• Praises 15 years of remarkable development in Rwanda NYAMATA - Former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, this weekend returned to Rwanda as part of his Africa Governance Initiative. The visit was Mr. Blair’s third to the country since he and President Paul Kagame, launched the project in February 2008. During the visit, which coincided with the 15th anniversary of the Genocide against the Tutsi, Mr. Blair paid his respects to genocide victims by laying a wreath at the Nyamata Genocide Memorial outside Kigali.
• Praises 15 years of remarkable development in Rwanda
NYAMATA - Former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, this weekend returned to Rwanda as part of his Africa Governance Initiative. The visit was Mr. Blair’s third to the country since he and President Paul Kagame, launched the project in February 2008.
During the visit, which coincided with the 15th anniversary of the Genocide against the Tutsi, Mr. Blair paid his respects to genocide victims by laying a wreath at the Nyamata Genocide Memorial outside Kigali. He acknowledged that it is hard to find words to express the horrors that happened in Rwanda 15 years ago.
"Over a million innocent people killed in just 100 days is simply incomprehensible,” he said.
"Today, I would like to convey my deepest sympathies to the people of Rwanda. We must never forget the past. A generation of children need to learn about the mistakes of the past so that they do not grow up to repeat them. That is why memorial centres such as Nyamata are so important.”
He also said that the international community that failed Rwanda so badly in 1994 needs to be reminded that when it says ‘never again’, it has to mean it. He also pointed out that the country’s history was changing.
"15 years after the genocide, it is a country transformed. It is thanks to the hard work, determination and compassion of its people, that Rwanda is now able to look to the future with hope and with confidence.”
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