University students honour Bisesero Genocide victims

WESTERN PROVINCE KARONGI — 300 university students grouped under ‘Students’ Clubs for Unity and Reconciliation, on Sunday visited Bisesero Genocide Memorial site to pay their tribute to victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. The students, drawn from 17 universities country-wide, said their visit aimed at getting vivid history of the Genocide in Bisesero. Genocide victims in Bisesero are considered among the heroes who died after putting up strong resistance against the killers. After a two- hour guided tour and briefing at the site, the students laid wreaths on cemeteries where over 50,000 victims are buried. The association’s president, Innocent Victor Mutimura, who spoke on behalf of the students, said their association aims at ensuring that the Genocide never happens again in Rwanda. “We have drawn a vital lesson from this memorial site. The victims left a strong legacy of resistance which acts as an inspiration to all of us, to build Rwanda as a country with no trace of divisionism, a country that will never face any other Genocide again,” he said. The students pledged Rwf50, 000 for maintenance of the site, and another Rwf100, 000 towards health insurance for 100 Genocide survivors in the area. The students were accompanied by the president of the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission, Dr. Jean Baptiste Habyarimana and Hilariya Mukamazimpaka, a commissioner from the National Commission for the fight against Genocide (CNLG). Ends