France will unlock a sum estimated at 400 million euros in favor of Rwanda for the period between 2024 and 2028. Paris and Kigali signed an agreement on Saturday, April 6, through the Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Vincent Biruta, and his French counterpart, Stéphane Séjourné. This amount is perceived as "compensation" from France to Rwanda for not having prevented the Rwandan genocide.

Therefore, Crispin Kashale recalls that the Turquoise Operation of 1994 had opened a corridor for Rwandans – refugees and genocidal forces – to enter the Democratic Republic of Congo en masse. This military operation, organized in the wake of the genocide by France and authorized by UN Security Council Resolution 929 of June 22, 1994, continues to intrigue about its real motives. Its action continues to produce metastases in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo with series of massacres.

"Who paid the expenses of Operation Turquoise? And I think it is simply regrettable that the Congolese population lacks someone who will show the real consequences of this operation in DRC," said Crispin Kashale. Especially since this operation destroyed the Congo (formerly Zaire), not only in its eastern part but also in the center.

"Dumping the entire Rwandan population on Congolese soil, simply because France provided an exit opportunity for Rwandans. France must pay the consequences in DRC," he insisted. For him, the country should have an authority that knows how to plead the causes of the DRC. "If we had leaders who have the capacity to understand, to plead the cause of the DRC, I think the world would make a Marshall Plan for the overall reconstruction of the DRC," he believes. Regarding the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, he remembers a "Mashi" adage which says in French: "if you ignore yourself, nobody will give you value." A way for him to appeal to the conscience of Congolese who must honor their own dead.

"We will not forget that there have been massacres and women buried alive in Kasika; we have not forgotten what happened in Kaniola, in Makobola, or then in Tingitingi and even in the West, in Mbandaka. We have seen in the film [made by] Thierry Michel," he added.

Crispin Kashale wonders when the Congolese Parliament will convene a special session solely to reflect on the Congolese dead in the East and West of the country in the context of these decades of violence in Congo or on the various massacres. According to him, everything should start with a collective conscience, remembering the dark dates of these massacres and creating a museum to honor their memory. And it is at that time that France will also pay the price of this Operation Turquoise, this expert in transitional justice believes. He finally called for the implementation of the transitional justice process so desired by Dr. Denis Mukwege, Nobel Peace Prize 2018. According to him, this will allow "mourning the Congolese dead," "healing the wounds, and seeking peace."

Dido Nsapu