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August 2, 2023 French

Interview: Joyce Leader

Card Number 27700

Number
27700
Date
September 30, 2003
Ymd
20030930
Uptitle
Ghosts of Rwanda
Title
Interview: Joyce Leader
Subtitle
She was second-in-command at the U.S. embassy in Kigali. In this interview, she talks about the political background to the genocide and America's effort to support the Arusha peace accord. She also recounts her experience during the first 48 hours of the killing before being evacuated. And she talks about the lessons of Rwanda, in particular, the embassy's failure to see or understand the signs of what was coming. "I think the formation of the militia was something we knew about, but we just never got out and tried to really track it down. We went on what we gathered from other people without any firsthand information. When we would confront people in positions of authority, which we did, they would of course deny that any such militarization was going on." This interview was conducted on Sept. 30, 2003.
Size
189352 bytes
Pages nb.
16
Source
Type
Interview
Language
EN
Abstract
Joyce Leader, deputy chief of mission at the United States Embassy in Kigali, followed the Arusha negotiations between the Rwandan government and the RPF. A neighbor of Agathe Uwilingiyimana, she testifies to what she saw when the Prime minister was murdered on April 7, 1994.