University of Edinburgh rejects Kayembe’s genocide denial notions

Prof Peter William Mathieson, the Principal of the University of Edinburgh, in Scotland, has said his institution outrightly rejects the genocide denial notions of its Rector. He also noted that the University is set to look at the formal procedures available as regards the matter. His response comes after the High Commissioner of Rwanda to the UK, Johnston Busingye, on Thursday, April 21, wrote to him in reference to comments earlier made by the Universitys Rector Debora Kayembe spreading disinformation about and denial of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Mathieson wrote: “I would like to begin my response by reiterating that the University of Edinburgh is aligned with the views of the United Nations, international courts, and nations all over the world. We recognise that the Genocide against the Tutsi is a fact of history and represents one of the most appalling crimes against humanity committed in the course of history. “We reject outright the notion that President Paul Kagame was in any way responsible. In fact, it is historical fact that Paul Kagame led the liberation of Rwanda from the guilty regime. The facts about the long history preceding the Genocide against the Tutsi are clear, and indeed University of Edinburgh have contributed scholarship that makes that history clearer.” Earlier, Busingye explained how, among others, Kayembe is grossly abusing her position at University of Edinburgh by using the influence she possesses to cast doubt and cause confusion around the Genocide against the Tutsi, thereby denying it with no sensitivity, no reflection and no decency. Kayembe tweeted that the genocide was orchestrated by President Paul Kagame. The first Tweet on April 14 was deleted. Kayembe sent a second Tweet on April 19 which reasserted the statement shared in the first. President Kagame led the Rwanda Patriotic Army (RPA) which stopped the 1994 genocide as well as liberated Rwanda from the genocidal regime that planned and executed the massacre of more than one million Tutsi in three months, from April to July 1994. Busingye also noted that the statements made by the Rector constitute genocide denial and revisionism and are offensive to Rwandans around the world and deeply painful to the survivors of the Genocide against the Tutsi. In his response to Busingye’s letter, Mathieson also noted that he recognises that April is “the time of Kwibuka commemorations in Rwanda, which makes statements diminishing or denying the Genocide against the Tutsi more painful.” To this end, he noted, they are reaching out to “our Rwandan students to ensure they are fully supported at this difficult time.” “We are also attending to our many collaborations and partners in Rwanda to reassure them of our position and offer additional support if necessary.” Looking at the formal procedures available Mathieson acknowledged “the hurt caused by the Rectors statements, and recognise the extreme hurt and pemicious destabilisation” that genocide denialism can cause to all Rwandans. That is why, he said, they moved swiftly to clarify the role of the Rector, highlight the fact that they were her personal views, “and to underline our own position on the tragic events of the Genocide against the Tutsi.” “I will ensure the Rector is aware of your letter so that she can see the extent of the concerns that you raise. We are looking at the formal procedures available to us and I will report this to our governing body, the University Court, at our meeting on Monday.” The 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi is a fact of history, the Rwandan High Commissioner stressed on Thursday. Busingye took time to explain how the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi was systematically planned through decades of dehumanisation, segregation in education and labour and pre-genocide massacres. He noted that the genocidal regime which was married to ethnic extremism, hatred and division, spread the vile Anti-Tutsi propaganda, drew up the names of Tutsi families, imported vast quantities of weapons and mobilised militia to kill in advance of the Genocide. “These are all well-established facts and the Genocide against the Tutsi is recognised by the United Nations, Governments, International Law and courts,” Busingye explained. On January 26, 2018, the United Nations officially adopted the title to mark April 7 as the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. Similar to the Holocaust, the envoy wrote, the victims of the genocide had to endure the many stages of genocide before 1994, such as classification, dehumanisation and polarization. “By casting doubt and intentionally lying about the planning and execution of the Genocide, she denies the existence of the many stages of genocide that the victims had to face, up to the mass extermination of the Tutsi in 1994. Ms Kayembe’s statements imply questioning of who was targeted for extermination, when this is established fact. Her statements amount to flagrant, intentional and cynical genocide denial.” “The statements deny historical fact, create confusion, and permit the genocide ideology and ethnic division to live on. We are concerned that radical statements such as the ones we are impugning are emanating from an elected official who has a senior role on the decision-making body of the University and is a point of contact to the student body. Ms Kayembe is grossly abusing her position by using the influence she possesses to cast doubt and cause confusion around the Genocide against the Tutsi, thereby denying it with no sensitivity, no reflection and no decency,” the envoy wrote. Earlier, on Thursday, British journalist and leading author on the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, Linda Melvern, who was in Kigali to participate in activities to mark the 28th commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi, was appalled by Kayembe’s tweet and noted that the Rector’s statement causes the gravest offence to survivors and the reputation of the University of Edinburgh is in shreds. Like several other European countries, the UK is home to Rwandan and foreign deniers of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi who continue to spread genocide denial as well as embrace genocide ideology. Genocide deniers based in the UK include Michela Wrong, a British journalist and author of books that deny the genocide against the Tutsi and tarnish the image of President Kagame. The BBC Kinyarwanda service Gahuza Miryango also continues to host genocide deniers as well as contribute to the denial of the Genocide against the Tutsi in various other ways. The UK is especially home to five genocide suspects Kigali has, for years, wanted extradited or tried in courts of law, to no avail. Kigali first notified the UK government of the presence of these suspects on its soil back in 2007 when it issued indictments. The call for bringing to justice genocide suspects residing in the UK has not only been made by Rwanda but also by some members of the British parliament including Andrew Mitchell who have reiterated that “the souls of slaughtered Tutsi cry out for justice but Britain has turned a deaf ear,” which is “a shame.”

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University of Edinburgh rejects Kayembe’s genocide denial notions