Operation Turquoise
Just as Canadian General Dallaire had his troop strength reduced to 260 men by Resolution 912, the magnitude of the genocide was becoming clear. For reference, try to imagine 10,000 murdered every day, 400 every hour, 7 every minute for 100 days. Still Dallaire and his troops were credited with saving at least 32,000 lives when he refused a direct order to leave Rwanda. His book, "Shake Hands With the Devil," is emotionally draining and long reading, but it tells the story in an unforgettable manner.
Foreign Policy Magazine termed Resolution 912 "The Genocide Rescue Brigade That Never Was."
As noted here:
In April 1994, as Rwandan extremists unleashed the largest mass killing operation in modern history, the Security Council reached agreement on Resolution 912, which called for the reduction in the size of an already under-equipped U.N. peacekeeping force. In a compromise, the United States allowed the resolution to include a provision that stated the council's willingness to consider any recommendations by then Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali concerning the size and the mandate of the mission. Eight days later, Boutros-Ghali appealed to the council to reverse its decision, saying the U.N. mandate was insufficient to confront mass killings. But the United States blocked any decision by the council to expand the mission.
In June, France's number one at the UN, Jean-Bernard Merimee, sent a letter to the Security Council suggesting that France and Senegal send in a military force to combat the "ongoing disaster" in Rwanda. He cited the slow implementation of Security Council Resolutions 918 and 925 that called for expansion of the just-gutted UNAMIR forces. France was requesting an interim intervention force, eventually to be known as Operation Turquoise.
But was France and its number one, Merimee, and number two, Ladsous, acting for purely humanitarian reasons? Recall that the Kigali airport was being used as a hub for French arms dealers supplying Iran. Investigations into the United Nations scandal "oil for Food," link Merimee, to "commercial contact" with the regime of Saddam Hussein at this time.
There is no doubt that France was the main ally of the Habyarimana government until July 1994.
As noted here by the investigation by Human Rights Watch, "Rearming with Impunity: International Support for the Perpetrators of the Rwandan Genocide:"
It (France) sent in 300 troops to support the government after the invasion by the RPF in October 1990 - a force later reduced to 170 soldiers - and provided military training to the FAR (Rwandan Army). In early 1993, after a new offensive by the RPF, France increased its military presence in Rwanda to 680 troops, ostensibly to "protect French citizens and other foreigners," although French troops were seen assisting the FAR in combat against the RPF. Even after the departure of French uniformed soldiers with the arrival of U.N. forces in December 1993 (under the Arusha Accords), France continued to provide training to the militias. After the start of the genocide on April 6, 1994, France dispatched 460 troops to evacuate its citizens, but failed to take action against its allies (Rwandan government) who had launched a genocidal rampage against the Tutsi population.
So, what was the truth behind Operation Turquoise?
Part II: "Fear Not. The French Army Watches Over Your Safety"
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