Rwandans, in collaboration with foreign missions accredited to Singapore, on Monday, paid tribute to victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

The event was organised by the Rwandan High Commission in Singapore together with the Rwandans in the Diaspora.

The event was held at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKY-SPP) of the National University of Singapore and featured the screening of the documentary film "Ghosts of Rwanda” which highlights the betrayal of Rwanda by the International Community in her hour of need.

The ceremony was attended by a host of dignitaries, including Heads and Deputy Heads of foreign missions in Singapore, the Inspector General of Rwanda National Police, Emmanuel Gasana, who is in Singapore on an official visit, together with a delegation of senior Police officers.

"May the world never again witness the bureaucratic inertia and slow decision that led to the death of a million Tutsis in Rwanda. We must ensure that all people of goodwill come together to prevent this from ever happening again in Africa or elsewhere,” said Louis Mazel, the US Deputy Head of Mission in Singapore.

Rwanda’s High Commissioner to Singapore, Jeanine Kambanda, explained that the Genocide was a result of a conflict whose background could be traced to the colonial heritage as well as ethnic divisions and exclusion that resulted from successive bad governance in the four decades leading to the Genocide.

Addressing the mourners, Gasana noted that, whereas the international community failed to intervene and stop the killings, the Rwanda Patriotic Front/Army stopped it.

He pointed out that 17 years down the road, the country has recovered and got back on its feet and is moving forward.

The ceremony also included the lighting of candles and observation of a minute’s silence, in memory of all the innocent lives lost.

Later this month, the Rwandan mission in Singapore together with the Diaspora, will hold two prayer sessions in Singaporean churches in memory of the victims.

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