Charles Auguste Onana (born 18 February 1964)[1] is a French-Cameroonian political scientist, investigative journalist, essayist, and publisher. In December 2024, he was convicted of genocide denial.
Education
A graduate of Sorbonne University,[2] Onana obtained a Ph.D. in political science in 2017 from Jean Moulin University Lyon 3, with a doctoral thesis entitled Rwanda : l'opération Turquoise et la controverse médiatique (1994–2014) (trans: "Rwanda: Opération Turquoise and the Media Controversy (1994–2014).[3]
In 2004, journalist Christophe Ayad published an article in the French daily Libération, in which he called Onana and the French-Canadian journalist Robin Philpot, who were invited to participate in an international conference on Rwanda at Sorbonne University, "denialists". The authors subsequently filed a defamation suit against Libération.[7]
In 2005, Onana led a conference entitled "Silence on an attack: the scandal of the Rwandan genocide". He proceeded to investigate the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and published a book on the topic the same year, containing information he supposedly obtained from the international jurist Carla Del Ponte.[8][9]
Onana's 2009 essay "Ces tueurs tutsi au cœur de la tragédie congolaise" (trans. "These Tutsi killers at the heart of the Congolese tragedy") was cited by French historian of genocide Hélène Dumas in an article in which she notes Onana's racist accusations about Tutsi women[10] and his validation of a supposed "plan for the conquest of the Great Lakes of Africa", a false narrative circulating since 1962.[11]
In 2019, Onana published the book Rwanda, la vérité sur l'opération Turquoise (trans. "Rwanda, the truth about Operation Turquoise), in which he declared that "the conspiracy theory of a Hutu regime planning a 'genocide' in Rwanda constitutes one of the biggest scams of the 20th century".[12] In an article for the Fondation Jean-Jaurès think tank, academic Serge Dupuis calls the book an "investigation conducted exclusively to exonerate", very poorly supported by sources, and whose objective is "the pillorying of the RPF" (Rwandan Patriotic Front).[13]
At an international conference held at the French Senate on 9 March 2020 on "60 years of instability in the Great Lakes region of Africa", Onana denounced the French-led 1994 Opération Turquoise and called out the crimes committed by the RPF during and after the genocide, as well as the inertia of the United Nations following the RPF's refusal of any humanitarian intervention in Rwanda.[14][15]
On 4 October 2024, Onana filed a complaint against the current Rwandan head of state, Paul Kagame, with the Paris public prosecutor, following "public threats" made against him.[20]
On 9 December 2024, Onana and his publishing director, Damien Serieyx, were found guilty by a Paris court of denying and downplaying the Rwandan genocide.[21][22]
Other activities
Onana is the manager of Éditions Duboiris, the publishing house that has issued most of his books.[23]
None of his books have been translated into English.[31]
Recognition
In 2018, Onana was awarded the Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza Democracy and Peace Prize (together with Canadian radio broadcaster Phil Taylor) by the International Women's Network for Democracy and Peace in Belgium for his work on "the reconciliation of people through dialogue, respect for the human person, and social justice in the African Great Lakes region".[31]
Publications
Bokassa : ascension et chute d'un empereur (1921–1996) : une enquête qui dévoile la face cachée du pouvoir sous Giscard et Mitterrand, Éditions Duboiris (1998) ISBN978-2-9513159-0-7
Les Secrets du génocide rwandais : enquête sur les mystères d'un président with Déo Mushayidi, Duboiris (2002)[5]
Enquêtes interdites, Duboiris, 2002
La France et ses tirailleurs. Enquête sur les combattants de la République, Duboiris (2003) ISBN978-2951315945
Les secrets de la justice internationale : enquêtes truquées sur le génocide rwandais foreword by Pierre Péan, Duboiris (2005) ISBN978-2951315983
^Dumas, Hélène (2010). "Banalisation, révision et négation : la « réécriture » de l'histoire du génocide des Tutsi". Esprit. May (5): 85–102. doi:10.3917/espri.1005.0085. Retrieved 1 October 2024. L'inexorable enchaînement» de l'histoire s'appuie également sur une explication cachée, secrète, cryptique. La théorie du complot tutsi mondial n'est pas nouvelle. On en trouve des récurrences dans la propagande extrémiste. Mais là encore, la vulgate raciste n'a rien perdu de sa vigueur. Ainsi, en 2009, Charles Onana rend compte de la guerre au Congo en exhibant un « Plan de conquête de l'Afrique des Grands lacs ». Les menées conquérantes des Tutsi ne datent pas d'hier puisque le fameux plan aurait été défini en 1962 à Nyamitaba au Zaïre. C'est le journal Kangura qui nous offre la meilleure mise en contexte de ce « document ». Il vise à réveiller la vigilance des Bahutu en leur montrant la ruse et la perfidie caractéristiques des Batutsi qui, nantis de leurs femmes et de leur argent, travaillent à imposer leur suprématie sur l'Afrique des Grands lacs. (Trans.: The "inexorable chain" of history also relies on a hidden, secret, cryptic explanation. The theory of the global Tutsi conspiracy is not new. It is found in extremist propaganda. But here again, the racist vulgate has lost none of its vigor. Thus, in 2009, Charles Onana reported on the war in Congo by exhibiting a "Plan for the conquest of the Great Lakes of Africa". The Tutsi's conquests are not new since the famous plan was supposedly defined in 1962 in Nyamitaba in Zaire. It is the newspaper Kangura that offers us the best contextualization of this "document". It aims to awaken the vigilance of the Hutu by showing them the cunning and perfidy characteristic of the Tutsi who, equipped with their women and their money, work to impose their supremacy on the African Great Lakes.
^Chrétien, Jean-Pierre (2005). "Dix ans après le génocide des Tutsis au Rwanda". Le Temps des médias. 5 (2): 59. doi:10.3917/tdm.005.0059. Retrieved 15 October 2024. Jean-Pierre Chrétien indique en 2005 que "Les « éditions Duboiris » où Charles Onana a publié ses ouvrages et ceux des auteurs qui lui sont proches sur le Rwanda et le Congo, sont en fait une SARL monopersonnelle de M. Onana lui-même" et mentionne "Le caractère plutôt confidentiel de cette maison, non répertoriée dans les listings professionnels habituels, ni même dans l'annuaire" (Trans.: "Jean-Pierre Chrétien indicated in 2005 that "Éditions Duboiris", where Charles Onana published his works and those of authors close to him on Rwanda and the Congo, are in fact a single-person Private limited company of Mr. Onana himself" and mentioned "The rather confidential nature of this house, not listed in the usual professional listings, nor even in the directory"
^Charles Onana, La France et ses tirailleurs. Enquête sur les combattants de la République, Paris, Éditions Duboiris, 2003; and Noirs Blancs Beurs Libérateurs de la France. Les visages de la France Libre, foreword by Richard Bohringer, Paris, Éditions Duboiris, 2005
^René Maran – le premier Goncourt noir (1887–1960) [René Maran – The first black Goncourt (1887–1960)] (in French). ASIN2916872019.
^"C'était Joséphine Baker" [It was Josephine Baker]. jeuneafrique.com (in French). 29 May 2006. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
^Les voyous de l'Arche de Zoé – enquêtes sur un kidnapping d'enfants [The Thugs of Zoe's Ark – Investigations into a Child Kidnapping] (in French). ASIN2916872078.
^Côte d'Ivoire, le coup d'État [Ivory Coast, the coup d'état] (in French). ASIN2916872175.
^Palestine, le malaise français [Palestine, the French malaise] (in French). ASIN2916872264.
