World Failed Rwanda During Genocide – Kagame

Rwanda President Paul Kagame expressed during genocide commemorations that the world had let his country down. The nation honored the victims of the genocide, which took place 30 years ago, where over 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed by ethnic Hutu extremists. Kagame highlighted that the international community’s failure was evident in one of the bloodiest massacres of the 20th century.
The carnage was unleashed on 7 April 1994 and, in keeping with tradition, the ceremonies began on Sunday with Kagame placing wreathes on mass graves and lighting a remembrance flame at the Kigali Genocide Memorial, where more than 250,000 victims are believed to be buried.
During a solemn ceremony to commemorate the 100-day massacre, Kagame said: “Rwanda was completely humbled by the magnitude of our loss. And the lessons we learned are engraved in blood.
“It was the international community which failed all of us, whether from contempt or cowardice,” he said, addressing an audience that included several African heads of state and former US president Bill Clinton, who had called the genocide the biggest failure of his administration.
Rwandans will later hold a candlelight vigil at the 10-seat arena for those killed in the slaughter.
The international community’s failure to intervene has been a cause of lasting shame.
French President Emmanuel Macron, in a prerecorded video ahead of Sunday’s ceremonies, said that France and its Western and African allies “could have stopped” the bloodshed but lacked the will to do so.
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Macron’s declaration came three years after he acknowledged the “overwhelming responsibility” of France – Rwanda’s closest European ally in 1994 – for its refusal to heed warnings of looming massacres, but he stopped short of an official apology.
Week of national mourning in remembrance of Rwanda genocide
Sunday’s events mark the start of a week of national mourning, with Rwanda effectively coming to a standstill and national flags flown at half-mast.
Music will not be allowed in public places or on the radio, while sports events and movies are banned from TV broadcasts, unless connected to what has been dubbed “Kwibuka (Remembrance) 30”.
The United Nations and the African Union will also hold remembrance ceremonies.

- Young Rwandans entrusted with the memory of the genocide
The assassination of Hutu President Juvenal Habyarimana on the night of 6 April, when his plane was shot down over Kigali, triggered the rampage by Hutu extremists and the “Interahamwe” militia.
According to Rwanda, hundreds of genocide suspects remain at large, including in neighbouring nations such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.
Only 28 have been extradited to Rwanda from around the world.
France, one of the top destinations for Rwandans fleeing justice at home, has tried and convicted half a dozen people over their involvement in the killings.
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The French government had been a long-standing backer of Habyarimana’s regime, leading to decades of tensions between the two countries.
