A few weeks ago France criminalised denial and minimization of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. It was quite unexpected but showed the current French administration’s intentions to bury the hatchet. France is also a bastion of Genocide perpetrators, supporters and anti-Tutsi academics that have been instrumental in perpetrating denial of the Genocide or attempting to reverse roles, turning victims into perpetrators. Some few French civil society groups have been working tirelessly to keep the memory of the Genocide alive and successfully pursuing suspects. Now with the French anti-denial law in place, it opens the door to a sea of litigations as it is difficult to see how the extremists will be able to control their hate-filled urge to soil the victims. So it is in that light that a group of people in Rwandans grouped under an organization that calls itself “Agaciro Generation” have set up a fund to help in prosecuting denial and trivialization of the Genocide against the Tutsi. “Umurinzi Support Fund” has started with a bang and has already raised over Rwf 20 Million at its inception and hopes to raise even more in the coming days. Such initiatives are to be praised; not only is it a clear message to Genocide apologists that Rwandans, especially survivors, will never let up in seeing that the Genocide is avenged and will not allow anyone to distort their sad history. It is also a way of showing the government that it has internal support to supplement it in its war against revisionism. editor@newtimesrwanda.com
