The publication of the journalist Judi Rever’s book, In Praise of Blood, on the crimes committed by the Rwandan Patriotic Front’s armed rebellion has rekindled discussion over the existence of a “double genocide”, one committed against the Tutsis under the orders of Rwanda’s interim government which took power in April 1994 following the assassination of President Habyarimana, and the other against the Hutus by the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) which seized power in July 1994. There is little or no controversy about the reality of the genocide of the Tutsis in the world of Rwandan studies, but the claim that the Hutus were in turn victims of genocide sparks reactions as violent as they are confused. The cause of this confusion can be found in the different definitions of a term used in at least three fields: history, law and politics.

Rony Brauman has just published “Guerres humanitaires ? Mensonges et intox”. This book, a collection of interviews co-authored with Régis Meyran, explores a number of recent armed interventions that have all shared the goal of saving lives. Reviewing conflicts in Somalia, Libya, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq, Brauman discusses the reasons advanced for justifying these wars and the accompanying lies.

Interviewé dans la matinale de LCI, Michaël Neuman revient sur la situation des migrants en France, particulièrement à Calais et à Paris. Il revient également sur le projet de loi sur l'asile et l'immigration, à l'occasion du déplacement d'Emmanuel Macron à Calais. 

Abstaining from participation in a meeting taking place this coming Thursday, MSF feels that "government officials have listened politely at best and shown condescension and contempt at worst in response to positions expressed in meetings, op-ed pieces published in the press and questions asked in meetings by NGOs" and do not hide "a policy that is sliding into harsh repression".

Michaël Neuman intervient dans un reportage de LCP pour expliquer le refus de la part de Médecins Sans Frontières de participer à une deuxième « consultation des associations sur le projet de loi sur l’asile et l’immigration ».

Aux côtés de Roland Ries, maire PS de Strasbourg, Laetitia Avia, députée de Paris, et Julie Pietri, reporter, Michaël Neuman intervient dans l'émission le téléphone sonne sur France Inter à propos du projet de loi asile-immigration du gouvernement. 

How much is known about the daily experiences of humanitarian workers in extreme situations such as major conflict or disaster? In their new book, “Humanitarian Aid, Genocide and Mass Killings: Médecins sans frontières, the Rwandan experience, 1982-97”, Marc Le Pape and Jean-Hervé Bradol set out to answer some of these questions. The book is also informed by Bradol’s experience of working for Médecins Sans Frontières in Rwanda during the genocide. 

Rony Brauman est l'invité de France 24 dans le cadre d'un reportage sur des exactions extrajudiciaires commises par les forces de l'ordre et dénoncées dans un rapport de l'ONG Human Rights Watch, publié en juillet 2017.

This op-ed article was published on 27 October 2017 in the French weekly Marianne. He writes it in the backdrop of a controversy around a "Que Sais-Je" book on Rwanda published by the Belgian researcher, Filip Reyntjens and the accusations against him that he rewrites history and seeks to minor the genocide of the Tutsis in 1994.

How can anyone write about Rwanda without being called a denialist? Marc Le Pape tries to craft an answer in this article, published on the website The Conversation on 19 October 2017.  

A selection of books chosen by members of Crash. Happy summer and happy reading !

In this post, published in Border Criminologies, Michaël Neuman and Corinne Torre speak out against the inhuman conditions imposed on migrants and refugees in Calais by the French state. This piece was originally published in French in Le Monde.