Editor,

I pay my respect, to all the innocent people who perished in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Today as we continue to remember Rwanda’s dark past, I still feel saddened by the Rwanda Genocide deniers lingering around the world.

Over the years following 1994, I have watched and seen international donors get reaped of their money, time and trust because some of the most notorious genocide deniers take advantage of their self-imposed exile to fill their pockets and get rid of their poverty.

I would like to address the naïve and ignorant people who know nothing about Rwanda except for the international news they watch on their televisions and read from the internet or books.

It’s time to wake up from your slumber and see reality. Maybe try visiting Rwanda to get the first hand impact of the genocide. 16 years later the consequences still remain fresh.

Genocide deniers will always further their cause in a place where they are not known. As a matter of fact, ‘Genocide Denial’ is the last of the eight stages of genocide.

This should not come as news, because the same happened with the Jewish Holocaust. Luckily a tough stance has been put in many countries across the world to penalize those who deny the fact that Jews were massacred.

The same is true for Rwanda, it’s a matter of time before untouched perpetrators and genocide deniers are brought to book for planning and participating in the Rwandan genocide against the Tutsi.

Chantal Umutesi
Kigali