Japanese envoy pays tribute to Genocide victims

Seiichi Kondo, the special envoy for UN affairs at the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, yesterday, visited Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre where he paid tribute to the victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. The Japanese envoy, who is in the country since Sunday, is expected to meet different leaders in the country on a visit he said is aimed at enhancing the already thriving relations between the two countries. After touring the Genocide memorial, Kondo laid a wreath at the mass graves there where 250,000 victims were laid to rest. He condemned the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and urged the world to remember the Genocide and learn from it. “I am shocked. I can’t believe how humans can become so awful to commit such a crime with well planned propaganda that drove people to such crazy actions. We should never accept this in the future,” he said. “We have to understand what happened in 1994 and draw lessons from it. It’s a valuable lesson that we should never forget and we should translate this into actions to overcome violence and establish lasting peace. We have to spread this message all over the world because, even today, there are a lot of massacres and crimes being committed,” he noted. Kondo denounced the reluctance of the United Nations to intervene to stop the Genocide and said that Japan seeks reforms at the global body. “We have to work much harder to reform the United Nations because it did not work properly in 1994. It’s not a perfect organization and there is no alternative but to reform the organisation”, he said. “Prime Minister Shinzo Abe who is committed to the establishment of peace in a proactive manner asked me to meet President Kagame to talk about UN reforms, Security Council reforms so that Africa can be duly represented in the Security Council,” he added. “We praise the efforts for national reconciliation that the Rwandan people have undertaken under the leadership of President Kagame. He also denounced those who deny the Genocide under the banner of freedom. “In democracy, some people abuse freedom of speech to say something inhumane. We have to fight not only genocide but also those who deny it. We have to mobilise our courage and establish alliance to eliminate genocide and its denial”, he said. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Japanese envoy pays tribute to Genocide victims