accused Paris of aiding the genocide.

The French president, who did not occupy a key post at the time, admitted that his country had "grossly misjudged" the situation that led up to the killing of at least 800,000 people, mainly from Kagame’s Tutsi minority.

He said that France, which wielded great influence in pre-genocide Rwanda, and the rest of the world were "blinded" when they "failed to see the genocidal dimension of the government" that orchestrated the killing.

Kagame appeared to accept France’s position as a sufficient basis on which to resume constructive relations.

"Rwanda and France have had a difficult past... It is important for the people of France and Rwanda to build a new partnership... We refuse to be hostages of the past," he said.

Kagame, who last year made his country join the Commonwealth, also announced he would attend the France-Africa summit due to take place in May in the southern French city of Nice. Related article: Kagame to attend Nice summit.

The Rwanda president, who speaks very little French, even introduced his counterpart to the press conference with a few words of welcome in Sarkozy’s native tongue.
The highlight of Sarkozy’s hours-long trip to Rwanda was his visit of the main genocide memorial in the capital Kigali.

"In the name of the people of France, I pay my respects to the victims of the genocide against the Tutsis," he wrote in the visitors book.

"It’s not a case of forgetting the past but rather of looking towards the future," is what one official in Paris described as the key message.