Mr. Vinay Kumar, Joint Secretary for Eastern and Southern Africa, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India
H.E. Mrs. Jennet Zewide, Ambassador of Ethiopia and Acting Dean of the African Diplomatic Group
H.E. Archibishop Msg. Salvatore PENNACCHIO, Apostolic Nuncio
Mr. Rajiv Chandran, United Nations Information Centre for India and Bhutan
Excellencies Ambassadors and High Commissioners
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to thank the United Nations Information Center for India and Bhutan for being an invaluable partner and for co-hosting this and other genocide commemoration activities over the next couple of months.
Your Excellencies,
Allow me to invoke this famous statement and poem attributed to Pastor Martin Niemoller, a German Pastor and Theologian:
“First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out – Because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out, because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out, because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me, and there was no one to speak for me.”
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We all have a responsibility to speak out in the face of genocide, anti-Semitism, bigotry, hatred, racism, intolerance or discrimination. These crimes know no boundary.
After the Jewish holocaust, the world committed that “Never Again” would such heinous and brutal tragedy befall human kind.
That pledge was never honored. That is partly why we have gathered here today.
Twenty years this year, Rwanda went through the worst horror of the modern human history. While the world looked on, over one million innocent, unarmed, ordinary children, women, men, disabled, young and old Rwandan Tutsi were massacred in the most brutal and inhumane way.
The genocide against the Tutsi which started on April 7th 1994 was the fastest, most vicious and brutal mass massacre in the known history of mankind. It is estimated that 10,000 people were massacred every day, with 20 people killed per minute. In just 100 days, over one million people perished. This is inconceivable. The entire fabric of the Rwanda society was destroyed. The negative legacy and devastation of the genocide on the Rwandan people and the region has been devastating.
The “crime” of those killed was only because they had been born Tutsi, a matter on which they had no choice. Nobody has a say about which tribe, ethnic group, region or religion they will be born into, and it is not a crime to be who one is created to be.
Your Excellencies,
We gather today to remember and pay homage to the victims of this carnage and ruthless atrocity. We are here also to pledge solidarity and to strengthen the survivors of the genocide against the Tutsi.
Elie Wiesel, Author, Noble Laureate and one of the most prominent survivors of the Jewish Holocaust made a powerful statement in reflection to his own brutal experience and suffering during the holocaust. His words imbue a heavy responsibility on all of us “For the dead and the living, we must bear witness”.
This act of remembrance and reflection is one way for us to bear witness. In a small, but meaningful way, we honor the dead and console and strengthen the living.
Remembering is very vital. Elie Wiesel further emphasizes this in these words “without memory there is no culture, without memory there would be no civilization, no society, no future”.
For Rwanda, this Kwibuka20 (20th Commemoration of the genocide against the Tutsi) is very significant. We will observe 100 days of remembrance, reflection and soul searching on what went wrong in our society that led to the genocide. What were the consequences and how can we build a shared, prosperous and stable future for all Rwandans today and for future generations. Commemoration activities were launched in Kigali on 7th January and have continued in different countries in all parts of the world.
This launch today in New Delhi, will see the lighting of a torch of hope that will move across India and return to New Delhi on April 7th for the main genocide commemoration. This will coincide with the main 20th Commemoration observation in Kigali and the rest of the world.
The theme for this year’s genocide commemoration: Remember, Unite, Renew, was deliberately selected to reflect the future that Rwandans want to build.
Let me explain:
Remember:
Remembrance is about honoring the memory of those who perished and offer comfort to survivors. This period is one of deep reflection and mourning for survivors and their families. I would like to use this platform to call on those present here and the global community to reflect on the suffering, trauma and hardship the survivors of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi have endured and continue to face. The scars of the genocide are still flesh. 20 years is not a long time.
Remembering, without bitterness, pity or hopelessness, but with dignity, resilience and a determination to gather the pieces and move on, is the only means to ensure that such a tragedy never happens again.
Unite:
Rwanda is determined to uproot the history of bad governance, discrimination, culture of impunity, hatred and bigotry which laid the foundation for the genocide and tore our society apart.
We have chosen to focus on things that unite Rwandans, which far outweigh any differences, real or perceived. The history of the country focused on fomenting differences, even where they didn’t exist. Rwandans share one language, one culture, same values and norms with a long history of peaceful and harmonious co-existence. These are powerful assets that we want to nature and reclaim our true Rwandan identity.
The Rwandan leadership is today inculcating and promoting a culture of tolerance, values of self-worth (agaciro), rebuilding the shared Rwandan identity (ubunyarwanda), and rule of law and respect of individual rights. Rwandans have been awakened to the reality that we have a shared responsibility to build a new modern stable nation of shared opportunity and prosperity. Every Rwandan must have a stake in this new nation. Strong pillars and a foundation for national unity and reconciliation have been firmly built.
Rick Warren, a renowned American Pastor and author of “The Purpose Driven Life” in acknowledging the progress Rwanda has made in building reconciliation remarked “ In all my travels, I’ve never seen a country’s population more determined to forgive, to build and succeed than Rwanda”
Renew:
In the words of my President, His Excellency Paul Kagame, “we cannot turn the clock back nor can we undo the harm caused, but we have the power to determine the future and to ensure that what happened never happens again”
The President has also often said that the 1994 genocide, much as it was a tragic and inconceivable horror for the Rwandan people, we must refuse to be bogged down by tragedy. From it, we should garner the courage and resolve to rebuild our lives and our country. Revive the Rwandan values of resilience, self-worth, respect and dignity and single mindedly focus on pursuing a vision of transformation that will ensure that genocide never happens again. From the catastrophe, we should build an entirely new and modern nation.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
From almost a failed state in 1994, Rwanda has become a beacon of hope, prosperity and equal opportunity for its people.
President Paul Kagame has provided the leadership, charisma and vision which has inspired Rwandans, given us hope and demonstrated that a failed state can stand again on its feet, be a model for post conflict recovery and regain its place in the global community of nations.
Rwanda is today a stable country. The economy has grown at over 8% per year over the last decade. Per capita income has tripled over the same period.
Rwanda has created a vibrant market economy, with a competitive and attractive investment and business environment. Foreign Direct Investment has grown significantly.
The infrastructure has been rebuilt and further expanded across the country. There is universal access to education, health and basic social protection services. Rwanda is one of the countries on track to achieve almost all the United Nations Millennium Development Goals by the 2015 timeline.
Institutions of governance and the core foundation for democracy have been built. Rwanda established efficient, transparent, accountable systems for provision of basic services.
Different sections of the Rwandan society – youth, women, disabled, civil society and religious groups have assumed an important stake and play an active role in the process of rebuilding the country. Women have come at the forefront of nation-building. Today, for every one man in Parliament, there are two women, with a women representation in parliament of 64%, the largest in the world.
Your Excellencies,
In order to contribute to ensuring that what happened in Rwanda in 1994 never happens elsewhere, Rwanda has committed to making substantive contribution to peace keeping across the world. This week, we completed a full deployment of a mechanized battalion of 850 peace keepers to Central African Republic. Rwanda has become one of the top 6 troop contributing countries to UN peace keeping missions across the world. We have peace keepers and monitoring teams deployed in South Sudan, Darfur, Chad, Ivory Coast, Haiti and Liberia.
Peace keeping is an undertaking that we take very seriously and with full commitment based on the experience of genocide in our country. The genocide against the Tutsi was preventable. But the world and the international community abandoned us at the hour of greatest need. We believe no country should suffer the same fate and lives should not be wasted due to indifference and inaction of global actors.
In the words of Ann Clwyd MP, a British Member of Parliament, “genocide is the responsibility of the entire world”. Rwanda’s experience proves otherwise. We are therefore determined to make a modesty contribution within our means to help save lives where ever the need arises and we are able to contribute.
Edmund Burke, famously said that “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing” or simply put, “when good men do nothing, evil triumphs”.
With this, I believe we can all leave this room with a determination to make our individual and collective contribution to speak out against genocide, racism, hatred, bigotry, anti-Semitism, intolerance and any form of discrimination. Because if we do not speak out now, then when they come for us, there will be no-one to speak for us, to use the words of Pastor Martin Niemoller.
Thank you for your kind attention.
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