President Paul Kagame said on Monday, April 8, that he was concerned by what has now become the international community’s failure to recognize the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, citing that Rwanda’s position remains clear.
The Head of State was addressing a press conference with representatives from both local and foreign media organizations, the majority of whom are in the country to cover events related to the 30th commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
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Rwandans and friends of Rwanda on Sunday, April 7, commenced activities to mark the 30th commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. More than a million people were killed in the carefully planned massacre that lasted 100 days, from April through July 1994.
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This year’s commemoration will run under the theme Remember-Unite-Renew and also focus on Rwanda’s transformational journey in the past thirty years.
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When asked about those who remain vague in recognizing the country’s dark chapter, a question that was mainly triggered by the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken’s X (formerly Twitter) post, Kagame maintained that he believed he had reached an agreement with U.S. authorities almost a decade ago, to allow for Rwandans to commemorate without any hinders.
The Head of State also said that the issue "was among the elements discussed” with former US President Bill Clinton, who led the American delegation in the 30th commemoration ceremony in Rwanda.
"The US sent a delegation to be with us and they decided to designate Bill Clinton to lead the delegation. We had broad discussions over our bilateral relations and the status of that.”
He added, referring to the US failure to recognize the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi; "That one was an element among many more important things. That concern was answered long ago by making our position clear.”
"Not so long ago, maybe in 2014 or 2015, we got messages from all over the world joining us in the commemoration, and that time we received a message that talked about; on the one hand Kwibuka and sympathizing with us and the other part was talking about democracy, human rights, freedom, almost everything that we are thought not to have at all.”
He added; "We wrote back to the US, and I authored a two-fold letter, the first part was that the US or any government of any country had the freedom to tell us anything and that we were ready to absorb whatever is brought our way. The second most important thing we said is that on the commemoration day we are grateful when you commemorate with us, but for these other points we have one ask and that is feel free to commemorate with us and can you be kind to us to commemorate with us and stop there.”
Kagame asserted that the US, together with any other government, had the right to blame Rwanda on any other day but the commemoration day.
"I thought it was a fair deal and fair ask,” he said.
Rwandans criticized U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken for failing to specify that the genocide targeted the Tutsis.
The theory comes at a time when Rwanda is commemorating, for the 30th time, the carefully planned massacres that took the lives of over 1 million innocent civilians.
The commemoration activities include a flame of remembrance which President Kagame lit at the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre, one of four memorial sites. The flame will burn for the next 100 days as the country honors the victims of the tragic massacre.
On Sunday, April 7 during his address, Kagame reiterated that any ambiguity on who the genocide victims were is an attempt to distort history and disrespects the memory of the victims.
"Rwandans will never understand why any country would remain intentionally vague about who was targeted in the genocide. I don’t understand that. Such ambiguity is, in fact, a form of denial, which is a crime in and of itself, and Rwanda will always challenge it.”