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Rwandan President Paul Kagame, as Rwandans commemorate 30 years on Sunday after an estimated 800,000 Rwandans were murdered by government-backed extremists, said the international community was responsible for allowing the 1994 genocide to occur. He criticized it as inaction.
Since then, Rwanda has seen a strong recovery and economic growth, but scars remain and there are questions about whether true reconciliation was achieved under the long rule of Kagame, whose rebel movement halted genocide and seized power. remains. Although he has been praised by many for his relative stability, some have criticized him for his intolerance of dissenting opinions.
Kagame led solemn commemorative events in the capital, Kigali. Foreign visitors included a delegation led by U.S. President Bill Clinton at the time of the massacre and Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
The murders began when a plane carrying then Hutu President Juvenal Habyarimana was shot down over Kigali. The Tutsi were accused of shooting down the plane and killing the president. It became the target of a massacre by Hutu extremists that lasted more than 100 days. Some moderate Hutus who tried to protect the Tutsi minority were also killed.
Rwandan authorities have long accused the international community of ignoring warnings about the killings, and some Western leaders have expressed regret.
After leaving office, Clinton cited the Rwandan genocide as a failure of his administration. French President Emmanuel Macron said in a pre-recorded video ahead of Sunday’s ceremony 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 prevent Rwanda’s slide into genocide. .
After lighting a memorial bonfire and placing flowers in Kigali where the remains of 250,000 genocide victims rest, Kagame said in a speech: “Whether out of contempt or cowardice, it is the international community that has betrayed us all.” ” he said.
He also shared the story of his cousin who tried to save his family with the help of United Nations peacekeepers. She didn’t survive.
“We will never forget the horror of those 100 days, the pain and loss suffered by the Rwandan people, or the common humanity that unites us all that hatred can never overcome,” President Joe Biden said in a statement. Ta.
Rwanda’s ethnic composition has remained largely unchanged since 1994, with Hutus making up the majority. Of Rwanda’s population of 14 million, the Tutsi make up 14% and the Twa only 1%. Kagame’s Tutsi-majority government has outlawed all forms of organization along ethnic lines as part of its efforts to build a unified Rwandan identity.
National ID cards no longer identify people by ethnicity, and authorities have imposed tough criminal laws to prosecute suspects who deny genocide or the “ideology” behind it. Some observers say the law is being used to silence critics who question government policy.
Human rights groups have accused Kagame’s soldiers of carrying out the killings during and after the genocide in apparent revenge, but Rwandan authorities see the allegations as an attempt to rewrite history. Kagame had previously said his country’s military had shown restraint in the face of genocide.
Kagame said on Sunday that Rwandans are disgusted with critics who “question and revise” the history of the genocide. “Rwandans will always contest it,” he said, adding that political measures like those currently in place are needed to prevent further genocide.
“Our journey has been long and difficult,” he said. “Rwanda is completely humbled by the magnitude of our losses, and the lessons we have learned are etched in our blood. But our country’s tremendous progress is clear, and it will bring our country back to life.” It is the result of the choices we made together.”
He added: “The basis of everything is unity. That was the first choice – to believe in the idea of a united Rwanda and to live by it.”
A vigil was held late Sunday as part of a week-long memorial service.
Naftar Ashishakye, head of the prominent survivors’ group Ibka, told The Associated Press that keeping the memory of the genocide alive has allowed neighbors to turn on each other and even kill children. He said that it helps to combat the psychology of self-doubt. Thirty years later, mass graves are still being discovered across Rwanda, a reminder of the scale of the killings.
“The time has come to learn what happened, why it happened, and what the consequences of genocide are for us, the survivors of genocide, for our country, and for the international community,” Ashishakye said. .
He said the country has come a long way since the 1990s, when only survivors and government officials attended memorial events. “But today, families of perpetrators are also getting involved.”
Kagame, who grew up as a refugee in neighboring Uganda, is Rwanda’s de facto ruler, first serving as vice president from 1994 to 2000 and then as acting president. He was voted into office in his 2003 year and has been re-elected numerous times since. He is a candidate in the elections scheduled for July and won the last election with almost 99% of the vote.
Rights activists and others say the authoritarian Kagame is creating a climate of fear and preventing open and free discussion of national issues. Critics accuse the government of forcing opponents to flee, imprison or disappear, with some being killed under mysterious circumstances. Kagame’s most serious political rivals are former Tutsi comrades currently living in exile.
Although Rwanda is largely peaceful, it also has troubled relations with neighboring countries.
Tensions with Congo have increased recently, with leaders from both countries accusing each other of supporting armed groups. Relations with Burundi are also strained over allegations that Kigali is supporting rebel groups attacking Burundi. And relations with Uganda have yet to fully normalize after a period of tension stemming from Rwanda’s claims that Uganda was supporting rebels opposed to Kagame.
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