The countries supporting the DR Congo-based genocidal militia FDLR must be held accountable before international courts, Philbert Gakwenzire, the President of Ibuka, an umbrella association of Genocide survivors, said on Monday, April 7.

He explained that this is due to the genocidaires’ violence and extremism against the Congolese Tutsi and their well-known plan to continue their genocidal plan in Rwanda.

He said this during the night vigil on the first day of commemorating the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. The day, which began by lighting the Flame of Remembrance and honouring more than 250,000 Genocide victims laid to rest at Kigali Genocide Memorial, marked the beginning of the commemoration week and 100 days of related activities.

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Earlier, in the afternoon, President Paul Kagame, government officials, and other dignitaries joined Rwandans, especially young people, in a Walk to Remember. The walk began at Gasabo District headquarters and ended at BK Arena where participants attended the night vigil, which featured the lighting of flames, songs of remembrance, hearing testimony from a survivor, and a message from Ibuka.

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Gakwenzire said the event aims at honouring more than one million people killed during the genocide, reflecting on the source of divisionism that led to the genocide, denouncing everyone who had a role in the genocide including leaders.

He said: "We thank the intellect with which Inkotanyi stopped the Genocide and the good governance demonstrated over the last 31 years that has enabled Rwanda to be dignified on the international scene and as Rwandans, we have hope of life.”

There is a challenge of genocide ideology mainly spread by the militia known as FDLR, he said, which seeks to exterminate the Congolese Tutsi and continue its genocidal plan in Rwanda.

FDLR is a DR Congo-backed terrorist group formed by remnants of the perpetrators of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. Integrated into the Congolese army coalition which is battling the AFC/M23 rebel movement, the genocidal militia joined forces with Kinshasa’s allies, with a plan to attack Rwanda. The genocidal militia’s genocidal ideology is the biggest threat to Rwanda, and the region.

"We thank our government on the approach they took over the issue and ensuring national security against those that sought to continue with the plan they had 31 years ago.”

In spreading the genocide ideology, hatred, and revisionism, he noted, FDLR is supported by different countries, including DR Congo, Burundi, and Belgium.

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Improved support to survivors

Ibuka’s president also said that there are ongoing efforts to provide support for genocide survivors who lack shelter or those whose houses are in a poor condition.

While taking note of different mental health initiatives, Gakwenzire pointed out that more efforts need to be channelled into improving mental health services, especially for survivors and their descendants.

Liliane Murangwayire, a genocide survivor, shared a testimony of her journey.

In a family of 12 that lived in Bugesera District, the genocide unfolded when she was 12 years old. She survived with two of her siblings.

In 1986, she was sent to live with her grandmother who stayed in Commune Shyorongi (now Nyarugenge District). The first day she got there, Murangwayire who was four years remembers that they slept in the bush hiding from killers. It happened several times.

"I asked my grandmother why our neighbours were haunting us to be killed, she told me it was because we were Tutsi. There was no law to protect us nor to punish them.”

She narrated the many atrocities she and her family faced in the violent and discriminatory years that preceded the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. April 7, 1994, found her in Bugesera District with her family, marking the beginning of a horrifying journey in which her siblings and parents were killed.

It was a dark period of hiding without hope, surviving death on several occasions, witnessing the murder of countless lives, and the resilience of some Tutsi who fought and resisted attacks by genocidal militia but eventually died.

Inkotanyi fighters found her in a swamp, on April 30, 1994, and rescued her. They carried her to the top of a hill and later moved her to Nyamata where other survivors were being taken care of.

Murangwayire thanked the government of Rwanda that took care of her and enabled her to contribute to the country’s development.

She is now married, has four children, and has written a book about her journey of resilience.