The African Union (AU) on Wednesday, April 7, joined Rwanda and the rest of the world to commemorate the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi that claimed a million lives in 100 days. Themed Remember-Unite-Renew, this year’s commemoration is the 27th of its kind. In his remarks, Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of African Union Commission, noted that the AU stands with Rwandan and her people during the period of commemoration. “We want to reiterate our solidarity with the survivors and the families of the victims who are marked for life, in their flesh and soul, by these events. 27 years after this large-scale massacre, Rwandans offer us a tremendous lesson in overcoming, reconciliation, and unity,” he said. He also emphasized that the atrocities that took place in Rwanda should serve as a lesson to Africa, and to the rest of the world as well. He said: “May the tragedy experienced by Rwanda 27 years ago, help Africa to protect itself against the recurrence of such a phenomenon and serve as an impetus to build an Africa, where ethnic diversity will be considered as a wealth and no longer as a weakness,” he said. “We want to tell humanity that such horrors must not happen again, neither in Africa nor elsewhere in the world,” he said. Meanwhile, Faki condemned those who kept a blind eye and a deaf ear during the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. “This tragedy unfolded almost in camera, the mainstream media failing to give it the necessary importance, or not measuring its magnitude, just as it benefited from the culpable indifference of the international community and sometimes the implicit support of some powers,” he underscored.
