Residents urged to tell the truth about genocide

WESTERN PROVINCE RUBAVU — Residents have been urged to give information on the location of the missing bodies of the Genocide victims in Rubavu and the neighboring district of Nyabihu where thousands of Tutsi were massacred during the 1994 Genocide. Francoise Mukayisenga a Member of Parliament, made the remarks during the one week Genocide commemoration function that was held at Nyundo sector Rubavu district. The MP called upon district authorities to properly use the aid meant to support genocide survivors and urged the survivors to work hard against the poverty trap by joining hands to form small scale cooperatives. The Rubavu district mayor Celestine Twagirayezu thanked residents for turning up for the commemoration. “There are many bodies that are still missing, the number of the bodies that have so far been reburied are few compared to the people that were killed during the Genocide. That is why we are calling upon those with information regarding these locations to alert the authorities so that reburial can be organized,” he said. Concerning the welfare of the survivors in the district, Twagirayezu said that the district was doing every thing possible to support them. “ We have constructed houses for widows and orphans of the Genocide and we are still building more to ensure they all have shelter,” he explained. He said that the district will continue to support survivors through building their capacities to form and manage their own local cooperative societies. Jeanne Mukamana one of the survivors condemned residents who had deliberately refused to cooperate during Gacaca courts. “Unlike in other parts of the country, residents in Rubavu have not cooperated enough to give adequate information during Gacaca courts. We kindly ask any one with information about the whereabouts of the bodies of our family members and who ever is involved to come forward with this kind of information,” she requested. She said that the 1994 genocide was planned and that by 1992, local officials in Nyundo had started providing arms to the Interahamwe in the area in preparation to kill the Tutsi. Ends