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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Rwanda resisting 'bully' France | Rwanda resisting 'bully' France |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Rwandan President Paul Kagame has accused France of "bullying" his country after a French judge issued arrest warrants for his top aides. | Rwandan President Paul Kagame has accused France of "bullying" his country after a French judge issued arrest warrants for his top aides. |
| Mr Kagame told the BBC his decision to break diplomatic ties were to show Rwanda would not be intimidated. | Mr Kagame told the BBC his decision to break diplomatic ties were to show Rwanda would not be intimidated. |
| The arrest warrants were for the 1994 assassination of Rwanda's former president, which sparked genocide. | The arrest warrants were for the 1994 assassination of Rwanda's former president, which sparked genocide. |
| Mr Kagame said the judge should instead investigate France's role in the killing of some 800,000 people. | Mr Kagame said the judge should instead investigate France's role in the killing of some 800,000 people. |
| "We have to stand up to this bullying that has been going on for a long time by the French against Rwanda," Mr Kagame told the BBC's Network Africa programme at the start of a four-day trip to the UK. | |
| "Nobody has a right to fabricate stories and incriminate people," he said. | "Nobody has a right to fabricate stories and incriminate people," he said. |
| If there is a judge, a credible judge... [he] should be asking the role of the French in the genocide Paul Kagame Profile: Paul Kagame French institutions, including schools, were closed and Radio France Internationale (RFI) was taken off the air in the country. | If there is a judge, a credible judge... [he] should be asking the role of the French in the genocide Paul Kagame Profile: Paul Kagame French institutions, including schools, were closed and Radio France Internationale (RFI) was taken off the air in the country. |
| French investigating judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere last month said Mr Kagame should stand trial at the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda on charges of shooting down the plane carrying President Juvenal Habyarimana. | French investigating judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere last month said Mr Kagame should stand trial at the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda on charges of shooting down the plane carrying President Juvenal Habyarimana. |
| Genocide plans | Genocide plans |
| Under French law, Mr Kagame has immunity from prosecution as head of state, so Judge Bruguiere only issued arrest warrants for nine of his top aides - including armed forces chief James Kabarebe and army chief-of-staff Charles Kayonga. | Under French law, Mr Kagame has immunity from prosecution as head of state, so Judge Bruguiere only issued arrest warrants for nine of his top aides - including armed forces chief James Kabarebe and army chief-of-staff Charles Kayonga. |
| French legal authorities are investigating Habyarimana's death because his aircraft had a French crew. | French legal authorities are investigating Habyarimana's death because his aircraft had a French crew. |
| The judge said that only Mr Kagame's then rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) had missiles capable of shooting down the plane. | The judge said that only Mr Kagame's then rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) had missiles capable of shooting down the plane. |
| Mr Kagame has denied this. | Mr Kagame has denied this. |
| Shortly after Habyarimana's death, Hutu extremists started killing ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus, accusing the largely Tutsi-dominated RPF of the assassination. | Shortly after Habyarimana's death, Hutu extremists started killing ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus, accusing the largely Tutsi-dominated RPF of the assassination. |
| The RPF has always said the Hutu extremists killed Habyarimana to provide a pretext to start the long-planned genocide. | The RPF has always said the Hutu extremists killed Habyarimana to provide a pretext to start the long-planned genocide. |
| The killings ended 100 days later when the RPF took power. | The killings ended 100 days later when the RPF took power. |
| Mr Kagame has always accused France of backing the Hutu extremists, known as the Interahamwe. | Mr Kagame has always accused France of backing the Hutu extremists, known as the Interahamwe. |
| "If there is a judge, a credible judge... [he] should be asking the role of the French in the genocide," he said. | "If there is a judge, a credible judge... [he] should be asking the role of the French in the genocide," he said. |