Rwanda High Commission Marks 24th Commemoration Of 1994 Genocide Against Tutsi

Rwanda High Commission to Ghana as part of its country’s 24th commemoration of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda will be observed under the multiyear theme “Remember- Unite- Renew”.

According to Rwanda High Commission, Rwandans from all spheres of society, joined by the International Community will mobile to honour the over one million lives lost during the genocide.

Address the media, the chairman of the Rwanda Community Mr. Catete Bernardin outlined that there will be commemorative activities at the community level during the Mourning Week, reflecting on the proposed theme and renewal of the firm resolve to stand against genocide and its ideology.

He added that the Mourning Week will be concluded by a ceremony to pay tribute to the politicians killed for standing against the commission of the genocide; thus, observance of commemorative events will go on during the 100 days of the remembrance period, building on the significant strides made in national unity and socio economic development.

In their dialect #Kwibuka24 will take place following the adoption, on 26 January 2018, of a decision by the United Nations General Assembly, to designate 7th April as the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi, in amendment of Resolution 58/234 in its title and operative, which were source of ambiguity and provided room for tactics for genocide denial and revisionism.

“Any reference should now onwards strictly comply with the appellation in the decision: the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. #Kwibika24 affords an opportunity for reiterating a vivid appeal to the International Community concerning suspect genocide perpetrators still at large in different countries around the world, which have shown little or no preoccupation in bringing them to justice or extradition them to Rwanda to be tried”.

He therefore extended appreciation to those governments that have made a commendable effort to ensure that the genocide perpetrators are brought to justice.

Guest speaker at the 24th Commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, Dr. Vladimir Antwi-Danso commended Rwandan President Paul Kagame for transforming the society so that people don’t even think about going into conflict anymore.

The Senior Researcher at the Legon Centre for International Affairs and Diplomacy (LECIAD) added that there has been conflict transformation in Rwanda where the President has made the Rwandans forget their past and the newer generation does not remember the past at all.

“Paul Kagame has done well by transforming the society so that people don’t even think about going into conflict anymore....the thing that bring conflict has been eliminated through development and the processes of looking at Institutions and the Constitution as the biggest arbiters for any misunderstanding. So people are now Rwandees and their relationships are determined by who they are and where they belong”, he explained.

Dr. Antwi-Danso however urged Ghanaians to learn from the Rwandans how rapidly they made people forget their past; thus, Rwanda has been able to cross the bridge after the genocide to make their people understand the need to move forward and understand each other.