A meeting that brought together various religious leaders in the country ended Thursday at Hotel Novotel Umubano in Kigali.The major participants in the interfaith meeting were the Rwanda Muslim Association, the Alliance Evangelical Churches of Rwanda and the Protestant Council of Rwanda. It was held under the auspices of the South African embassy and was the fourth time it was being held. A delegation from South Africa was also in attendance.Participants examined the role of religion during the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda and came to the conclusion that it had failed in its mission. “We acknowledge our weakness in not doing all we could to prevent the Genocide,” a statement read at the end of the meeting said.It continued that their institutions had failed “to speak appropriately on behalf of the victims.” The South African Ambassador to Rwanda, Ezra M. Sigwela, said he believed the meeting would greatly impact on the rebuilding of the country. “Rwanda is now a center of African and global meetings, especially on issue regarding good governance. This is not because she has beautiful sceneries, but because the country is characterized by a sense of good leadership,” Sigwela (pictured above) said.The envoy continued that he was pleased by the way Rwandans had developed the spirit of togetherness saying it gave a signal that what happened in 1994 would never occur again.“Under normal circumstances; it is the clergy to correct the government instead of the government to correct the clergy,” he stated.The two-day meeting resolved to work together to foster peace, justice and reconciliation and work with the government in its fight against poverty. Ends
