Karongi residents urged to champion truth as they welcome Kwibuka Flame

NOT EVEN the scorching afternoon sun could deter Karongi residents from turning up in hundreds to welcome the Kwibuka (Remembrance) Flame that arrived in the district yesterday.The arrival of the Flame to Bwishyura Sector marked its third leg of upcountry tour after two stopovers in Ngororero and Kamonyi.“The Kwibuka Flame symbolises the journey that Rwandans have undertaken from darkness to the light of hope,” said Emma Francoise Isumbingabo, the State minister in charge of water and energy.“As we welcome this Flame, it is good time for us to revisit our history and reflect on the reasons that pushed some Rwandans to mercilessly kill their countrymen with whom they lived together in communities, shared everything, spoke the same language, shared the same culture and whose sons and daughters had been married,” she said.“It is time we redefine our story by avoiding the same mistakes that led us to the Genocide toward building a united, strong country.”The minister said Genocide was a culmination of long-held policies of discrimination based on ethnic divisions and poor leadership.She urged Karongi residents to continue the journey of nation building that was started about 20 years ago when the Genocide was stopped.Isumbingabo, however, said the Genocide left wounds in the hearts of many Rwandans, saying “only the truth will heal us from the wounds” left by the tragic events which claimed more than a million individuals in less than a hundred days.“The best way [to continue building this nation] remains first to heal the wounds of Genocide and for that to be possible it requires that we discuss openly, honestly and frankly about what really happened,” Isumbingabo told the residents.“Those who participated in the killings in various ways should have the courage to seek forgiveness from victims and tell them and the whole nation the truth.”She encouraged them to embrace the Ndi Umunyarwanda programme, noting that it is all about seeking the truth about the country’s dark past.“Truth will help us to build a stronger, united society,” she said. “It [truth] will help heal broken hearts, contribute to fighting any form of discrimination and allow us to strengthen our journey towards building a developed nation.”“Let this Kwibuka Flame guide us in our journey to remember and rebuild,” the minister said.Karongi mayor Bernard Kayumba reminded residents that the Kwibuka Flame is a demonstration that the Rwandan spirit has never and will never die.“We are building a country based on Rwandanness and unity of Rwandans,” Mayor Kayumba said.“Our tragic past shouldn’t deter our efforts towards a better life. We have gone a long way but there remains also a long road to cover [to reach where we want to be],” he added, encouraging survivors and Rwandans in general to keep working hard and striving for better living conditions.Trapped to be killedKayumba criticised former leaders, including government officials and church leaders, in the former Kibuye prefecture whom he said played a major role in the killings there.“Those who were supposed to protect the people turned against them and killed them,” Kayumba said.He said the same leaders, including mayors, governors, pastors and priests, were the ones who lured Tutsis to gather at Gatwaro stadium and in other places, promising them protection but it turned out to be a plan to have them in one place so as to ease their extermination.He also criticised the then French government for their Operation Turquoise, which he said did nothing else than ‘protecting killers and getting them an escape road.”Testimonies indicate that when French soldiers arrived in Karongi, those who were still alive were told that they were safe. However, the killings continued.It is believed that more than 16,000 Tutsis were killed at Gatwaro stadium during the Genocide.However, the major site of massacre remains Bisesero where more than 54,000 Tutsis perished, thanks, to a great extent, the French soldiers’ backing of the genocidal army and militia.Eric Nzabihimana, a survivor, narrated how he miraculously survived the killings in Bisesero.Narrating his ordeal, Nzabihimana said for him Genocide started decades before 1994, citing the killings which targeted Tutsis across the country in the 60s and 70s.“1994 was just the completion of a long-hatched and tried plan to exterminate Tutsis,” Nzabihimina said.He said 20 years after the Genocide, survivors are living much better lives though despite some challenges.“Let’s continue to work together towards safeguarding our hard-earned achievements and building our nation,” Nzabihimana said.On Sunday, the Flame will embark on its fourth leg of the tour, with a stop in Kinazi sector of Ruhango District, Southern Province.

National

Karongi residents urged to champion truth as they welcome Kwibuka Flame