Scholar calls on Rwandans to produce content on Genocide to fight denial

Rwanda’s library of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi has been growing over the years. The latest addition to the collection is a scholarly publication by the Director General of the Research and Documentation Centre on Genocide at CNLG, Dr Jean-Damascène Gasanabo. He co-authored the book with David J. Simon and Margee M. Ensign. The book, ‘Confronting Genocide in Rwanda: Dehumanization, Denial, and Strategies for Prevention’, documents, analyses, and details the events that led to the Genocide, and seeks to understand its legacy. Among the topics around the Genocide that the book covers includes; denial, which has been a key concern in recent years, as well as prevention of further atrocities. A number of renowned scholars and writers like Linda Melvern and Zachary Kaufman have contributed to chapters of the book. The New Times’ Collins Mwai caught up with Dr Gasanabo for insights into the book as well as expert opinion on aspects around the Genocide. Below are the excerpts: How did you and your co-authors come together to work on the publication? As a researcher, I am into writing. Even before this book, I have published another book, numerous articles and international journals. When I was appointed Director General of the Research and Documentation Centre on Genocide at CNLG (National Commission for the fight against Genocide) in 2012, one of my tasks was to organise an international conference in the framework of the anniversary of the United Nations convention on the prevention and punishment of Genocide. Among the major highlights was prevention and denial of Genocide crimes. We brought a number of scholars who came to Rwanda to speak on a number of topics around Genocide during that conference. After the conference, I tried to figure out how to publish the proceedings. I figured that if people meet and spend time deliberating on a number of issues, the proceedings should then be published. All the participants agreed to the idea and and I worked to facilitate the release of the book. Does the book have any target audience? The book is mostly for scholars, it is an academic book. The target audience is mainly students, scholars and academics. I hope it can be in all higher learning institutions in the country and beyond. Most of these people do not know much about Rwanda. Most of the target audience did not have enough background on the Genocide and its causes. It was, therefore, necessary to provide background. Part of the background was to shed light on the issue of ethnic groups as previous publications had some inaccuracies. In the book, you give attention to education systems and curriculum and their roles in causing conflict as well as reconciliation, how is Rwanda fairing in this aspect? In divided societies, there is a tendency to have books in the curriculum that emphasise on the differences of the population as opposed to the inclusiveness and the similarities. When you teach learners about their differences, you create division over time, which is what happened in Rwanda. That causes learners to grow up divided making it easier to engage them in conflict. Education defines the way the population perceives themselves and their critical thinking. It is a long process and Rwanda has a long way to go as we have very many children to educate and we have to think about their teachers too for transmission purposes. Visitors tour the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre, which hosts remains of more than 250,000 Genocide victims. (Timothy Kisambira) The book attempts to address concerns around Genocide denial in the country and beyond, what would you say is the state of Genocide denial at the moment? Denial is one of the greatest challenges the country is facing today. Everybody knows that the Genocide happened; even those who refuse to publicly admit it. One can only deny something they know. The deniers, in the country and outside, intentionally refuse to acknowledge that the Genocide happened because of some personal or individual interest. In the country, statements or questions such as ‘Until when are you going to commemorate?’ are some of the tendencies of denial. Outside the country, deniers are mostly comprised of journalists, politicians and academics who mostly use publications and art. Most of them are well informed about the Genocide and have some motives behind their denial. Going forward, what are some of the ways you would recommend to deal with denial? As Rwandans, it is our responsibility to write and publish and tell the story of the Genocide. It is a shame that students and foreign scholars from outside the country come to Rwanda to study the Genocide while a section of Rwandans do not research on the topic. I would encourage Rwandans to actively engage in research and publish content through media and research publications. One does not need to be a scholar or an academic to be able to publish content around the Genocide. I would also encourage them to read widely about the subject. It is also time to think about producing works of art such as films and documentaries about the Genocide. We know our history, it is time to package it and make it accessible. Your book comes at a time when the world is going through a series of conflicts, from neighbouring Burundi, Central Africa Republic and Mali to Syria and a large part of the Middle East. What would you say is the similarity in the causes of these conflicts? Genocide and atrocities can happen anywhere in the world. If you look at some of the ongoing conflicts and atrocities, it emerges that among the leading causes is bad governance and poor leadership. Just like it was in Rwanda before the Genocide, most of the conflicts have been brought about by leadership that is not considerate of their people’s concerns and the inequalities in their societies. Young people should take time to study and learn lessons from countries such as Rwanda to be able to avoid conflicts. When talking about genocide, we have to understand that it mostly begins with classifying people and labeling them as it is happening in areas that are currently experiencing conflicts. Going forward to avoid further conflict, I hope that societies can learn on the similarities they share and avoid labels that breed hate. Dr Gasanabo speaks during the interview with The New Times. (Timothy Kisambira) What can other countries that have experienced conflict borrow from Rwanda’s model of transitional justice to ensure lasting peace? The most important aspect should be to fight against impunity. This country previously had bad management and bad governance that bred impunity. There ought to be accountability to make sure that everyone is equal before the legal system, to make sure that justice is served for sustainable peace. What is your take on the decision by the UN to deny Rwanda the right to host International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) archives? The 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and events around it happened here and affected Rwandans. We regret that the ICTR itself held its sessions away from Rwanda. Now that ICTR has wrapped up, I think it is fair that the archives be brought to Rwanda and hosted here. It is our history and the genocidaires as well as victims are from Rwanda. We need the archives for our education purposes, research and to teach future generations. It is a shame that those who have access to the archives are not even Rwandans. Where can people find the book? As CNLG we are not selling the book. It is available on Amazon, under the title, “Confronting Genocide in Rwanda: Dehumanization, Denial, and Strategies for Prevention.” In Rwanda, because of budget constraints, we have a limited number of copies which we are making accessible in all higher-learning institutions; public and private. The point of the free distribution is to make sure that it is accessible and to ensure that it serves the intended purpose. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Scholar calls on Rwandans to produce content on Genocide to fight denial