Genocide of the Tutsi: what France could have avoided
On the occasion of the meeting around "Rwanda on the eve of the genocide of the Tutsi: the general who said no to Mitterrand", the journalist Laurent Larcher answered some of our questions
Why a book on General Varret?
The story of this high-ranking officer in the French army tells the story of a generation of men. A generation marked by the Second World War, by the trauma of defeat, by the end of the French colonial empire (Algeria, Indochina), the end of its "greatness".
This book recalls that Jean Varret was the only one of his generation to have understood what the Rwandan regime told him it wanted to do. He tried to warn his superiors so that France would change its policy in Rwanda.
Why is General Varret an exception?
General Varret received a Catholic education. He studied at the military high school, a training that involves a certain narrow-mindedness, conditioning, a difficulty in thinking about others, an education devoid of ethics. However, he also worked alongside disciplines and professors (notably by studying psychology at the Sorbonne) who were able to open his mind, teach him to think for himself, and open it up to diversity.
Why publish such a book nearly 30 years after the genocide?
For several years, General Varret has been driven by a sincere desire to alert and transmit his story, this story to the younger generations.
This book is intended for men and women who are preparing to become an officer but also for all those who are about to take on responsibilities or who are already responsible. This book invites them especially not to abandon ethics, an indispensable tool for clarifying their actions and decisions.
Without ethical baggage, we are heading for disaster as evidenced by the tragic involvement of France in Rwanda.
What is the role of this book?
Raise awareness of the role of France in the process that led to the genocide of the Tutsi: the French authorities, in full knowledge of the facts, continued to support the Rwandan regime. For the second time in its history, France is associated with a genocide.
Show that one must never give up on ethics in decision-making, show what happens when we avoid ethical questions in our decisions.
