Rwanda Genocide Commemoration: Paul Kagame Leads Somber Events

Somber commemorative events were organized by President Paul Kagame in Kigali, the country’s capital. One delegation of foreign guests was led by Bill Clinton, the American president at the time of the genocide.

TFD – Delve into the solemn commemorative events led by President Paul Kagame in remembrance of the Rwanda genocide. Discover the significance of international guests and the ongoing journey toward reconciliation in Rwanda.

Paul Kagame, the president of Rwanda, said that the international community’s inactivity contributed to the 1994 genocide. On Sunday, the country marked 30 years since an estimated 800,000 people were massacred by extremists backed by the government.

Although Rwanda has recovered well and had economic progress in the years since, there are still wounds and doubts about whether real reconciliation has been attained under the lengthy reign of Kagame, whose rebel movement put an end to the genocide and took control of the country. While some have applauded him for bringing about some stability, others have demonized him for his intolerance of dissent.

In Kigali, the capital, Kagame presided over solemn memorial ceremonies. Israeli President Isaac Herzog and a delegation headed by Bill Clinton, the US president at the time of the massacre, were among the foreign guests.

The massacre began when a Hutu president named Juvénal Habyarimana’s plane was shot down over Kigali. The president was killed in the jet crash, which was attributed to the Tutsis. and were the subject of over 100-day-long killings carried out by Hutu extremists. Additionally, a few moderate Hutus who attempted to save Tutsi minority members were slain.

While some Western politicians have expressed regret, Rwandan authorities have long accused the international community of ignoring warnings about the atrocities.

Following his departure from office, Clinton blamed his administration’s shortcomings on the massacre in Rwanda. Prior to Sunday’s events, French President Emmanuel Macron stated in a prerecorded video that his country and its allies had the opportunity to halt the genocide but lacked the resolve to do so. Macron’s statement was made three years after he admitted that France, Rwanda’s closest European partner in 1994, bore “overwhelming responsibility” for Rwanda’s descent into carnage.

At a memorial site in Kigali that houses the remains of 250,000 victims of the genocide, Kagame lit a torch of remembering and laid a wreath. He then declared, “It was the international community which failed all of us, whether from contempt or cowardice.”

Additionally, he related the tale of a relative whose family he attempted to save with the aid of United Nations forces. She didn’t make it.

U.S. President Joe Biden issued a statement saying, “We will never forget the horrors of those 100 days, the pain and loss suffered by the people of Rwanda, or the shared humanity that connects us all, which hate can never overcome.

Since 1994, Rwanda’s ethnic makeup has mainly remained Hutu-dominated. Of Rwanda’s 14 million people, 14% are Tutsis and 1% are Twa. All ethnic groupings are prohibited by Kagame’s Tutsi-led administration, which aims to create a one Rwandan identity.

Citizens can no longer be identified by their ethnic group on national ID cards, and authorities have implemented a strict penal code to prosecute anyone suspected of downplaying the genocide or the “ideology” that motivated it. According to some observers, the law has been applied to stifle opponents of the government’s agenda.

Rights organizations have claimed that certain deaths during and after the genocide were committed by Kagame’s forces as apparent retaliation; however, Rwandan officials view these claims as an attempt to alter history. In the past, Kagame has claimed that his troops exhibited restraint in the face of genocide.

On Sunday, Kagame stated that those who have “questioned and revised” the genocide’s history have sickened Rwandans. “Rwandans will always challenge it,” he declared, emphasizing the need for political actions like the ones already in place to stop another slaughter.

He remarked, “Our journey has been long and tough.” “The depth of our loss completely humbled Rwanda, and the lessons we learned are indelible in human blood.” However, the enormous progress our nation has made is evident and is the outcome of the decision we made to bring our country back to life.

“Unity is the foundation of everything,” he continued. To live in accordance with the notion of a united Rwanda was the first decision.

Later on Sunday, a night vigil was organized as a part of a week-long commemorative events.

The leader of Ibuka, a well-known group of survivors, Naphtal Ahishakiye, told The Associated Press that preserving the memory of the genocide aids in combating the mindset that permitted neighbors to turn against one another, murdering even small children. Thirty years later, mass graves continue to be found around Rwanda, serving as a constant reminder of the extent of the slaughter.

“We need to understand what transpired, why it occurred, and how genocide affects us as survivors, our nation, and the global community,” Ahishakiye declared.

He said that since the 1990s, when only survivors and government representatives took part in memorial ceremonies, his nation had made great strides. “But now, even the perpetrators’ relatives show up to participate.”

Growing up as a refugee in neighboring Uganda, Kagame has held the position of de facto leader of Rwanda twice: as acting president in 2000 after serving as vice president from 1994 to 2000. After being elected to office in 2003, he has been reelected several times. He was a candidate in the July elections, which he won with about 99% of the vote.

The authoritarian Kagame, according to rights campaigners and others, has fostered a culture of terror that prevents candid and unrestricted debate of domestic matters. Opponents have claimed that the government has driven them from their homes, imprisoned them, or made them vanish, and that some of them have been mysteriously slain. The most significant political adversaries of Kagame are his exiled Tutsi former allies.

Rwanda has generally maintained cordial ties with its neighbors, but there have also been issues.

The governments of the two nations have been accusing each other of sponsoring armed organizations, which has led to a recent escalation in tensions. Additionally, there has been tension with Burundi due to claims that Kigali is supporting a rebel group that is assaulting Burundi. Furthermore, after a period of stress brought on by Rwandan accusations that Uganda was supporting rebels opposed to Kagame, ties with Uganda have not yet returned to normal.