Rwanda Genocide: Kagame Criticizes International Community’s Role

In Kigali, the capital, Kagame presided over solemn remembrance ceremonies. One delegation of foreign guests was led by Bill Clinton, the American president at the time of the genocide. President Pau of Rwanda

TFD – Delve into Kagame’s critique of the international community’s response to the Rwanda genocide and the ongoing journey of reconciliation. Join us at TheFoxDaily as we reflect on the impact of historical events and efforts towards healing and unity.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame blamed the inaction of the international community for allowing the 1994 genocide to happen as Rwandans on Sunday commemorated 30 years since an estimated 800,000 people were killed by government-backed extremists.

Rwanda has shown strong recovery and economic growth in the years since, but scars remain and there are questions about whether genuine reconciliation has been achieved under the long rule of Kagame, whose rebel movement stopped the genocide and seized power. He has been praised by many for bringing relative stability but vilified by others for his intolerance of dissent.

In Kigali, the capital, Kagame presided over solemn memorial ceremonies. Foreign visitors included a delegation led by Bill Clinton, the U.S. president during the genocide, and Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

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 became targets in massacres led by Hutu extremists that lasted over 100 days. Some moderate Hutus who tried to protect members of the Tutsi minority were also killed.

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. French President Emmanuel Macron, in a prerecorded video ahead of Sunday’s ceremonies, said that France and its allies could have stopped the genocide but lacked the will to do so. Macron’s declaration came three years after he acknowledged the “overwhelming responsibility” of France — Rwanda’s closest European ally in 1994 — for failing to stop Rwanda’s slide into the slaughter.

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.

Kagame said Sunday that Rwandans are disgusted by critics who have “questioned and revised” the history of the genocide. “Rwandans will always challenge it,” he said, adding that preventing another genocide requires political measures such as those now in place.

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.” But the tremendous progress of our country is plain to see and it is the result of the choice we made together to resurrect our nation

“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. A candidate for elections set for July, he won the last election with nearly 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.