Maurice Makamba
Rwanda , is commemorating the 30th anniversary of the 1994 http://Rwanda: Genocide Archives Released
Over 1 million individuals, primarily from the Tutsi minority group, along with Hutu moderates who sought to shield Tutsis, were tragically killed by Hutu extremists in a 100-day massacre that commenced on April 7, 1994.
“In Rwanda, we were deeply moved by the enormity of our tragedy. The valuable lessons we have acquired are etched in blood,” expressed Kagame in Kigali during a poignant ceremony marking a 100-day massacre that resulted in the deaths of 800,000 individuals, predominantly Tutsis, as well as moderate Hutus.
“It was the international community which failed all of us, whether from contempt or cowardice,” he said, addressing an audience that included several African heads of state and former US president Bill Clinton, who had called the genocide the biggest failure of his administration.
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Following tradition, the ceremonies on April 7, the day when Hutu militias initiated the violence in 1994, commenced with Kagame laying wreaths on mass graves and illuminating a remembrance flame at the Kigali Genocide Memorial, a site where over 250,000 victims are thought to be interred.
Rwandans will organize a march and conduct a candlelit vigil in the capital to honor those who perished in the massacre.
Since then, the small nation has stabilized under the firm leadership of Kagame, who commanded the rebel militia that halted the genocide. However, the lingering scars of the violence continue to impact the Africa’s Great Lakes region, leaving a path of devastation.
The international community’s failure to intervene has been a cause of lingering shame, with African Union chief Moussa Faki Mahamat saying in Kigali that “no one, not even the African Union, can exonerate themselves from their inaction.”
“Let us have the courage to recognise it, and take responsibility for it.”
The United Nations in organizing activities to commemorate the victims , stated, “We will never forget the victims of this genocide,” said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a statement earlier this week. “Nor will we ever forget the bravery and resilience of those who survived.”
Hutu extremists were targeting young men believed to support the mainly Tutsi rebel group, the Rwandan Patriotic Front, led by Paul Kagame, who is now the president of Rwanda.
