Rwanda commemorates

Rwandans will today mark the 18th anniversary of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, with a renewed sense of purpose to build a brighter future.This year’s commemoration is held under the theme, “Learning from our history to build a bright future”, a message that underpins the principle that has shaped the post-Genocide administration’s agenda for the nation.Eighteen years on, Rwandans are determined not to forget the horrific tragedy that descended on their country, killing more than a million people, and leaving the country in ruins. But they also have as much resolve to move on, and craft a future they want to live.Indeed, today, Rwanda proudly stands out in the community of nations not only for having managed to pull itself from the brink, but also for a quick 360-degree turnaround in all aspects.Currently, Rwanda is among top peacekeepers contributing nations, with more than 3,200 officers and men in Darfur, while President Paul Kagame is among world leaders spearheading global efforts for the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as well as broadband access targets.“The choice of the theme for this year’s commemoration was informed by the coviction that Rwandans are the ones who can shape their own future, and the last 18 years have shown us that, with hard work and collective efforts, we can actually surpass even our own expectations,” Jean de Dieu Mucyo, the executive secretary of the National Commission against Genocide (CNLG), told The New Times yesterday.He added: “It’s every Rwandan’s responsibility to identify whatever they can do to make their homeland a great nation.The main commemoration event will take place at the Amahoro national stadium in Kigali, while similar events will take place at the grassroots level across the country.The anniversary activities, which will officially last for a week, will include visiting and laying wreaths at memorial sites, according decent burial to exhumed Genocide remains, giving testimonies, public lectures, among others.It will also be a moment of reflection, looking back at how far the country has come, and recommitting to working even harder for a brighter, common future.Ejide Gatari, the head of the Genocide Survivor Students Association (AERG), told The New Times yesterday that while the mourning week represents the darkest days in the country’s history, the group had put the past behind and focused on the future.More than 50,000 students in the country were orphaned by the Genocide, with about 30, 000 of them in higher institutions of learning, Gatari, 27, a fourth-year at the Central Africa Adventist University (Mudende) said.Most Genocide widows have also turned their lives around, with many of them going on to become inspiring entrepreneurs.As part of the healing process, Rwanda promoted both restorative justice and reconciliation, with Gacaca courts trying as many as 1.2 million Genocide suspects over the last ten years. The majority of them have since completed their sentences, with others still carrying out community work, while coming from their homes.Yet Rwandans fault the international community for doing too little to help dispense justice with regard to the Genocide, with some western countries still reluctant to enforce arrest warrants and extradition requests for several architects, who have since turned into ardent Genocide deniers.And the international criminal court set up to try key actors in the Genocide, the ICTR, has relatively conducted only a handful of trials, often rendering verdicts widely seen to be too soft.Several dignitaries are in Kigali to join Rwandans in remembering their loved ones, while similar events have been organised by Rwandans in the Diaspora. Yesterday, a two-day conference on Genocide concluded in Kigali, with calls for more efforts in fighting Genocide revisionism and denial.