Eastern Province commemorates 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi

The employees of the Eastern Province over the weekend paid tribute to former staff that perished during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. The event of commemorating the Province’s fallen staff was being held for the fifth time and it started with a Walk to Remember. A delegation of the provincial staff, ministers, lawmakers, district mayors and legislators laid wreaths at the monument set up at the provincial headquarters, in honour of the known 20 public servants who were killed in the former Rwamagana sub-prefecture and Kibungo Prefecture during the Genocide. The two jurisdictions are today part of Eastern Province. Addressing hundreds of mourners, Odette Uwamariya, the Governor of the Province, called on residents to say never again to the Genocide, adding that widows and orphans would continue to receive support from the province. The Governor emphasised that it was the obligation of the provincial employees and the whole society to empower Genocide survivors. “It’s the fifth time we are commemorating the fallen staff and I am certain that many have not been identified. The number of the victims is quite bigger than what we have. Otherwise, our commitment to help needy survivors remains as ever…this is part of building a reconciled society,” she said. Cabinet Affairs Minister, Stella Ford Mugabo who presided over the event advised government workers to keep away from sectarian politics. “The government workers we commemorate today were killed because of bad politics…it is inconceivable that their deaths were planned by fellow workers. This kind of politics of discrimination that led to the massacres should be buried behind our back,” she said. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Eastern Province commemorates 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi