Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch represented King Mohammed VI on Sunday in Kigali to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame kicked off the week of national mourning by laying a wreath at the Gisozi memorial in Kigali, where the bodies of more than 250,000 victims of the genocide rest, during a ceremony attended by several heads of state and government and representatives of international and regional organizations.
After a minute of silence for the victims, Kagame announced a 100-day national mourning by lighting the “Flame of Remembrance,” which will burn for 100 days, the period of the genocide in the country between April 7 and July 15, 1994.
“The commemoration of this tragic anniversary is an occasion to remember our victims but also to celebrate what Rwanda has become today, thanks to the choices we made together to achieve reconciliation and advance our nation,” the Rwandan president said in a speech during the ceremony.
“Rwandans who managed to conquer fear cannot face worse than what they already experienced during this tragedy,” Kagame added, emphasizing that this nation is ready to face any challenge or attempt to set it back and divide Rwandans.
On this occasion, the Rwandan President expressed his gratitude to the members of the delegations that came to express their solidarity with Rwanda on this painful anniversary.
In 1994, Rwanda witnessed a large-scale genocide in which Hutu extremists and the Interahamwe militia launched a horrific killing spree that left more than 800,000 people dead, mostly minority Tutsis and moderate Hutus.
The massacres ended in July of the same year when the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a rebel movement led by Kagame, entered Rwanda and took control of the country.
Today, Rwanda is a successful African model of stability, development, governance and growth thanks to the policies it has pursued over three decades.
add your comment
Terms of publication : Not to offend the writer, people, sacred things, or attack religions or the divine self, and refrain from racist incitement and insults.