admin
Flora Fadzai Sibanda, Chronicle Reporter
ZIMBABWE will join the rest of the world in commemorating the 29th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide which occurred between 7 April and 15 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War.
During that period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed Hutu militias The commemoration will be held at the Embassy of Rwanda in Harare, running under the theme Remember-Unite-Renew.
In a statement, the Rwanda Embassy in Zimbabwe said during the Genocide against the Tutsi in 1994, over one million men, women and children were killed in cold blood.
The mass killings were stopped by forces from the Rwanda Patriotic Front who defeated the genocidal regime.
The United Nations recognises the 7th of April as the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
“On this International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, we mourn the more than 1 million children, women, and men who perished in 100 days of horror 29 years ago,” UN Secretary-General Mr António Guterres said in his message for the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Rwanda Genocide.
The UN Secretary-General added: “A generation since the genocide, we must never forget what happened — and ensure future generations always remember. How easily hate speech — a key indicator of the risk of genocide — turns to hate crime. How complacency in the face of atrocity is complicity.”
Mr Guterres said preventing genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and other serious violations of international law is a shared responsibility.
“It is a core duty of every member of the United Nations. Together, let us stand firm against rising intolerance. Let us be ever vigilant — and always ready to act. And let us truly honour the memory of all Rwandans who perished by building a future of dignity, security, justice, and human rights for all,” he said
The AU said this annual commemoration of the Rwanda genocide aims to awaken greater awareness of the African peoples and the international community about the value of life and humanity and to renew collective commitment to protect and uphold fundamental human rights.
“The objectives include to remember the atrocities brought by the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda; unite together in our fight against the crime of genocide, genocide ideology a well as genocide denial, to collectively commit to justice and the fight against impunity; and to renew the commitment to fight against genocide, hate speech, and other crimes against humanity,” read the statement.
In Zimbabwe, the commemoration will be held at the Embassy of Rwanda in Harare on 14 April. Rwanda President Paul Kagame will preside over the main commemoration to be held in the capital, Kigali. – @flora_sibanda
Online Reporter
Sidumisile Mabena