Rwanda Marks 30 years of the Genocide – Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame states “The International community failed all of us”

“The International community failed all of us”- Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame

The world joined Rwanda to mark 30 years since the 1994 genocide that saw about 800,000 people lose their lives. Dignitaries from across the world gathered in Kigali to commemorate the day.

Some dignitaries in attendance were, French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné, former US President Bill Clinton, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa, and Israel’s President Isaac Herzog.

In his address, Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame said that his country was completely humbled by the magnitude of their loss.

On the day, April 7, 1994 (30 years) ago, extremists from the Hutu ethnic group launched a killing spree which saw members from both the Hutu group and the Tutsi minority lose their lives. Following the genocide, the Tutsi group which took over power were alleged to have killed thousands of Hutus.

President Kagame with a group of dignitaries placed wreathes on mass graves at the Kigali Genocide Memorial on Sunday. The president also lit a remembrance flame.

In the President’s words “Many of the countries representing here also sent their sons and daughters to serve as peacekeepers in Rwanda. Those soldiers did not fail Rwanda. It was the international community which failed all of us. Whether from contempt or cowardice. The failure of other nations to intervene has been a cause of lingering shame”, said President Kagame.

He also thanked other African nations such as Uganda, Ethiopia and Tanzania for accepting the Tutsi refugees and for helping to bring an end to the genocide.

Former US President Bill Clinton who was also in attendance, said that the genocide is the biggest failure of his administration.

In a recorded video by French President Emmanuel Macron, he also acknowledged that France and its allies could have put an early end to the genocide but lacked the will to do so. Rwanda accused France of ignoring warning signs and of training militants of who carried out the attacks under former president François Mitterrand, a close ally of the Hutu-led administration.

The genocide started on the night of April 6, 1994 when Hutu President Juvenile Habyarimana was assassinated by a shooting down of his plane while on board. Hutu extremists accused Tutsi RPF rebel group and retaliated with a launch of a campaign of slaughter. Several thousands of Tutsi women were abducted and kept as sex slaves.

After 100 days of violence, the Tutsi RPF rebel militia led by Mr. Paul Kagame overthrew the Hutu extremists to end the genocide.

Several months after the genocide, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda was set up in Tanzania. The move saw several officials in the former regime convicted of the genocide, all of who were Hutus. Community courts in Rwanda known as as Gacaca were also set up to facilitate the prosecution of all the genocide suspects who were awaiting trial.

The week-long mourning period across Rwanda means that music, sports, films etc. will not be broadcasted on radio or on TV. Also, national flags will be hoisted at half-mast.

New mass graves are still being discovered around the country. Till today, hundreds of suspects remain at large in countries such as DR Congo and Uganda.

Since the end of the genocide, President Paul Kagame has been praised for his rapid transformation of Rwanda through pragmatic policies which has boosted rapid economic growth. His critics have however argued that the President only tolerate assents as several opponents of his policies have met unexplained deaths.

The 1994 genocide in Rwanda remains a highly sensitive issue as it has become illegal to talk about ethnicity.

About the Rwandan Genocide

The Rwanda genocide of 1994 was a planned campaign of mass murder in Rwanda that occurred over the course of some 100 days in April–July 1994. The genocide was conceived by extremist elements of Rwanda’s majority Hutu population who planned to kill the minority Tutsi population and anyone who opposed those genocidal intentions. It is estimated that some 200,000 Hutu, spurred on by propaganda from various media outlets, participated in the genocide. More than 800,000 civilians—primarily Tutsi, but also moderate Hutu—were killed during the campaign. As many as 2,000,000 Rwandans fled the country during or immediately after the genocide.

To be continued in the next edition of our weekly Newsletter

Source: www.bbc.com , www.britannica.com