Devendra Kumar
As Rwanda marks the 30th anniversary of the 1994 genocide, the painful legacy of the event lingers, a testament to the devastating consequences of hatred and intolerance. The genocide, which claimed the lives of approximately 800,000 people, mostly ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus, was sparked by the death of then-President Juvenal Habyarimana, a Hutu, whose plane was shot down, leading to a wave of violence and massacres against the Tutsi minority.
Rwandan authorities have long blamed the international community for ignoring warnings about the killings, and some Western leaders have expressed regret. President Paul Kagame, who stopped the genocide and seized power, will lead commemoration events in Kigali, including lighting a flame of remembrance and laying a wreath at a memorial site holding the remains of 250,000 genocide victims. Foreign visitors include a delegation led by former US President Bill Clinton, who was in office at the time of the genocide, and Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
Despite the significant economic progress Rwanda has made in the years since the genocide, the scars remain, and there are questions about whether genuine reconciliation has been achieved under Kagame’s long rule. The president is praised by many for bringing relative stability, but vilified by others for his intolerance of dissent. Kagame’s government has outlawed any form of organization along ethnic lines, as part of efforts to build a uniform Rwandan identity. National ID cards no longer identify citizens by ethnic group, and authorities impose a tough penal code to prosecute those suspected of denying the genocide or the “ideology” behind it.
However, some observers say the law has been used to silence critics who question the government’s policies. Rights groups have accused Kagame’s soldiers of carrying out some killings during and after the genocide in apparent revenge, but Rwandan authorities see the allegations as an attempt to rewrite history. Kagame has previously said his forces showed restraint in the face of genocide.
As Rwanda marks the anniversary of the genocide, survivors and officials are holding a week of remembrance activities, including a night vigil. Naphtal Ahishakiye, the head of Ibuka, a prominent group of survivors, said, “It’s a time to learn what happened, why it happened, what are the consequences of genocide to us as genocide survivors, to our country, and to the international community.” Despite progress, mass graves are still being discovered across Rwanda, a reminder of the scale of the killings. The government’s authoritarian regime has created a climate of fear that discourages open and free discussion of national issues, and critics have accused the government of forcing opponents to flee, jailing or making them disappear. Rwanda’s painful legacy remains buried deep in its soil, a constant reminder of the devastating consequences of hatred and intolerance.