Clerics urge Rwandans to uphold unity, reconciliation

RWAMAGANA - Clergymen from different religious denominations, who gathered at Rwamagana memorial cemetery for genocide commemoration on Saturday, urged Rwandans to stick to the notion of ‘never again’ to the genocide. During a special requiem mass, the Mufti of Rwanda Sheikh Saleh Habimana noted that the only way to uphold ‘never again’ to genocide is to keep remembering the tragedy while forging unity . He said that stopping the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi saved many people’s lives, because other massacres would have followed. “After the Genocide against the Tutsi, extermination of the Moslems was supposed to follow. We are therefore highly indebted to the victims who perished…upholding the notion of never again should be every Rwandan’s responsibility and not the survivors alone,” he said. Father Albert Mpasumbuko, who was at the Rwamagana Parish during the genocide, said that Tutsi clergymen were harassed and segregated even before the genocide. “During the genocide I was beaten and tortured by Interahamwe. The suffering of Tutsi was immense. They took refuge in the house of God, but were followed and killed,” he added. Dativa Musabyeyezu, the Ibuka representative in the district urged residents against genocide ideology that was responsible for the genocide. “I know some of you still harbor the genocide ideology. A few of you show it openly while others keep it in their hearts,” she said. Ends