Paul Kagame allies ‘did not shoot down plane’ that sparked Rwanda genocide

“Today’s findings constitute vindication for Rwanda’s long-held position
on the circumstances surrounding events of April 1994”, said Rwanda
Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo in a statement.

“With this scientific truth, Judges Trévidic and Poux have slammed shut
the door on the seventeen-year campaign to deny the genocide or blame its
victims.

“It is now clear to all that the downing of the plane was a coup d’état
carried by extremist Hutu elements and their advisers who controlled Kanombe
Barracks.”

However, Jean-Yves Dupeux, a lawyer for Habyarimana’s children, said the
findings did not support the Rwandan government’s account.

“The findings cannot point the finger at the Hutu camp,” he said. “What
the experts are saying is that the shots could not have been fired from Paul
Kagame’s camp. That doesn’t mean it is the other side.”

An investigation by the Rwandan government in January 2010 blamed extremists
within Habyarimana’s inner circle for downing the plane, saying the murder
was designed to scuttle a planned power-sharing deal and act as a pretext
for the genocide.

According to the Rwandan inquiry set up by Kagame – known as the Mutsinzi
report – Rwanda Armed Forces (FAR) troops stationed in the Kanombe barracks
near the airport fired the surface-to-air rockets, the culmination of months
of planning.

French Judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere’s 2006 report said Mr Kagame was
responsible, arranging for the plane to be shot down to trigger reprisal
killings between ethnic Tutsi and Hutu and give his RPF rebels and allies
grounds to take power by force.

Paris began to normalise its relations with Rwanda after President Nicolas
Sarkozy came to power in 2007.

In February 2010 the French president on a trip to Kigali said Paris had made
serious errors of judgment over the massacre and wanted to ensure all those
responsible for the slaughter were caught and punished.

On Kagame’s first state visit to France since the genocide in September he
emphasised his trip was aimed at building economic and commercial ties,
appearing to accept that an apology from Paris was no longer a prerequisite
for restoring diplomatic ties.

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