Mugesera’s deportation an eye opener for revisionists–survivors

Leon Mugesera’s deportation and imminent trial in Rwanda as one of the masterminds of the Genocide against the Tutsis, speaks volumes to those who still denying that the killings were premeditated, Genocide survivor bodies have said. Dr. Jean Pierre Dusingizemungu, the President of Ibuka, an umbrella body of over 15 survivor associations, welcomed his deportation as a sign of true justice to the survivors. “It has taken long for him to be deported because some genocide deniers tried to sabotage all the efforts. But we can finally say that justice is now served. Rwandans have made great strides towards healing and reconciliation and will always welcome such initiatives that serve the cause,” Dusingizemungu commented. Diogene Bideri, a researcher, added that: “Mugesera is on record for openly calling for the extermination of the Tutsi race. He extensively used the Kinyarwanda language, using proverbs that only Rwandans understand so that nobody would be left guessing what his message was. “The Genocide against the Tutsi did not appear spontaneously; it was planned, way before 1994, and that is why it is important that he is tried in Rwanda where people understand perfectly the words he spoke and in what context he said them. I do not believe that people elsewhere would clearly understand what Mugesera meant,” he stated. The Secretary General of the National Commission for the Fight Against the Genocide, Jean De Dieu Mucyo, called on countries that still harbour genocide fugitives to follow Canada’s steps and bring them to justice. “Many still harbour genocide ideologies and it would only be in the interest of humanity for them to face justice for the crimes they committed. I hope that Mugesera’s deportation serves a warning to those who still believe in inhumane ideologies, that justice will soon catch up with them,” Mucyo said. “I also hope that for the sake of the survivors, Mugesera, as a renowned and vocal promoter of the Genocide against the Tutsis, will cooperate and expose some of the things that are still only known to the people who planned it.” Aldo Havugimana, a Genocide survivor and now Director of Radio Salus, expressed delight stressing that the news of Mugesera’s deportation represents a personal triumph. “Personally, I am very happy that those people thinking that they can escape justice and not be accountable for what they did and said, are finally brought to book. Now I believe that no matter where they hide, sooner or later, they will be sought out and pay for what they did,” Havugimana said. “Those denying the Genocide is up to them; it will neither stop the truth from coming out nor will it stop our country from serving justice”. In his infamous speech at a political rally in Ngororero District in the Western Province in 1992, Mugesera called for the extermination of Tutsis whom he referred to as scum and cockroaches. ivan.mugisha@newtimes.co.rw