Paul Kagame, the president of Rwanda, said that the international community’s inactivity contributed to the 1994 genocide. On Sunday, the country marked 30 years since an estimated 800,000 people were massacred by extremists backed by the government.
Although Rwanda has recovered well and had economic progress since then, there are still wounds and doubts about whether real reconciliation has been attained during the lengthy reign of President Kagame, whose rebel movement put an end to the genocide and took control of the country.
While some have applauded him for bringing about some stability, others have demonized him for his intolerance of dissent.
In Kigali, the capital, Kagame presided over solemn memorial ceremonies. Israeli President Isaac Herzog and a delegation headed by Bill Clinton, the US president at the time of the massacre, were among the foreign guests.
The massacre began when a Hutu president named Juvénal Habyarimana’s plane was shot down over Kigali.
The president was killed in the jet crash, which was attributed to the Tutsis. and were the subject of over 100-day-long killings carried out by Hutu extremists. Additionally, a few moderate Hutus who attempted to save Tutsi minority members were slain.
Rwandan authorities have long blamed the international community for ignoring warnings about the genocide, and some Western leaders have expressed regret.
Former US President Clinton cited the Rwandan genocide as a failure of his administration, while French President Emmanuel Macron acknowledged the “overwhelming responsibility” of France for failing to stop Rwanda’s slide into the slaughter. Rwandan President Kagame has criticized the international community for failing all of them, whether from contempt or cowardice.
Rwanda’s ethnic composition remains largely unchanged since 1994, with a Hutu majority, the Tutsis accounting for 14%, and the Twa just 1% of Rwanda’s 14 million people.
Kagame’s Tutsi-dominated government has outlawed any form of organization along ethnic lines, as part of efforts to build a uniform Rwandan identity.
National ID cards no longer identify citizens by ethnic group, and authorities imposed a tough penal code to prosecute those suspected of denying the genocide or the “ideology” behind it. Some observers say the law has been used to silence critics who question the government’s policies.
Rwandan authorities see the allegations as an attempt to rewrite history, but Kagame has previously said that his forces showed restraint in the face of genocide.
He said that Rwandans are disgusted by critics who have “questioned and revised” the history of the genocide. He added that preventing another genocide requires political measures such as those now in place.
Naphtal Ahishakiye, the head of Ibuka, a prominent group of survivors, told The Associated Press that keeping the memory of the genocide alive helps fight the mentality that allowed neighbors to turn on each other, killing even children. Mass graves are still being discovered across Rwanda 30 years later, a reminder of the scale of the killings.
Rwanda has had troubled relations with its neighbors, including Congo, Burundi, and Uganda, which have been tense due to allegations that Kigali is backing a rebel group attacking Burundi. A night vigil will be held later on Sunday as part of a week of remembrance activities.