Diplomats denounce Genocide deniers

KIGALI - Diplomats representing different countries here in Rwanda have strongly condemned the activities of people who seek to deny the1994 Genocide of Tutsis. Kenyan Ambassador to Rwanda, Alex Keter, said in an interview with Sunday Times on Friday that what happened in Rwanda was genocide. “What happened in Rwanda is not debatable. It was genocide. Finish,” Keter said. He continued that those who seek to negate the fact that there was a genocide in Rwanda may have ulterior motives. “Maybe those people have their own agenda. They may want to exonerate themselves,” said Keter. He said that since he came to Rwanda, he has been able to learn more about the Genocide and how it was planned over a long period of time. He explained that a visit to the memorial site can show anybody that there was genocide and evidence of how it was organised and planned. “The writing is there for everyone to see,” Keter at his office in Kacyiru. The Kenyan envoy added that the fact that people have been charged and convicted of the crime both in Rwanda and at the Arusha-based international criminal tribunal for Rwanda is yet further proof of what happened in Rwanda 14 years ago. “Could the United Nations have sunctioned the ICTR court if it was not genocide?” Keter asked. In a separate telephone interview, Uganda’s ambassador to Rwanda, Richard Kabonero, said that it is unfortunate to have people who seek to revise the Genocide. “In a month like this when people are mourning their loved ones, it is very unfortunate to hear some people denying what happened,” said Kabonero. He added that this sends a message to Africans that they should work together to defeat people who still harbour such thoughts. The Ambassador continued that there are people around the world who even today deny the Holocaust. Kabonero called upon all people who say never again to come together and ensure that the activities of genocide deniers and revisionists are stopped. He further said that no country should ever give sanctuary to people who carried out such mass murder. “It is terrible that people who carried out genocide should be given sanctuary or a platform in any country,” said Kabonero. Tanzania’s ambassador Dr. Marwa Mwita Matiko said people who say genocide never happened in Rwanda behave as if they even know about a country called Rwanda. “It is saddening to hear after 14 years of genocide, some people doubt it. Where do they live?” Matiko asked. Recently there has been an ongoing campaign by well known deniers of the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda to negate the events that took place. A conference called on March 28 in Montreal, Canada, ended in chaos after hundreds of protesters overwhelmed the deniers. Some protestors at the failed conference were quoted in the media as saying that the revisionist conference was against Canadian law. Canada has enacted a law that makes it an offence to deny the Holocaust. The Canadian Jewish Congress has been advocating for the same to be applied on the Genocide against Tutsis. The aborted conference was to be addressed by French journalist and author Pierre Pean, Canadian writer Robin Philipot, Spanish lawyer Jordi Palou-Loverdos and Belgian journalist Peter Verlinden. Ends