Sarkozy: France erred in Rwandan genocide

KIGALI, Rwanda, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy said France made mistakes in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, but stopped short of apologizing for his country's actions.

Sarkozy, who was not in a key government post, said his country "grossly misjudged" the situation before the slaughter of at least 800,000 people, mainly from Rwandan President Paul Kagame's Tutsi minority, The Daily Telegraph reported Friday.

"What happened here is unacceptable, but what happened here compels the international community, including France, to reflect on the mistakes that stopped it from preventing and halting this abominable crime," Sarkozy said during a joint news conference with Kagame in Kigali, Rwanda's capital. It was the first visit by a French president since the massacre.

Kagame indicated he wanted to resume constructive relations with France after years of strained diplomacy.

"Rwanda and France have had a difficult past," Kagame said. "It is important for the people of France and Rwanda to build a new partnership."

Rwanda broke off relations in late 2006 after a French judge implicated Kagame's entourage in the assassination of former President Juvenal Habyarimana, considered the catalyst for the 1994 genocide. Rwanda later released a report alleging that several dozen senior French political and military figures were complicit in the genocide.