It is hard to follow every world news issue but there are some that I keep up with. In the mid 90's one of the most grotesque massacres of our times of over 800,000 men, women and children took place in Rwanda, Africa. The degree of human brutality that was exercised during this period of genocide is riveting for even the most war-hardened heart. The Hutu militia had a shortage of resources for equipment such as ammunition so they used machetes to slay Tutsi families in the street. They didn't even limit their angst to the Tutsi social class, but any of their own class who were even considered sympathetic to the Tutsi were similarly bled.

The UN troops who were stationed there were limited in their ability to help due to lack of support or public sympathy for the situation. The politicians simply wouldn't send them sufficient money and manpower so they could only set up refugee camps for the fortunate citizens who could escape the capitol of Kigali.

The French troops who were also stationed in Rwanda were also criticized for not helping the cause. Up until today I considered this a poignant example of what Srila Prabhupada described as "violence by negligence". This news, released today, reports that the French may not have been as uninvolved as previously believed.

"French forces directly assassinated Tutsis and Hutus accused of hiding Tutsis… French forces committed several rapes on Tutsi survivors," said a justice ministry statement released after the report was presented in Kigali.

The entire article is here. I think this is significant because, if true, it could mandate a significant shift in the way that the French government is appraised.