He was speaking at the ceremony marking the beginning of the 29th Commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi at Kigali Genocide Memorial.
During the ceremony, the Minister of National Unity and Civic Engagement, Dr. Bizimana Jean Damascene talked about Genocide ideology propagated by the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) on support of Congolese government.
“FDLR is comprised of remnant perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda and others harbouring genocide ideology. The terrorist group has not been decimated because the Congolese government works with it and fuels hatred and killings targeting Congolese from Tutsi ethnicity,” he said.
President Kagame has said that it is impossible to ignore what is happening nearby Rwandan borders, noting that the silence of international community over the situation is alarming.
“We cannot, however, ignore the fact that things like violence and hate speech persist, not so far away from here. Much as it does so, you can also see the same indifference today, as we saw in 1994,” he said.
Kagame further stated that Genocide denial is a dangerous and deliberate attempt to block the truth.
“We must fight revisionist ideologies because they are easily passed on from generation to generation. We must fight denial because that is how history repeats itself,” he noted.
The Head of State also urged Rwandan youth to learn about the country’s past, so that they can lead not only ‘with historical clarity, but also with a sense of responsibility and accountability’.
“That is the essence of Kwibuka Twiyubaka.”
He said that Rwandans will never accept to be divided.
“Rwandans will not accept any attempt to divide us. We had enough of it. More than enough. That will not succeed again, here, ever,” he said.
“This underscores the need to find solutions within ourselves, no matter how unconventional that may be, and remain in charge of our destiny. Do you remember, at the time of need, when we needed every help we could get, and everybody in the world turned their back on us,” added Kagame.
He told Rwandans that they need to develop self-reliance and expressed optimism that it is possible with acquired lessons.
“The message is: you are on your own. So we should learn to be on our own. And I think we have learnt enough. If people help we appreciate. If they don’t, we don’t have to all of us perish just because somebody didn’t show up to help,” noted Kagame.
“Therefore, the most important lesson our country has learnt is to transform challenges into opportunities, and also use so little to do a lot. There is nothing Rwandans cannot overcome, through unity, hard work, and perseverance,” added Kagame.
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