Belgian MPs pay tribute to Murambi Genocide victims

A delegation of four Belgian parliamentarians that is in the country yesterday visited Murambi Memorial Site, in Nyamagabe District, to pay their respects to thousands of the victims of the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi buried there.At the site, the parliamentarians were given a brief history of the Genocide before they laid a wreath in honour of those buried at the memorial. Over 50,000 Tutsis are believed to have been killed at what was meant to be a technical school in Murambi. Many of the remains of the victims, which were mainly retrieved from mass graves, have been buried at the site but several others – preserved in lime and stacked on wooden frames – are displayed to help preserve the history of Genocide.Speaking to The New Times shortly after the tour, Francois Xavier de Donneam the team leader, said he was ‘deeply shattered’ by what he saw.“This is a real testimony of the unspeakable atrocities [committed during the 1994 Genocide against Tutsis],” de Donnea said. “I believe such memorials are important for the younger generation to learn of how cruel human beings can sometimes be and give them a lesson to refrain from any heinous act and any form of discrimination.”Kigeme Refugee CampHe said the International Community failed to act when the killing machine was put into motion, noting that if there had been action many lives could have been saved.Later the delegation visited Kigeme Refugee Camp which hosts over 18,000 Congolese refugees who fled their country mid last year when fighting broke out between a group of mutinous soldiers, who later formed the rebel M23 Movement, and the DR Congo Government forces.The refugees called on the vistors to help in speeding up efforts to bring peace and security to DRC’s eastern part so as to allow them return home.The Belgian delegation, which is on a five-day visit in the country, flew in on Saturday. They are expected to visit several developmental projects across the country, according to officials.They will also meet with their Rwandan counterparts to discuss various issues with a view to strengthening existing ties between the two parliaments, according to Dr Jean Damascène Bizimana, the chairperson of the senatorial standing committee on Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Security.

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Belgian MPs pay tribute to Murambi Genocide victims