All flags on Rwandan territory and Rwanda’s missions are flying at half mast since midnight, as the world joins Rwanda for the 30th commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi.
Planned, executed and denied by regimes post independence since 1960s, the Genocide was tried in its ten stages where leaders showed the world all the intentions to leave none to tell the story of the Tutsi, but the international community did nothing to halt it.’
The plans culminated into the massacre of more than one million Tutsi between April-July 1994, becoming the worst tragedy of the 20th century. It involved a ruling party’s militia-Interahamwe, the government defence and security forces and other extremists Hutu.
The country which was reduced to ash, registered some genocide survivors, thanks to the hard work and sacrifice of the Rwanda Patriotic Front(RPF) Inkotanyi who stopped the killings and overthrew the genocidal government on July 4, 1994.
The leader of the genocidal, interim government Jean Kambanda pleaded guilty to the Genocide offences and was sentenced to life imprisonment in September 1998. He is now serving life sentence in Koulikoro Prison, Mali.
Community participatory justice commonly known as Gacaca helped the country to try nearly two million Genocide related cases and to punish perpetrators.
However, the Government of National Unity managed to call upon genocide perpetrators to seek pardon and the Genocide survivors to pardon them for the wrongdoings.
The Government succeeded. Reports of the organs in charge of unity and reconciliation programs show a performance of the program being beyond 90 per cent.
Kwibuka 30 program
This morning, President Paul Kagame will lead guests in wreath-laying at the Kigali Genocide memorial where more than 250,000 Genocide victims lay to rest. They will also light the flame of hope which remains lit for one hundred days that lasted the Genocide.
After this, other activities of the event will proceed at the BK Arena, in the heart of the capital Kigali.
In the afternoon, a Walk to remember will start from Rwanda Parliament in Kimihurura towards BK Arena where a night vigil will take place.
More than ten heads of state and government from the region, and from Europe, America and Asia are among dignitaries who have joined Rwanda for the 30th commemoration.
In January 2018, the United Nations adopted a resolution which made April 7 the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
