Focus now on Genocide victims’ remains in neighbouring countries

Following the recent developments about genocide remains still uncared for in neighboring countries, the National Commission for the Fight against Genocide (CNLG) has placed locating these remains and giving them the deserved recognition among its top priorities. Ildephonse Karengera the Director of Memory and Prevention of Genocide at the CNLG headquarters in Remera, revealed that among their programs on the verge of implementation is reaching out and recognizing the remains in the neighbouring countries such as Burundi, Uganda and Tanzania and DR Congo. “We have heard reports of remains that ended up as far as Tanzania and Burundi, these are our people who were killed and thrown in rivers. We shall locate and accord them the deserved recognition and decent burial just like it happens elsewhere,” he declared “We are making possible attempts to locate those in the rest of the East African countries like Burundi and Tanzania.” Appearing before parliament early this week Foreign Affairs Minister, Rosemary Museminali, informed the house that she took up the initiative herself to head talks on behalf of Rwanda, to have the remains given a respectable burial. “At the beginning, the proposal of exhuming the bodies was rejected by the Ugandan authorities claiming that their culture does not allow exhuming bodies,” Minister Museminari told the house. “But we have managed to convince them. Soon we will be entering into final stages of owning the land where the bodies will be re-buried.” This issue came to the limelight after a parliamentary standing committee on Unity, Human Rights and the fight against Genocide released a damning report on the general situation of Genocide remains buried in Uganda. The report revealed that in some areas, the remains were being exhumed for witchcraft purposes, an issue that enraged survivors. Karengera also highlighted that locating and establishing memorial sites for all the remains in the neighbouring countries will facilitate easy remembrance of those victims. Ends