The Eastern Province on Sunday paid tribute to former staff who were killed during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. A delegation of the provincial staff, ministers, lawmakers, district mayors and legislators laid wreathes at the monument set up at the provincial headquarters, in honour of the known 785 public servants who were killed in the former Rwamagana sub-prefecture during the Genocide. Addressing hundreds of mourners, Odette Uwamariya, the Governor of the Province, called on residents to help identify names of all the victims who were killed during the Genocide, adding that widows and orphans would continue to receive provincial support. “It’s the fourth time we are commemorating the fallen staff and I am certain that many have not been identified the number of the victims is quite bigger than we have,” she said. Jean Damascene Rwasamirira, one of the few survivors of the heinous acts of Interahamwe in the former Kibungo prefecture, reminded mourners that remembering was essential for a post-Genocide society. “We were tortured by colleagues, constantly harassed before full scale massacres begun. It is thus important that our children understand well, what caused the Genocide,” he said. Meanwhile, cabinet affairs minister, Stella Ford Mugabo who presided over the event advised government workers to keep away from sectarian politics. “The government workers we commemorate today were killed because of bad politics…it is inconceivable that their death were planned by fellow workers. This kind of politics of discrimination that led to the massacres should be buried behind our back. genocide commemoration goes hand in hand with the ‘Never Again’ vows,” she said. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
