Letter: Signs of hope in Africa's conflicts

Sir: You may well be correct in suggesting in your leading article 'Peace-making: a task for Africans' (12 May) that Rwanda's problem requires an African remedy. However, Europeans need to remember that this time last year, French troops were fighting alongside President Habyarimana's own forces against the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF). If it is an African problem now, maybe the same should have been appreciated then.

But we could go further. Why is it not a Rwandese problem requiring a Rwandese solution? Asking such a question could well justify the RPF's existence and indicate the possible reason why the 'rebels' are hesitant about another foreign presence in Rwanda.

Europeans certainly need to care but we also need to take care about our advice and involvement lest we add to Rwanda's woes.

Yours faithfully,

HUGH JONES

Bromley,

Kent

12 May