Experts: Rwanda’s dark history must be clearly explained to youth

Rwanda’s history and its dark part about the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi should be clearly explained to the youth in the country and abroad to prevent the latter from falling in the pitfall of denying the Genocide or ending up in total ignorance of what happened. The call was made yesterday by different experts who spoke at one of the Café Littéraire series organised by the National Commission for the Fight against Genocide (CNLG). Café Littéraire, which is a session at which literary works are discussed, is organised by the commission as part of efforts to educate the young generation about the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and how its denial can be prevented. Sunday’s show took place at the auditorium of Rwanda Revenue Authority and featured three authors, including CNLG’s Executive Secretary Jean Damascène Bizimana, Rwandan Belgian author Albert Toch, and André Twahirwa, who is a Rwandan linguist based in France. The event was officiated by First Lady Jeannette Kagame, who said as she introduced the three authors to the audience that Café Littéraire sessions are crucial for broadening knowledge and encouraged the audience to continue reading about different works on history. “I am a fan of these Café Littéraire sessions that broaden our horizons as readers, but also because I find it essential to encourage the organisers to continue this activity that enriches the cultural and intellectual life of our country,” she said. The theme at yesterday’s session focused on the ‘International Recognition of the Genocide committed against Tutsis’, with highlights including the achievements and challenges for Rwanda, other States, international Organisations, and individuals. CNLG officials said that discussions about the theme intended to educate the youth and the Rwandan community about the Genocide committed against the Tutsi. Participants at the event included mostly young professionals and youth from different universities in Kigali, legislators, as well as other different dignitaries. The panellists commended the UN’s General Assembly for a resolution adopted in January 2018 which designated April 7 as the ‘International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda’. The decision corrects inaccuracies that existed in the previous resolution, A/RES/58/234, which omitted to name the Tutsi as the group targeted for extermination. The UN would previously describe the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi as ‘the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda’, which would leave those who know that the slaughter targeted Tutsis worried that facts were being distorted. “It is important to name the victims. It is important to appropriately name what happened in Rwanda in 1994,” said Twahirwa as he commended the UN’s decision to use the right term. He urged Rwandans at home and abroad to be the first users of the appropriate terms while describing the genocide in Rwanda, explaining that those who deny the genocide can only be interested in ambiguity. “It is incumbent on us to use the right terms because those who deny the genocide have interest in using the wrong terms,” he said. Bizimana said that some people and governments across the world are reluctant to properly describe the Genocide against the Tutsi because they are still in denial of what happened and are often still interested in promoting Genocide ideology. “If there is resistance to appropriately name what happened, it’s first and foremost for political reasons. There are actors who introduced genocide ideology in Rwanda and they are still active and they don’t want to divorce an ideology that they introduced,” he said. The experts called for continued education of the youth about the country’s history to avoid a situation where the young people are ignorant about the facts on the Genocide or end up adopting messages from Genocide deniers. “We need to teach the young people about the Rwandan history so they can understand how different regimes in Rwanda divided Rwandans and ended up committing genocide against one section of the population that had been clearly identified over the years,” Bizimana said. Rwandan author Yolande Mukagasana agreed with him, advising that most lessons about the genocide should focus on how it was prepared because those who deny it tend to say that it was never planned. “It seems we aren’t talking enough about the planning of the genocide and I think it’s what the youth need to know most if they aren’t going to fall in the pitfall of denial,” she said. Organised by CNLG, Café Littéraire sessions have targeted different forums, especially university campuses, with the aim of teaching the youth about Rwanda’s history through public lectures by published authors and history experts. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Experts: Rwanda’s dark history must be clearly explained to youth