Their reaction came after the Burundi Youth Forum in the Diaspora, Rwanda chapter, visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial.<\/p>\n
The youth leaders explained that the visit aimed at learning from Rwanda\u2019s history, which culminated in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, to ensure such atrocities never happen again either in Rwanda or across the region.<\/p>\n
After learning how the genocide unfolded with neighbors killing neighbors, and Christians murdering fellow worshippers because they were Tutsi \u2014 the Forum\u2019s president, Bizoza Deo, said they are committed to fighting against ethnic division and hatred.<\/p>\n
\u201cLooking at what happened in our country and the Genocide against the Tutsi, we saw that it all begins with ideology. To heal from these problems, we must first cure the minds \u2014 change the dangerous thinking that leads to division and ultimately genocide. That is why we came here to learn more,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He emphasized that the current crisis in eastern DRC proves that genocide ideology is still alive in the region, even 31 years after the Genocide against the Tutsi.<\/p>\n
What he found most troubling, he said, is that some heads of state openly support armed campaigns aimed at killing their own citizens simply because they are Tutsi.<\/p>\n
He stressed that the deployment of Burundian troops alongside the FDLR in eastern DRC is evidence that genocide ideology persists even within Burundi\u2019s top leadership.<\/p>\n
\u201cLooking at what is happening in Congo, you can see that Burundi is actively involved. Sometimes they do not even hide it \u2014 they publicly support killings. The victims are once again targeted because they are Tutsi. The real problem is the ideology of discrimination and division that lives in the minds of leaders. This ideology is also in DRC and Burundi,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
His colleague, Nsabyumuremyi Oscar, said the collaboration between Burundi\u2019s army and the FDLR shows that ethnic discrimination continues to be nurtured in Burundi.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis shows that Burundi is siding with the perpetrators of the Genocide. That is unacceptable because they know exactly where ethnic division leads a country. Aligning with those who practice ethnic hatred is very dangerous and puts our country at risk,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He called for unity, saying that no one chooses their ethnicity, place of birth, or community, and that all citizens should live together peacefully.<\/p>\n
Havyarimana Audace also raised alarm over the spread of genocide ideology in the region.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is deeply frightening. It means genocide ideology is crossing borders. From what we\u2019ve seen here, the Genocide against the Tutsi was planned by governments. Now, Congolese Tutsi are being killed because they are considered Rwandans, which makes it clear that genocide is being carried out there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He added that it is disturbing to see countries like Burundi working with the DRC to exterminate their own citizens under the pretext of fighting the AFC\/M23 movement \u2014 a Congolese coalition that has been demanding an end to discrimination and seeking to restore peace and stability.<\/p>\n
He lamented that Burundi\u2019s army is siding with the FDLR, a group responsible for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, thus helping to spread and implement genocide ideology in eastern DRC.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is most alarming is that those leading this campaign are genocide perpetrators who crossed into Congo with the same ideology and are now spreading it to Congolese Tutsi \u2014 with Burundians helping them. It is shameful and incomprehensible to see Burundi supporting such actions, even to the point of backing another country in killing its own citizens,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The Burundians called on President \u00c9variste Ndayishimiye to change course, prioritize the interests of his nation over personal ambitions, and withdraw Burundian troops from DRC. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Burundians who fled to Rwanda have condemned the collaboration of decision of President \u00c9variste Ndayishimiye with the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi and the FDLR, a terrorist group that played a major role in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. They accuse the partnership of fueling massacres targeting Congolese Tutsi communities in eastern DRC.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":2000093967,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[75],"byline":[170],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-55517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-homenews","byline-igihe"],"bylines":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"contributors":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"featured_image":{"id":2000093967,"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/aba-5.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":0,"height":0,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/aba-5.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/aba-5.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/aba-5.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/aba-5.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/aba-5.jpg","width":0,"height":0}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55517","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/62"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55517"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55517\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000093967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55517"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=55517"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=55517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}