Remains of 600 Genocide victims reburied

SOUTHERN REGION HUYE - The remains of 603 victims of the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi from Ngoma Sector were on Sunday accorded decent burial at a ceremony attended by hundreds of mourners from within and outside the district. The burial ceremony was preceded by a celebration of mass at the Huye stadium. The remains were exhumed from the areas of Matyazo, from the University Teaching Hospital of Butare and Taba. Speaking at the ceremony, Benoit Kaboyi, the Executive Secretary of the umbrella association of Genocide survivors, IBUKA castigated the continued attacks on Genocide survivors many of which have been fatal. “We condemn in the strongest terms those who continue to harbour thoughts of exterminating fellow Rwandans. We also denounce corruption cases that seek to derail the functioning of Gacaca courts,” he said. Kaboyi called upon religious leaders to encourage their flock to give information on where the remains of Genocide victims which have not been recovered up to now were dumped.He said that a plan to build a memorial wall on which names of the victims will be inscribed for remembrance is in the offing. At the reburial, the provincial Governor, Fidele Ndayisaba called upon residents to stear clear from the genocide ideology in all its forms. He noted that this is the only way to differentiate oneself from the perpetrators of the Genocide. He also called for understanding in helping children from families of Genocide perpetrators to cope with the bad legacy left behind by their parents. Dr Jean Pierre Dusabemungu, a commissioner from the National Commission for the Fight against Genocide (CNLG) observed that remembering Genocide victims is a daily activity. Huye district lacks a proper district Genocide memorial site but district officials have promised to have one constructed by the end of the year. Ends