Ngirente was speaking Friday when the Office of the Prime Minister, affiliated Ministries and parastatals staff were commemorating the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi.
He said that commemoration enables Rwandans to distinctly understand the country’s dark history that led to the genocide, strengthen them towards reconstruction and enable them to confront effects of the genocide as well as fighting any evil that could lead to its recurrence.
“Understanding the truth history of Rwanda is the foundation upon which we are rebuilding a new Rwanda,” he said.
He said that the light of hope should facilitate Rwandans embrace goodness and encourage youth to avoid conflicts and genocide ideology.
In a lecture by the Executive Secretary of National Commission of the Fight Against the Genocide, Dr. Jean Damascene Bizimana said that the history of the genocide illustrates how Tutsi were segregated in government institutions and culminated into genocide.
He said that senior government leaders planned the genocide and incited people to implement it.
Bizimana said that the cabinet of 1994 which was comprised of 22 ministers, 15 among them were prosecuted in the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. Nine of them were convicted and some of them were sentenced to life in prison.
“It proves that the genocide was caused by bad leadership. Whoever is saying that the genocide was not planned by the then government is intentionally promoting falsehoods,” he said.
Leave a Reply