Home page
France Génocide Tutsi France Génocide Tutsi
Last update :
August 2, 2023 French

Jean Carbonare témoigne de l'ampleur des massacres organisés au Rwanda

Card Number 20351

Number
20351
Author
Masure, Bruno
Date
28 janvier 1993
Ymd
19930128
Uptitle
Journal de 20 heures
Title
Jean Carbonare témoigne de l'ampleur des massacres organisés au Rwanda
Subtitle
Bruno Masure reçoit Jean Carbonare, président de l'association "Survie", ayant passé 32 ans en Afrique sur des projets de développement rural. De retour d'une mission au Rwanda, organisée par la Fédération internationale des droits de l'Homme, il témoigne de l'ampleur des massacres organisés au Rwanda.
Source
Public records
INA
Type
Émission télévisée (vidéo)
Language
FR
Abstract
- The African continent more than ever torn apart by civil wars in Angola where the blue helmets must withdraw hastily. But also in Rwanda where ethnic clashes are particularly cruel. Clashes between rival tribes have claimed at least 80 lives in just one week.
- Here is the proof of the ethnic and political purification erected in principle by the power of Rwanda. A power monopolized by the Hutu ethnic group, the majority in the country, to the detriment of the Tutsi ethnic group, a minority and promised to genocide. Men, women, children, same fate.
- Here, in the village of Mutura, the members of the international commission of inquiry into human rights violations discover the intertwined bodies of a dozen civilians. A local police officer draws up a report with a calmness that speaks volumes about the paralysis of the judicial system in Rwanda. The executioners here live in impunity: they are recruited from the army or the militia of the President's party. And who knows if they don't attend, with a smirk, the discovery of the mass graves.
- Further east, in the village of Kinigi, we are digging into the property of the mayor. The bones rise to the surface and the mayor displays a falsely incredulous attitude: it happened at his house, he knows nothing, suspects nothing. Just as the Rwandan President, whose portrait colors the walls of the country and with whom France does not have a bad relationship, probably knows nothing. Thus, several hundred French soldiers seconded to Rwanda ensure a semblance of calm while in far away, in the poorly kept secret of the mountains, we purify.
- Testimony of Jean Carbonare: "What struck us a lot in Rwanda was the extent of these violations, the systematization, the very organization of these massacres. Because we spoke of 'ethnic clashes' but in reality, it is about much more than ethnic clashes. It is an organized policy, which we have unfortunately been able to verify. Because in several corners of the country, at the same time, incidents are breaking out and that does not It's not fortuitous, it's not free. We feel that behind all this, there is a mechanism that is set in motion. And we have spoken of 'ethnic cleansing', 'genocide', 'crimes against humanity' in the pre-report that our committee drew up. And we insist a lot on these words. […] Two things struck me: first, the involvement of power. Up to what level? for the moment. But all the members of the mission were convinced that up to a high level in power, there is a responsibility is very big. What I would also like to add is that our country, which supports this system militarily and financially, has a responsibility. And we were eight nationalities represented in our commission. I was the most uncomfortable rep. Because I realized that our country can, if it wants to, influence this situation. And so I would cite a few details that are shocking to show us our responsibility in this situation. We saw hundreds of witnesses and pits like the ones you saw, there are practically in almost every village. And a woman came to testify and told us: 'I had four sons. And to put them in safety, my husband went to entrust three of them one evening to a military truck which was rounding up. And in reality, these three sons have disappeared. And I had a fourth son left. The next morning, I went to see the bourgmestre. And the bourgmestre told me that this son was going to stay there. And I never saw him again. He was taken a few days later by soldiers into the forest. And I never saw my four sons again'. And it was this woman who told us about the grave where her children were buried in the house of the bourgmestre. What we also discovered, and it is in the image of Yugoslavia: all the women of the Tutsi minority see their husbands, their brothers, their fathers killed. They are then like abandoned animals, raped, mistreated. And a priest said to me in a refugee camp for displaced people, where there were 350,000 refugees: 'You cannot know the suffering of these populations. It goes way beyond what you can imagine'. And I insist a lot: we are responsible. You too Mr Masure, you can do something. You have to do something to change this situation. Because we can change it if we want. We found women who have been holed up deep in the forest for weeks with their children. We have to do something for them. And our government, by influencing the authorities of the country, which they assist militarily and financially, can very quickly do a lot. Ourselves and also training our partners from the European Commission and from the Western world".