French Senate – Symposium organized by RBF France

This Monday, June 30, 2014 was held in the Senate Chamber Monnerville a symposium entitled “Rwanda: Reflections on the last genocide of the twentieth century.” After the words of welcome by Senator Alain Fauconnier, who sponsored the event word, it was the turn of David KHALFA, President of RBF France, the host association to present day.

First round table moderated by Valérie Hannin gave the floor to historians: Gérard Prunier, author of “Rwanda: Genocide” (1995 and 1997 for the original version for the French version), Jacques SEMELIN, historian and political scientist, author of “Purify and destroy” (2012), Raymond Kevorkian specialist of the Armenian Genocide, co-author, with Yves TERNON of “Memorial of the Armenian Genocide” (2014) and Tal Bruttmann, historian, specialist of the Holocaust whose work focus particularly on the anti-Semitic policies in France during the war and the “final solution” in Europe. Opportunity was given to them to present their own analysis of the three genocides mentioned, the last two speakers having been strongly impressed by their recent trip to Rwanda.

Gérard Prunier, who allowed himself to unfortunate expressions, said France ended up in Rwanda in 1994 “for reasons Franco-French” without knowing anything about the situation. Genocide is situate in the history of colonization: role of Belgium, Monsignor PERRAUDIN. He praised the work of Alison Desforges in the book “None to Tell the Story” which has shown the planning of the genocide. His gaze on genocide today seems biased aversion he felt for power in Kigali and in particular for President Kagame. His 1995 book was nevertheless a reference.

Jacques SEMELIN, as usual, acted teacher, regretting “hyper media coverage of the genocide too often forgotten to place in a context of war. He recalled that genocide is a very specific form of killing and that in any genocide, politics, whose role should be to calm the ardor of supporters of extreme violence, instead becomes an accelerator of this violence. He revealed a hundred American researchers came to ask the President OBAMA to lift the secrecy on the messages exchanged with the Rwanda between the years 1990-1994 he has distinguished the two attitudes of those who want to come to power by force.. destroy to submit to eradicate and destroy this is the second option comes in. genocide, “the other is too.” And to emphasize that in Rwanda there has been only one genocide, a “modern” genocide by the role of Radio Mille Collines , “what the Nazis did not.”

Mr. KEVORKIAN, whose recent trip to Rwanda was a “turning point of (his) life,” recalled after others that genocide is always perpetrated in the context of war. He showed particular commonalities between the Armenian genocide and the genocide of Tutsi.

Tall Bruttmann meanwhile, he also spoke of the “modernity” of the Tutsi genocide and recognized “the uniqueness of the Holocaust“, it was to emphasize immediately that this recognition of the uniqueness does not mean excluding other genocide, particularly the genocide in Rwanda. He insisted that the “final solution” in the Holocaust can not be reduced to the crematoria that were not only centers of killing the “final solution is not that Auschwitz“. He also recalled that the decision to exterminate the Jews was preceded by the removal of Soviet Jewry.

The second roundtable was certainly the most anticipated. If it had the merit of bringing into Bernard Kouchner and François LEOTARD, French Defense Minister in 1994, we must recognize that the debate has not kept its promises, at least for those who waited too. Indeed, Mr. LEOTARD remained “right in his boots.” He recalled that he was “responsible for Operation Turquoise” operation that France should be “proud”. The French army did nothing wrong. He concluded by recommending reading his favorite author, Bernard LUGAN, causing boos in the hall. And add, as to cause: “I can also advise you Pierre PEAN You have your bibliography, I have mine“.

As Bernard Kouchner, he especially emphasized “political mistakes” of the French government in 1994, not to mention his personal experience to save “orphans” and to meet Paul Kagame. But he refused, as he said in Kigali in April to recognize any “complicity” of the French government in 1994. Only complaint he could do to LEOTARD, is to have “missed the genocidal government (Zaire) “decision” hard to swallow “. Real debate, so it could not be any, the two sides did not, ultimately, if different positions. They however agreed to seek together the declassification of documents “secret” about this time, we ask for a long time with organizations like Survival, FIDH, LDH or LICRA.

Also participated in the debate Nicolas POINCARE journalist present in Rwanda during the genocide, who did not fail to put politicians in front of their responsibilities, particularly about the massacres of Bisesero. The debate was moderated by Michael SZAMES, deputy editor of the Senate Public chain.

One can read an interesting article issued in Jeune Afrique with the interview of M. LEOTARD.

The third panel was composed of Michael Prazan, documentarist, Jacky Mamou, former president of Médecins du Monde (1996-2002), Serge Hefez, psychiatrist, Rachel KHAN, actress, author and culture advisor for the President of the Ile-de-France and Sonia ROLLAND Miss France 2000 who is preparing a documentary “Rwanda: chaos miracle” all in Rwanda in April during the stay organized by FBM France. For lack of time, these individuals have not had the opportunity to express themselves truly. Opportunity was given to them, however, to talk about projects that are theirs. We would have liked to know a little more. The France 24 journalist, Pauline Simonet, was the moderator.

PS. This report is only my attempt to keep track of the colloque. I tried to report what seemed essential, but what makes it difficult is how the panels were moderated, the first in particular, as the moderator had decided to often interrupt the stakeholders to ask questions, which did not allow them to build a very constructed presentation (but I might be the only one with this feeling...).