Rwanda: Looking Towards Westminster

News out of Rwanda of two interesting political developments.

First, the country has restored diplomatic ties with France. Relations frayed in 2006 when a French judge cited President Paul Kagame and other high ranking officials for being complicit in the assassination of former President Juvenal Habyarimana. As France retains a strong presence in Africa this is an important relationship. Economically, it may be useful for Rwanda to build on its own francophone tradition (at least since post-WW1) and try to provide services for the French market.

Second, in a move that may be irritating to the French, Rwanda joined the Commonwealth -- a group of former British colonies. With this addition, the Commonwealth now has 54 member states. Though many people in Rwanda speak French, Kagame is an Anglophone and has, over the past 15 years, moved the country away from reliance on France. This successful bid adds to the re-orientation of national priorities. Rwanda was not a shoe-in for the Commonwealth: there was concern over the country's human rights record. Here's another story talking about what these developments might mean: "the day the tiny central African nation came out of the diplomatic wilderness."

Btw, Gerard Prunier, author of Africa's World War and The Rwandan Crisis: History of a Genocide has an interesting interpretation of French responses to Mr. Kagame's pro-British stance in the latter book.

- Karol