Different leaders in Africa and across the world have joined Rwanda to commemorate for the 27th time the Genocide against the Tutsi that claimed over one million people in 100 days. For the second time, reflecting on the genocide against the Tutsi happened amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. In a tweet, Josep Borrell Fontelles, Vice-President of the European Union Commission applauded Rwandans for recovering from adverse effects of the Genocide in which over a million people were killed. “Today, we commemorate the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. We commend Rwanda and its people for determination to stand up from the ashes, rebuild the country and reconcile their communities, in the spirit of national unity,” he said on Wednesday, April 7. Louise Mushikiwabo, the Secretary-General of Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), an organisation that brings together 88 French-speaking countries, also paid tribute to genocide survivors. She said: “27 years after the genocide of the Tutsi, a special thought for all the families of victims for whom the memory is still vivid. This year, I also salute the truth-seeking work that continues to advance and allows us to continue our mourning.” “On April 7, let us continue to remember and fight against any denial of the Genocide against the Tutsi. Years go by but the truth remains what it is, and will not be able to suffer from any attempt to distort history,” she added. Meanwhile, Anne Hidalgo, the Mayor of the French capital Paris, noted that victims of the 1994 Genocide will never be forgotten. “This morning, at the Jardin de la Mémoire in the Parc de Choisy, we commemorated the genocide perpetrated in Rwanda 27 years ago. Paris will never forget these women, men, and children killed because they were born Tutsi,” she tweeted. According to Hervé Berville, a member of the French Parliament, remembrance is a duty. “On April 7, the national day of commemoration of the memory of the victims of the genocide against the Tutsi, my thoughts are with all the battered families. 27 years later, we have a duty to remember in order to move forward, to understand history in order to build the future,” he said. The recently appointed Secretary-General of East African Community (EAC) to which Rwanda is a member, Peter Mathuki, also took time off to send a message of comfort to the people of Rwanda. “We stand in solidarity with the people and leadership of Rwanda during the 27th commemoration of the Genocide against the Tutsi. This will provide renewed determination for a peaceful and prosperous Rwanda and the EAC region,” he said.
