April 7, a very cold wintry day in Brussels, as cold as the manifestations of hate expressed by those Hutu extremists who have found a safe haven there since they escaped from Rwanda in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide through the French "Turquoise" scam.

Fourteen years after the genocide, where they viciously slaughtered over a million Tutsis and moderate Hutus, the Hutu extremist genocide perpetrators in Brussels, are generating a policy of denial with which they are trying to convince the world that they are not guilty. The Belgian government refused these people the right to stage a march on April 6, ‘soi disant’ to commemorate the shooting down of Habyarimana’s plane and the deaths of Hutus during the genocide. Some 60 hardliners defied the Government’s authority and imposed themselves in a forced march on the 6th. They were rounded up and carted off by the Belgian police.

In retaliation to this refusal, an e-mail was addressed to the Mayor of Brussels with copies to the Prime Minister, Minister of Justice, Minister of Defense, the Chief of Police and several other high level Belgian authorities, including Senators. This e-mail was written by someone called J.C. Tuvugishukuri, a pseudonym, his real name being Michel Niyibizi.

The character of the mail is aggressive and contemptuous. saying that the consequences of such a refusal could lead to the resignation of the Mayor. It suggests that, "should there ever be public disruption during the April 7 commemoration march, the Mayor himself was the one who would be held responsible".

This was a disguised threat which the Belgian government did not take lightly and the Brussels police force were taking no chances. They were out in considerable numbers, police cars and vans, stationed at the beginning and end of the march, while motorbikes and even policemen on bicycles, were riding slowly alongside the marchers. Any attempt to disrupt the march would have been immediately and efficiently quelled.

At 7h30, the silent torch lit march moved slowly from the starting point, Place Royale, down rue Royale to the "Place Poulaert", In the freezing April evening, the Palais de Justice loomed up in front, its golden dome gleaming in the setting sun.

When the large crowd, over a thousand Rwandans intermingled with other nationalities, reached the end of the march, the president of IBUKA, Justice and Memory, Mr Placide Kalisa, addressed them in memory of the lost loved ones so cruelly exterminated in 1994. He strongly reiterated the need for vigilance in the face of the rise of the "Hutu Power" philosophy and called upon the Belgian host country to act energetically in the face of the danger of such rhetoric and its underlying implications.

He also warned that their campaign to promulgate denial, imply a double genocide, create confusion, and spread malicious rumors, was a threat to the stability of Rwanda and that it was their strong responsibility not to allow such activity to be condoned in their country. He said, "After the extermination of the Jewish people during World War II, were the Nazis given the right of speech to continue to proliferate their genocide policy against the Jews?"

Melanie Uwamaliya, a genocide survivor who lives in Mayor Thielemans jurisdiction in Brussels 1000, reacted by sending an e-mail directly to Michel Niyibizi, (alias Tuvugishukuri). She says, "As a member of the Asbl IBUKA-Memory and Justice, I am shocked by your contemptuous discourse. Even though each word inflicts pain, I will only base myself on the fourth paragraph where you speak of, "acts of intimidation by the extremist organization, IBUKA who are the emanation of the RPF".

I wish to correct this insinuation. IBUKA is not and never has been, a political party; it is an association which concerns itself exclusively with the victims of the genocide and has never been involved in intimidation of any kind".

Melanie goes on to say that no Hutu is excluded from the commemoration ceremonies or marches, whether in Rwanda or abroad, and that those moderate Hutus who were slaughtered alongside the Tutsis, are also mourned during these ceremonies where all Rwandans are invited to participate. Agathe Uwilingiyimana, a Hutu, was slaughtered on April 6, 1994, has since been made one of the heroes of Rwanda and is celebrated each year on February 1, Heroes Day.

The day’s commemoration ceremonies had started in the morning at the Rwandan Embassy, where the Rwandan Ambassador hosted distinguished guests from the political and diplomatic arenas in Brussels.

The Belgian government representative spoke out strongly, condemning those who use his country to try to propagate the genocide ideology and that measures would be taken against those who did not respect the law of the country.

To end the commemoration, the Rwandan diaspora organized an evening of reflection at the Centre Culturel d’Auderghem. Several distinguished guests spoke during this event including the President of the Jewish Genocide Association and the President of the Armenian Genocide Association, who both spoke out against the denial philosophy exercised by the genocide perpetrators and the dangers of such rhetoric. Two Belgian Senators also reiterated the determination of the Belgian Government not to be seen as being in sympathy with these criminals. The evening was highlighted by music and poetry evoking the tragedy, performed by the Rwandan artists of the diaspora.

Ends