A GERMAN social research expert Dr Gerd Hankel of the German Institute of Social Research based in Hamburg has strongly denounced Paul Rusesabagina of the Hotel Rwanda fame, saying he is not hero at all.

Dr Hankel was on Monday responding to a question at a press conference organised by   the Genocide Widows’ Association, AVEGA-Agahozo at Remera in Kigali.
"I personally watched Hotel Rwanda when it was first released. I actually told my friends.

"I was watching with that it was a fiction film but they did not believe it that time, because he was portraying himself as a hero. You can not proclaim yourself a hero, you let others recognize you. Rusesabagina is just a self-proclaimed hero,” Hankel said.

A representative from the Genocide survivors association, Ibuka, intervened to say that Rusasesabagina’s self proclamation as a hero was baseless since there were many factors to consider before one becomes a hero.

"We denounced the film from the word go. One can not claim heroism at Hotel de Mille Collines amidst UN defence force, a place guarded by former president (Juvenal) Habyarimana’s armed forces and other factors. Where do you become that outstanding hero?” he asked.

A specialist in international criminal law, Hankel said there was a lot of negative propaganda in the western world, which has created Rusasabagina’s present status.

Birgit Otte, an editor at the same institute, added that even Germans still don’t have a real picture of the Jewish Holocaust after all these years of research.

She advised that documentaries on Genocide and teaching the young generation would make a true picture of 1994 Genocide live.

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