Mon Apr 7, 2014
Rwandans have marked the 20th anniversary of the 1994 genocide, in which hundreds of thousands of people were slaughtered.
Official mourning began three months ago with a flame of remembrance touring across the country and culminated Monday amid national grief when the torch arrived in the capital, Kigali.
President Paul Kagame will also light a flame that will burn for 100 days - the same length of time it took government soldiers and Hutu militia to kill 800,000 ethnic Tutsis back in 1994.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and several African leaders are due to attend ceremonies in Kigali’s football stadium.
The UN chief said on Sunday that the international community must learn lessons from the incident.
“Never again. And this should never happen in human history. We have learned the tragic and hard lessons from 1994 Rwanda genocide,” he said.
Ban also said that there are plans to dispatch thousands of peacekeepers to other African hotspots, including the Central African Republic, to avoid a potential repeat of what happened in Rwanda.
“I hope that the Security Council will take action as soon as possible on my recommendation to establish peacekeeping operations in central Africa to bring peace and stability, first of all,” Ban said.
Rwanda has accused France and Belgium of involvement in the killings, urging Paris to face up to the truth.
France has strongly rejected the accusation, while Belgium has apologized to Rwanda for failing to prevent the genocide.
The Rwandan genocide began following the shooting down of a plane carrying former Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana, on April 6, 1994. Then Burundian President Cyprien Ntaryamira was also killed in the plane crash.
After the crash, Hutus who were in majority, were incited to commit acts of ethnic violence against Tutsis. The genocide of 1994 lasted approximately 100 days and hence is called the “100 Days of Hell.”
Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/357521.html.
Rwandans have marked the 20th anniversary of the 1994 genocide, in which hundreds of thousands of people were slaughtered.
Official mourning began three months ago with a flame of remembrance touring across the country and culminated Monday amid national grief when the torch arrived in the capital, Kigali.
President Paul Kagame will also light a flame that will burn for 100 days - the same length of time it took government soldiers and Hutu militia to kill 800,000 ethnic Tutsis back in 1994.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and several African leaders are due to attend ceremonies in Kigali’s football stadium.
The UN chief said on Sunday that the international community must learn lessons from the incident.
“Never again. And this should never happen in human history. We have learned the tragic and hard lessons from 1994 Rwanda genocide,” he said.
Ban also said that there are plans to dispatch thousands of peacekeepers to other African hotspots, including the Central African Republic, to avoid a potential repeat of what happened in Rwanda.
“I hope that the Security Council will take action as soon as possible on my recommendation to establish peacekeeping operations in central Africa to bring peace and stability, first of all,” Ban said.
Rwanda has accused France and Belgium of involvement in the killings, urging Paris to face up to the truth.
France has strongly rejected the accusation, while Belgium has apologized to Rwanda for failing to prevent the genocide.
The Rwandan genocide began following the shooting down of a plane carrying former Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana, on April 6, 1994. Then Burundian President Cyprien Ntaryamira was also killed in the plane crash.
After the crash, Hutus who were in majority, were incited to commit acts of ethnic violence against Tutsis. The genocide of 1994 lasted approximately 100 days and hence is called the “100 Days of Hell.”
Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/357521.html.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.