The Minister of National Unity and Civic Engagement, Jean-Damascène Bizimana, has expressed concerns over poorly conducted research on the history of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. He emphasized that these inadequate efforts were failing to serve the intended purpose of preserving the Genocide memory. Speaking during a session with the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Cooperation, and Security on July 19, Bizimana discussed the progress made in merging Genocide memorials. He pointed out that research commissioned by districts lacked the necessary depth to comprehensively cover the Genocide history in their respective territories. ALSO READ: Genocide: Kagame tasks historians, researchers to document history The Minister highlighted that many of the researchers involved were university lecturers. However, some of them faced issues as they resorted to subpar methods, such as sending students to collect information from the internet or copying existing presentations during commemoration periods. Bizimana took decisive action by placing such researchers on a 'red list' and notifying districts about their inadequacy. One example he cited was a research book on the genocide history in Rulindo District, which fell short of the required standards. Despite having about 300 pages, a significant portion merely listed families wiped out during the Genocide, information that was already available through a previous research conducted by Former Students Survivors of the Genocide (GAERG). Bizimana stressed the importance of identifying families wiped out during the Genocide who were previously unknown, which would make a more valuable contribution to the research. ALSO READ: Genocide history to be incorporated into memorials The roots of this issue trace back to the 13th national dialogue council in 2016, which urged all entities, including public institutions, districts, banks, and faith-based organizations, to document their unique histories for preservation and education, especially for the youth who were not yet born during the Genocide. The Ministry of National Unity and Civic Engagement (MINUBUMWE) established guidelines to be followed during research, but unfortunately, some researchers failed to comply. Bizimana highlighted the need to seek out writings deployed by the former regime, such as meeting minutes that were instrumental in preparing the Genocide, instead of resorting to easy and unoriginal approaches.
