Rwandans sue French minister

2008-06-11 07:25

Paris - A group of Rwandans in France has filed suit against French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, accusing him of suggesting all Hutus were to blame for the 1994 genocide, says a judicial source.

The Association of Rwandans in Toulouse, based in the southwestern French city, filed suit against the minister in April for defamation against a group of people based on their ethnic origin.

At stake were remarks Kouchner made on French radio Europe 1 in October last year, in which he said that "majority Hutus killed the minority Tutsis" during the 100-day killing spree.

"By their reductive nature, these statements suggest that all Rwandans of Hutu origin are genocidal murderers or the accomplices of genocidal murderers," said a statement from the International Federation of Rwandan Associations, which backed the lawsuit.

The judicial source said the lawsuit was being examined by the Court of Justice of the Republic, a special court that tried cases concerning serving members of the French government.

The United Nations estimated that some 800 000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were slaughtered by Hutu extremists in Rwanda, between April and July 1994.

- AFP