{{Rwandans living in Canada have marked the 19th commemoration of the Genocide against ethnic Tutsi which claimed over a million lives in 1994.}}
The theme of fighting against genocide denial featured prominently as Rwandans in Canada and friends of Rwanda gathered in Toronto Saturday for the commemoration.
Over 500 people from across North America shared survival testimonies and messages of hope and self reliance, scholars and authors emphasized how ‘{Never Again}’ slogan tragically failed the people of Rwanda in 1994 when the entire world turned away.
The event which took place in the city of Toronto, Canada, was organized by the High Commission of Rwanda in partnership with the Rwandan diaspora in Canada.
“What makes it more unspeakable is because this genocide was preventable,” said Irwin Colter, former justice minister and attorney general of Canada. “We knew but did nothing.”
Citing the case of Leon Mugesera, Colter said that genocide did not start with machetes but with words.
Thus the incitement to genocide constitutes a crime in itself and there should be no room for perpetrators, he added.
Colter, who started the infamous trial of Desire Munyaneza the first Rwandan to be tried in Canada for the genocide against Tutsi crimes, said that the cruelty of the genocide denial ism lies in accusing victims of being the perpetrators. This absurd theory should be repudiated, he noted.
Gerry Caplan, Canadian scholar who authored the UN report on Rwanda’s genocide, said that after publishing his report he realized that Rwanda genocide was slipping away from memory.
“Everyone wanted to remember the genocide in Rwanda but many people were talking about things that actually didn’t happen,” he noted, adding that this is akin to the denial of the holocaust.
Caplan added that these genocide deniers take advantage of the Internet to spread their poisonous messages to reach wider audiences.
But, he noted, they all fail to quote any of the genocide perpetrators who pleaded guilty of their crime.
They also fail to quote any of the witnesses who were in Rwanda during the genocide, like general Romeo Dallaire, dr James Orbinski or Carl wilkens.
“But we walk into the 20th anniversary of this genocide, with the country’s reconstruction and recovery that no one in the world thought possible,” he said as he encouraged survivors to keep striving for self reliance.
The commemoration in Toronto was also attended by Rwanda’s High Commissioner to Canada, Edda Mukabagwiza, who encouraged the audience to be inspired by the theme of self reliance.
“Rwanda has shown that brighter future is indeed possible,” she said. “learning the lessons of the Rwandan genocide will help prevent any such atrocities from happening anywhere else.”
Other keynote speakers included Dr. Egide Karuranga, chairman of Rwanda diaspora of Canada, honorary counsel of Rwanda to Toronto, Mr. Bill Deluce and many others.
The commemoration continued into the evening vigil, with survivors sharing stories of their lost ones and lighting candles in their memory.
{L-R: Rupen Janbazian, Bill Deluce, HE. Edda Mukabagwiza, Prof.Gerry Caplan, Hon. Irwin Cotler}
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