PARIS: France’s highest court ruled Friday that a researcher could be denied access to sensitive archives concerning the 1994 genocide in Rwanda even though they were ostensibly opened to the public in 2015.
Researcher and author Francois Graner, who has written several works on the genocide, cannot see the files because of a law protecting presidential archives for 25 years following the death of a head of state, the constitutional council ruled.
Kigali’s minority Tutsi-led government has accused France, under then President Francois Mitterrand, of supporting the Hutu regime that carried out the bulk of the killings, in which around 800,000 mostly Tutsi people died.
The constitutional council said its ruling applied to the archives of former presidents, prime ministers and ministers. As Mitterrand died in 1996, his archives should become available in 2021.
The court said its ruling was “justified in the general interest” and that it did not undermine freedom of expression, rejecting Graner’s argument that the 25-year rule flouted several constitutional rights.
The French presidency under Francois Hollande announced the declassification of archives on Rwanda for the period 1990-95 on April 7, 2015.
At the time it was considered a strong gesture, coming on the 21st anniversary of the start of the genocide in the former Belgian colony.
The president’s office, saying the move was motivated by a “wish for truth,” opened the files to researchers, victims’ associations and civil society groups.
But when Graner tried to consult Mitterrand’s archives from the time of the genocide he was refused.
“It’s obviously a disappointment,” Graner said of Friday’s ruling. “The motivations of this decision are political.”
Graner plans to take his case to the European Court of Human Rights, “which isn’t encumbered by such political considerations,” he said.
He said the ruling gave the government the right to “opacity” toward its citizens.
The researcher belongs to the human rights association Survie (“Survival”), which has vowed to “shed light on France’s involvement in Rwanda before and during the genocide.”
Survie co-president Fabrice Tarrit slammed Friday’s ruling.
“This unfair decision is a good illustration of the countless political obstacles you face when you try to shed light on the involvement of the French authorities alongside the Rwandan mass killers in 1994,” Tarrit said in a statement.
He said the ruling was designed to “protect a crime of state.”
Ahead of the genocide’s 20th anniversary in 2014, Rwandan President Paul Kagame accused Paris of playing a “direct role” in the assassination of then President Juvenal Habyarimana, which sparked the bloodbath.
The Tutsi leader said France took part in Habyarimana’s “execution.”
In November 2016, Kigali launched an inquiry into the role of 20 French officials in the genocide.
France’s top court bars access to Rwanda genocide files
France’s top court bars access to Rwanda genocide files
Kremlin says Putin is mediating in Iran to normalize situation
- Putin had then been briefed by Pezeshkian in a separate call on what the Kremlin called Tehran’s “sustained efforts” to normalize the situation inside Iran
MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin is mediating in the Iran situation to quickly de-escalate tensions, the Kremlin said on Friday, after the Russian leader spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Moscow has condemned US threats of new military strikes after Iran acted against protests that broke out late last month.
Putin in his call with Netanyahu expressed Russia’s willingness to “continue its mediation efforts and to promote constructive dialogue with the participation of all interested states,” the Kremlin said, adding he had set out his ideas for boosting stability in the Middle East.
No further details were given on Putin’s mediation attempt.
Putin had then been briefed by Pezeshkian in a separate call on what the Kremlin called Tehran’s “sustained efforts” to normalize the situation inside Iran.
“It was noted that Russia and Iran unanimously and consistently support de-escalating
the tensions — both surrounding Iran and in the region as a whole — as soon as possible
and resolving any emerging issues through exclusively political and diplomatic means,” the Kremlin said.
Putin and Pezeshkian had confirmed their commitment to their countries’ strategic partnership and to implementing joint economic projects, the Kremlin added.
Separately, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which includes Russia, China, India, and Iran, among others, said it opposed external interference in Iran and blamed Western sanctions for creating conditions for unrest.
“Unilateral sanctions have had a significant negative impact on the economic stability of the state, led to a deterioration in people’s living conditions, and objectively limited the ability of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to implement measures to ensure the country’s socio-economic development,” the SCO said in a statement.
Protests erupted on Dec. 28 over soaring inflation in Iran, whose economy has been crippled by sanctions.
Asked what support Russia could provide to Iran, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “Russia is already providing assistance not only to Iran but also to the entire region, and to the cause of regional stability and peace. This is partly thanks to the president’s efforts to help de-escalate tensions.”
The US Treasury on Thursday announced new sanctions targeting Iranian officials, including Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme Council for National Security.
