Researchers cautioned against Genocide denial

The State Minister for Primary and Secondary Education, Dr. Mathias Harebamungu, has warned researchers who distort the truth about the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and instead use their work to promote Genocide denial. He made the remarks yesterday while speaking at a conference on the effects of the 1994 Genocide on research in Africa. The forum that brought together participants from the USA, France, Senegal, Kenya and Rwanda, aimed at exploring the effects of the Genocide, focusing on research concerning Rwanda’s post genocide society. “What we expect from you is research that tells the truth and promotes development, justice and peace for Rwandans,” he told the researchers. Harebamungu stressed that, there are scholars who use their position to promote Genocide denial, which is mockery to the survivors. He highlighted on the developments the country has registered in the post Genocide era especially in the areas of education, unity and reconciliation. “In the post Genocide period, investment in education and research and human resource development has been prioritised by the government because they will help in the fight against ignorance, the major cause for Genocide,” the State Minister explained. The conference was organised by the National Commission for the Fight against Genocide (CNLG) in collaboration with the Interdisciplinary Genocide Studies Centre (IGSC). Jean de Dieu Mucyo, the Executive Secretary of CNLG, said that the forum aimed at giving researchers a platform to discover how best they could tell their stories about the 1994 Genocide for documentation purposes. “There are cases where scholars don’t tell the truth about the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi use their publications to deny it,” he noted. Mucyo urged the researchers to tell the truth so as to promote peace and reconciliation in the country. Yorande Mukagasana, a Genocide survivor who lost her family and relatives in 1994, urged the scholars to write about what happened. “People need to know about the history of the Genocide, its occurrence and aftermath so that they stand in a position to prevent it in future,” said Mukagasana, who has also written a book recounting her ordeal during the Genocide. Ends