Shake Hands with the Devil - Roméo Dallaire - Part 9 of 10

2020 Reading Challenge - Day 199

July 19, 2020

Book 55 - Shake Hands with the Devil
Roméo Dallaire
 Part 9 - pages 412-448 (e-book)
Reading Time - 60 minutes

There was a tonne of information in this chapter as events sped up exponentially. When I saw the title of this chapter in the Table of Contents, I thought the Turquoise referred to the blue berets that the UN troops wore. Nope... it was Operation Turquoise by the French.

Chapter 14 - The Turquoise Invasion

France suggested that they lead a coalition force to stop the genocide and deliver humanitarian aid. Given that they had long been supporters of the RGF and that many extremist leaders had fled to France... Dallaire was less than enthused with the idea. But he wasn't really consulted.  High level talks had happened, unbeknownst to Dallaire and the French were not going to reinforce his mission but rather set up a Chapter 7 mission in the rapidly shrinking RGF-held territory.

When French media announced France's plan to deploy troops, the RGF and militia were overjoyed at the thought that the French were coming to save them. This gave them carte blanche to finish their gruesome work. Which did not just include massacres. At one point, Dallaire admits that he had been desperately trying not to see the obvious signs of whole-scale rape and sexual mutilation of girls and women.

As for the RPF, they would now have to distinguish between UN troops (the French) who were essentially supporting the RGF and UN troops who were desperately trying to stay neutral (Dallaire's mission). The RPF actually suggested that Dallaire's mission should be withdrawn but the UN completely ignored that request.

Reinforcements for Dallaire's UN mission would take two or three months to arrive but slowly some began to show up. His mission was a pittance compared with the well-equipped French forces in Operation Turquoise. As his reinforcements came in, Dallaire planned to put them along Operation Turquoise zone as a relief-in-place. He didn't expect French to last long as thousands of Rwandas fled to French area.

It's pretty clear to me that when Western powers meddle in other countries, things don't go well... from colonial days to the present. We might go in with the best of intentions but... ultimately, things will go sideways and it's usually the locals who pay the highest price.