Date
Friday April 8, 1994
Titre
To the Secretary general, Geneva. Subject: Rwanda
Tres
Un avion français a atterri à Kigali dans la soirée du 8 avril 1994.
Cote
1050 ; Case No: ICTR-98-41-T Exhibit No: DNT 249 Date admitted: 25-5-2006 Tendered by: Defence Name of witness:
Résumé
A French plane landed in Kigali on the evening of April 8, 1994.
Commentaire
This cable from Kofi Annan to Boutros Boutros-Ghali confirms that a French plane landed in Kigali before April 8 at 10:15 p.m. New York time, so 3:15 p.m. in Kigali. José de Pinho, in charge of training the CRAPs in the para-commando battalion of Kanombe, reports in Comprendre le génocide rwandais that two French military planes landed: - one on the afternoon of the 7th, bringing 20 CRAP from the 1st RPIMa "to secure the Embassy" (pp. 88-90, 100); - the other on the evening of the 8th between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. He immediately took off again to the amazement of Aloys Ntabakuze, commander of the paras-commando battalion, who had been called by the commander of Saint-Quentin to have the runway cleared (pp. 96-97). It would therefore be this plane which is reported by the UNAMIR to the UN. Kofi Annan notes that Mérimée, the French ambassador, is not informed and continues to tell the Security Council that we must not intervene. No Belgian document to our knowledge indicates this landing. It is related to the intention expressed by Colonel Didier Tauzin to jump on Kigali from April 7 and take command of the FAR (Rwanda. Je demande justice pour la France et ses soldats , pp. 90-92). According to him, this project would have been thwarted by the government. Not completely according to the testimony of Warrant Officer Pinho, which this UN document confirms.
Citation
1. President of the Council was informed at about 10:15 pm of report from UNAMIR on landing of french aircraft, reported in separate cable to you. It appears that Amb. Mérimée was not informed, since he this evening had proposed that the council take no action for another 24 hours in order to give UNAMIR more time for its efforts to secure a cease-fire.
