Rwanda’s utmost ambition is not western approval, rather transforming the lives of its citizens, noted Stéphanie Nyombayire, Press Secretary in Office of the President. She highlighted this while countering western media reports blaming victims of the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi for being its cause and not doing enough to stop it. ALSO READ: Kwibuka 29: There is no hiding place from facts of our history – Kagame “The only causes of the Genocide against the Tutsi are those who carried it out and those who supported them, turned revisionists and apologists today. The RPA/RPF put an end to the Genocide against the Tutsi. No one else,” she tweeted. ALSO READ: Linda Melvern on most obvious forms of genocide denial Even after 29 years, Genocide deniers, revisionists, and apologists continue to distort the history under different forms and channels, however, analysts indicate that the Genocide is a historical truth and not a legitimate debate. Many officials and experts have, on several occasions, emphasized that Genocide denial is a setback on justice gains made over the years, much as there is more to be done. As survivors share their painful testimonies, as the country remembers the Genocide against the Tutsi, the @nytimes found it fit to publish a piece blaming the victims for causing it and “not doing enough” to stop it. To be clear: 1.The only causes of the Genocide against the... — Stephanie Nyombayire (@PressSecRwanda) April 11, 2023 In December 2022, when Robert Kayinamura, Deputy Permanent Representative of Rwanda at the UN was speaking at the Security Council, he said that protecting the truth from deniers and serving justice for victims of the Genocide is the best action the Council can take to prevent genocides from re-occurring. “Genocide denial concerns us all because it undermines justice that was so painstakingly obtained for the victims.” This also adds in the call to the youth to counter Genocide denial as often seen on social media platforms, which according to experts, requires them to first learn and understand factual truths on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Quoting President Paul Kagame, Nyombayire noted “Nobody will ever decide for us how to live our lives,” the past has taught Rwandans that their future can only be defined by themselves.
