Political parties urged to act against genocide ideology

Political parties have been urged to take the lead in fighting against genocide ideology and fostering unity among Rwandans. The call made ahead of the 29th commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi due to start on April 7, was made on Friday, March 24, during a consultative meeting on the role of political organisations in promoting Rwandans’ unity and resilience. ALSO READ: Genocide ideology remains a threat to unity - Minister Bizimana The Executive Director for National Unity, Itorero and Citizenship Education at the Ministry of National Unity and Civic Engagements, Anita Marie-Dominique Kayirangwa, said the Government made strides in restoring unity among Rwandans after it was destroyed by the genocide in 1994. She was making a presentation on the progress made in building the unity of Rwandans, the challenges that remain, and the role of political parties in upholding that unity and resilience of Rwanda. The country, she said, chose to have a united people, pointing out that the unity level continued on an upward trend as years went by, reaching 94.7 per cent in 2020. She said: “We plan to carry out more research so that we get the current state of Rwandans’ unity.” ALSO READ: New report highlights progress in reconciliation Genocide ideology Kayirangwa said that the remaining challenges to Rwandans’ unity include genocide ideology which some Rwandans and foreigners still harbour and attempt to disseminate among the population, mainly the youth, especially through social media – YouTube, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram. Such cases, she said, include genocide denial, minimisation, and the theory of double genocide -- all intended to distort facts about it. She indicated that data from the Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) paints a picture of the state of genocide ideology; with 404 genocide ideology related cases recorded in 2019, 377 cases in 2020, and 381 cases in 2021. ALSO READ: Over 1,100 cases of Genocide ideology recorded in four years Again, she said, the RIB report showed that genocide ideology cases were most prevalent among the youth than older people. The youth accounted for 57 per cent of the total cases, with some of them born after the genocide. She called for vigilance “especially during this time when we are going to start the commemoration period when such cases are on the increase.” Elisabeth Mukamana, spokesperson of the National Consultative Forum of Political Organisations (NFPO), said that political organisations should be at the forefront of tackling genocide ideology. She stressed that the unity of Rwandans is a fundamental principle that is provided for by the Constitution of Rwanda. “We should join our efforts to combat genocide ideology so that we uphold the gains achieved so far, so that as politicians, we set a good example in fostering Rwandans’ unit. “Though we are from different political organisations, our common goal should be building our country.”

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Political parties urged to act against genocide ideology