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12 Years on, Blame for Rwanda Genocide Divided
By Foreign News Desk, Istanbul
Published: Friday, April 07, 2006
zaman.com
On the 12th anniversary of the Rwanda genocide, it is still being discussed who the responsible party for the killings is and "to what degree."
Although it is known that the Rwandan Hutu militias conducted the genocide, Western countries such as France, Belgium and the United States are seen as indirectly responsible for the genocide.
France armed the Hutu militias, termed "genocider" (inspired from legionary), even after the mass killings started in order to preserve a Francophone generation.
Lt. Gen. Roméo Dallaire, head of the UN peacekeeping force in Rwanda (UNAMIR), warned "genocide is under way," and the US Ambassador to the UN Madeleine Albright (later Secretary of State) joked: "The global 9-1-1 was always either busy or nobody was there."
It was also recorded that Rep. Patricia Schroeder of Colorado said, "There are some environmental groups terribly concerned about the gorillas," on 30 April 1994 as the death toll approached half a million.
Victims' lawyer: Belgium is responsible, too
The role of Belgium, a colonial power before Rwanda's independence, in the genocide has been a matter of discussion for years.
Eminent Belgian lawyer Luc Walleyn representing Rwandan genocide victims, is among those who acknowledge Belgium's "indirect responsibility" in the genocide.
Walleyn, a former president of the organization Avocats sans Frontieres (Lawyers without Borders), holds Belgium responsible for immediately withdrawing from the country after its 10 soldiers were killed, and institutionalizing the ethnic discrimination as a colonial power.
Walleyn, serving as the lawyer of the Sabra and Shatilla Massacre, noted those primarily responsible for the genocide are the Hutu militias who conducted the massacres. "Belgium used the murder of its 10 soldiers as a reason and left Rwanda by evacuating its troops and Westerners despite the pleas of local people. It is also evident that during its colonial rule, Belgium made an ethnic discrimination between the Hutus and the Tutsis, institutionalizing this discrimination and paving the way for genocide."
Walleyn holds the entire international community responsible for the genocide and notes the Belgian authorities apologized for the issue.
By Foreign News Desk, Istanbul
Published: Friday, April 07, 2006
zaman.com
On the 12th anniversary of the Rwanda genocide, it is still being discussed who the responsible party for the killings is and "to what degree."
Although it is known that the Rwandan Hutu militias conducted the genocide, Western countries such as France, Belgium and the United States are seen as indirectly responsible for the genocide.
France armed the Hutu militias, termed "genocider" (inspired from legionary), even after the mass killings started in order to preserve a Francophone generation.
Lt. Gen. Roméo Dallaire, head of the UN peacekeeping force in Rwanda (UNAMIR), warned "genocide is under way," and the US Ambassador to the UN Madeleine Albright (later Secretary of State) joked: "The global 9-1-1 was always either busy or nobody was there."
It was also recorded that Rep. Patricia Schroeder of Colorado said, "There are some environmental groups terribly concerned about the gorillas," on 30 April 1994 as the death toll approached half a million.
Victims' lawyer: Belgium is responsible, too
The role of Belgium, a colonial power before Rwanda's independence, in the genocide has been a matter of discussion for years.
Eminent Belgian lawyer Luc Walleyn representing Rwandan genocide victims, is among those who acknowledge Belgium's "indirect responsibility" in the genocide.
Walleyn, a former president of the organization Avocats sans Frontieres (Lawyers without Borders), holds Belgium responsible for immediately withdrawing from the country after its 10 soldiers were killed, and institutionalizing the ethnic discrimination as a colonial power.
Walleyn, serving as the lawyer of the Sabra and Shatilla Massacre, noted those primarily responsible for the genocide are the Hutu militias who conducted the massacres. "Belgium used the murder of its 10 soldiers as a reason and left Rwanda by evacuating its troops and Westerners despite the pleas of local people. It is also evident that during its colonial rule, Belgium made an ethnic discrimination between the Hutus and the Tutsis, institutionalizing this discrimination and paving the way for genocide."
Walleyn holds the entire international community responsible for the genocide and notes the Belgian authorities apologized for the issue.
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