Yesterday’s event was to mark 20 years of the April 1994 pogrom that claimed 800,000 lives. Rwanda yesterday, April 7, 2014 began a week of official mourning to mark the 20th anniversary of the country's 1994 genocide. Several foreign dignitaries, including African Union Commission Chair, Dr Nkosazana Clarice Dlamini-Zuma and UN Chief, Ban Ki-moon, attended the ceremony.
Speaking at the event, President Paul Kagame said while the country’s enemies plotted and abetted its destruction, some of the people were busy strategising on its future. He said this explains why Rwanda is today a much developed country than it was 20 years ago. While blaming some countries for their role in the genocide, he said the people must also take responsibility for what happened to their country in April 1994.
Radio France Internationale, RFI reported that President Paul Kagame lit a torch which will burn for 100 days, the period the massacres lasted. The week of mourning began with a wreath-laying ceremony at the National Genocide Memorial, followed by the lighting of a flame at the Amahoro Stadium in the capital, Kigali, the BBC said. Thousands of people gathered at the stadium to listen to speeches, having queued for hours in the fog. Traditional mourning songs were sung with the slow melody performed by older women, who are said to embody the sorrow.
Meanwhile, French Ambassador to Rwanda, Michel Flesch, was barred from the event amid a major diplomatic row over France's alleged role in the pogrom, Al Jazeera TV reported. The Rwandan Foreign Ministry informed Ambassador Flesch the night before that his accreditation to the ceremony was withdrawn. The French government initially announced that it was pulling out of the event after President Kagame again accused France of abetting the massacres.
At least 800,000 people - mostly ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus - died at the hands of Hutu extremists in 1994. Many of the victims were hacked to death with machetes during 100 days of slaughter that began on April 6, 1994 shortly after Hutu President, Juvenal Habyarimana, was killed when his plane was shot down over the Rwandan capital, Kigali. Burundian President, Cyprien Ntaryamira - who was also on the plane - was killed. The killings ended in July 1994 when the Rwandan Patriotic Front, RPF, a Tutsi rebel movement led by Paul Kagame, marched into the capital and seized control of the country.
