Rwandans and top government officals in South Korea, on Friday, April 7, also commemorated the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. The commemoration ceremony organised by the Rwandan embassy in the Asian nation gathered more than 200 people at the War Memorial, a museum in South Korea.
In attendance were up to 60 diplomats residing in Seoul, the Korean capital, in addition to officials from the government of Korea, friends of Rwanda, members of the Rwandan community, and people from the business and academia sectors.
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Speaking at the event, Park Yongmin, Deputy Minister of Multilateral and Global Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Korea, who also served as a Korea’s envoy to Rwanda in 2015, said: "As a country with similar experiences and foundations, Korea will work side-by-side with Rwanda and the world toward a better future by achieving what Kwibuka teaches us.”
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Ban Ki-moon, the eighth Secretary-General of the UN, also attended the event. Ban Ki-moon served as Secretary-General of the United Nations from 2007 to 2016, succeeding Kofi Annan.
He praised Rwanda’s resilience.
"Over the past 29 years, Rwandans have demonstrated strong resilience in overcoming the greatest tragedies and, in the process, have inspired the rest of the world.”
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He also emphasized the importance of ‘Never again,’ the UN&039;s commitment after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, and recognized the successful rebirth of Rwanda.
Rwanda’s ambassador to South Korea, Yasmin Amri Sued, shared the history that led to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and the need to fight hate speech and genocide ideology.
A delegation from Rwanda led by Lt Col David Bahati Mutayomba, from the Rwanda Defence Force Command and Staff College, also attended the commemoration.