25: Rwandan Genocide

From the BBC:
"Rwanda genocide: Nation marks 25 years since mass slaughter"

Rwanda's president said the country had become "a family once again", while marking the 25th anniversary of the genocide that killed 800,000 people. Paul Kagame, who led a rebel force that ended the slaughter, lit a remembrance flame in the capital Kigali. Rwandans will mourn for 100 days, the time it took in 1994 for about a tenth of the country to be massacred. Most of those who died were minority Tutsis and moderate Hutus, killed by ethnic Hutu extremists. "In 1994, there was no hope, only darkness," Mr Kagame told a crowd gathered at the Kigali Genocide Memorial, where more than 250,000 victims are thought to be buried. "Today, light radiates from this place. How did it happen? Rwanda became a family once again."

How is Rwanda remembering?

The commemoration activities began with the flame-lighting ceremony at the memorial. The flame will burn for 100 days. The 61-year-old president, who has led the country since 2000, then delivered a speech at the Kigali Convention Centre. He said the resilience and bravery of the genocide survivors represented the "Rwandan character in its purest form". "The arms of our people, intertwined, constitute the pillars of our nation," he said. "We hold each other up. Our bodies and minds bear amputations and scars, but none of us is alone. "Together, we have woven the tattered threads of our unity into a new tapestry." He added: "The fighting spirit is alive in us. What happened here will never happen again." Mr Kagame will later lead a vigil at the Amahoro National Stadium, which was used by United Nations officials to try to protect Tutsis during the killings.

Who is attending?

A number of foreign leaders are in the country for the events. They are mainly African, although Prime Minister Charles Michel represented the former colonial ruler, Belgium. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker also attended. French President Emmanuel Macron did not go, however. This week he appointed a panel of experts to investigate France's role in the genocide. France was a close ally of the Hutu-led government prior to the massacres and has been accused of ignoring warning signs and training the militias who carried out the attacks. France was represented by Herve Berville, a Rwandan-born MP. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni was also absent. He has been accused of backing Rwandan rebels who oppose Mr Kagame. The vast number of people attending were ordinary Rwandans, including those who lived through the slaughter. Olive Muhorakeye, 26, told Reuters: "Remembering is necessary because it's only thanks to looking back at what happened [can we] ensure that it never happens again."

At midday, Rwanda fell silent to remember the hundreds of thousands of men, women and children who lost their lives over 100 days in 1994. But for survivors, the memories never fade. It might be a quarter of a century but it doesn't feel like it. They still carry the scars, literally and figuratively, of those days.  They are still forced to explain to their children why they don't have grandparents or aunts and uncles. They still dream of the horrors they witnessed. So while today is important to remind the country and the world of what was lost 25 years ago - and the peace that has been achieved in the years since - it is clear that survivors need little reminding.

How did the genocide unfold?

On 6 April 1994, a plane carrying then-President Juvenal Habyarimana - a Hutu - was shot down, killing all on board. Hutu extremists blamed the Tutsi rebel group, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). It denied the accusation. In a well-organised campaign of slaughter, militias were given hit lists of Tutsi victims. Many were killed with machetes in acts of appalling brutality. One of the militias was the ruling party's youth wing, the Interahamwe, which set up road blocks to find Tutsis, incited hatred via radio broadcasts and carried out house to house searches.

How did it end?

Little was done internationally to stop the killings. The UN and Belgium had forces in Rwanda but the UN mission was not given a mandate to act. The Belgians and most UN peacekeepers pulled out. The RPF, backed by Uganda, started gaining ground and marched on Kigali. Some two million Hutus fled, mainly to the Democratic Republic of Congo. The RPF was accused of killing thousands of Hutus as it took power, although it denies this. Dozens of Hutus were convicted for their role in the killings by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, based in Tanzania, and hundreds of thousands more faced trial in community courts in Rwanda.

How is Rwanda now?

The genocide has cast a long shadow over regeneration and talk of ethnicity remains illegal. But the country has recovered economically, with President Kagame's policies encouraging rapid growth and technological advancement. He won a third term in office in the most recent election in 2017 with 98.63% of the vote. Growth remains good - 7.2% in 2018 according to the African Development Bank. But Mr Kagame's critics say he is too authoritarian and does not tolerate dissent.

^ Sadly, the world does little to nothing to stop these kinds of genocides from happening and only comes together during the anniversaries. ^

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-47843843