Rwanda Genocide archive important in fight against denial

On Friday, the Rwanda Genocide Archive was officially launched at the Kigali memorial centre in Gisozi. The archives consist audiovisual testimonies, various research papers and tonnes of documentation regarding the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, in which more than one million people perished. A lot of information has been collected about the Genocide and having a central repository of all information regarding the horrific killings, is an important step in the process of healing and ensuring that Genocide never happens again. The archives will help to give the right information to those seeking to know more about the Genocide both in Rwanda and abroad. At a time when individuals, backed by powerful interests are actively working to re-write our history and revise what happened to suit their own agendas, it becomes important that such information is available to put their motives to shame. More so, many perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi are still at large in foreign countries and some have changed their identities to evade justice. In order to avoid being punished for the heinous crimes they committed, they have, for long, been attempting to deny and play down the Genocide. It is important that all information, connected to the Genocide, including, the cases handled by International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and other courts in the various parts of the world is turned over to Rwanda - where the crimes were committed. This will not only further enrich the archive, but contribute to the reconciliation process and enable Rwanda own part of its history. Ends