Regional
Rwanda Rebuilt Against her Destiny Following the Tragic Devastation by the 1994 Genocide Against Tutsi
Rwandans
and members of the International Community will on 7th April
commemorate the 1994 genocide against Tutsi. This is also in line with UNSC
Resolution A/RES/58/234 which together with UNSC Resolution
58/243 of 26th January 2018 designates 7th April
as an International Day of Reflection on the Genocide against the Tutsi in
Rwanda.
The
1994 genocide against Tutsi is the darkest chapter of Rwanda’s history with
over one million people mercilessly hacked to death beginning on 7th April
through to 4th July 1994. A historical product of the divide
and rule politics of the Colonial Masters initiated for ensuring total control.
This evil policy got institutionalized by the two successive post-independence
Republics from 1962 to 1994. The first victims of this divide and rule ideology
date back to 1959 when mass killings of Tutsi began in what the colonial
masters called a social revolution. Hundreds of thousands run into exile in
neighboring countries.
Those
who remained inside the country were relegated to second-class citizens and got
subjected to whims of cyclic killings over three decades. The climax of this
hate and discrimination against Tutsi culminated in a well-orchestrated plan
for their total extermination by the Government in 1994 amidst a repugnant
silence of the International Community. Given that 7th April
falls under the period of Holly Ramadan, for the convenience of many, Rwanda
Diplomatic Mission in Sudan will be hosting the 28th Commemoration
of the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi on 12th May 2022.
Commemoration
of the 1994 genocide against Tutsi is a time for remembering and paying tribute
to the innocent souls mercilessly butchered at the hands of their Government.
It is a time we appreciate the resilience of genocide survivors who still carry
with them both bodily and psychological scars of the genocide. It is a time we
give commendation to the young men and women united under the Rwanda Patriotic
Front (RPF) who in 1990 launched the liberation struggle to
end a state of statelessness that over a million Rwandan refugees had been
subjected to and millions of others inside the country discriminated against
based on their ethnic classification and in some cases their region of origin.
This is also a time for honoring the RPF for their heroic campaign against
Genocide that against many odds stopped it by 4th July 1994.
Historically,
Rwanda has existed for over five centuries as a Nation-State. As generally
expected of the era, pre-colonial Rwanda was organized as a centralized
monarchy under a King. The King was the supreme ruler with ordinary Rwandans
organized into socio-economic classes of Hutu (cultivators), Tutsi (cattle
keepers), and Twa (gatherers). There were intermarriages and fluidity in the
socio-economic classes where a cultivator who out of hard work or otherwise
acquired ten or more cows (a then measure of wealth) could join the Tutsi
class. A Tutsi could also slide into the Hutu class if he lost his cows. They
all lived in harmony with no inter-communal violence, had a homogenous culture
and one unifying language, Kinyarwanda.
In
their divide and rule ideology, however, Colonial Masters back in 1932 through
very controversial research turned around these socio-economic classes into
ethnic identities. This artificially created ethnic classification was
entrenched by the colonial administration by the issuance of National
Identities (NIDs) that identified Rwandans either as Twa, Tutsi, or
Hutu. This act drastically metamorphosed the social dynamics of Rwandan
society. The kids were from 1959 used in discriminating against Tutsi and most
lamentably in identifying them for targeted killings even long before the 1994
genocide.
The
build-up to the 1994 genocide was preceded by cyclic killings of Tutsis
starting in 1959 through to the genocide itself. Further early evidence for the
meticulous planning of the genocide relates to the recruitment, training, and
arming of killer-Militias called Interahamwe in the early 1990s, intensification
of hate propaganda by public and private radios (National radio and the
notorious RTLM); hate and dehumanization by print media (e.g Kangura) as well
as Government officials that characterized Tutsi as snakes and cockroaches that
deserve total extermination; glorification of the killing of Tutsi by calling
it ‘Gukora’ (work) or ‘Umuganda’ (community work); negative theorization that
Tutsis historically didn’t belong to Rwanda and ‘must be sent back to their
origin using the short-cut of river Nile (read, dumping them in river Nile).
Derived
from the foregoing, early warning cables on the planned Genocide were sent to
the United Nations by General Romeo Dallaire, Commander of the UN Peacekeeping
Mission (UNAMIR) which was deployed in Rwanda back in 1993. Absurdly,
when the genocide began on 7th April 1994, the UN ordered a partial withdrawal
of the Peacekeeping force which was 1,700 strong, leaving behind only two
hundred seventy (270) soldiers who could at most observe the carnage, thus
leaving Rwandese at their peril.
Thankfully
and heroically, the RPF came to the rescue of the country by launching its
military campaign against Genocide which stopped it, saved lives, and liberated
the entire country by 4th July 1994.
Indeed
the 1994 genocide against Tutsi remains a hallmark stubborn reminder of the
biggest failure of the international community at the close of the 20th
Century. This genocide however still rears its ugly head through genocide
denial and revisionism which scholars classify as the last phase of Genocide.
This Genocide denial and revisionism are propagated by genocide fugitives and
their support networks across the globe.
The
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (CPPCG)
unanimously adopted by the UN General Assembly on 9th December 1948 was born
out of a bonafide necessity to ensure Genocide never happened anywhere again.
Yes, this UN Convention criminalizes genocide and obliges State Parties to
enforce its prohibition but alas it happened with impunity in 1994.
Further,
the International Community through UNSC Resolution 2150(2014) of
16th April 2014 on prevention and fight against Genocide and other serious
crimes, obliges the stopping of all forms of genocide-related impunity by
apprehending all fugitives of the 1994 genocide against Tutsi for trial either
in Rwanda or in their current jurisdictions of abode. This should curtail this
last phase of genocide and contribute to the protection of genocide survivors
who are grossly affected by trauma resulting from genocide denial and
revisionism.
The
post-genocide government faced numerous challenges not least: a
destroyed moral fabric; economic devastation; acute
lack of human capital; thousands of vulnerable genocide survivors;
millions of refugees herded into exile in Eastern DRC as hostages of the former
Genocidal Government and used as a source of military recruits for another
comeback to finish their genocide mission; genocide ideology that hampered
efforts geared towards the rebuilding of unity, reconciliation, and
transitional/restorative justice.
But
the successful ending of the genocide ushered in a very focused and
results-oriented leadership that was characterized by a high sense of urgency
for delivering to the aspirations of the Rwandese. These aspirations include:
stopping all manner of discrimination and immediate banishment of ethnic-based
identity cards.
Moreover,
the new leadership’s vision of liberation was much broader and included
resolving root causes for going into exile, ensuring security and justice for
all, reconciliation and rebuilding unity, and ushering in an all-inclusive
economic development paradigm. Indeed, central to Rwanda’s rebirth from her
1994 destiny of a failed state has been a leader that has had all Rwandese at
heart and is results-focused.
A
leadership that has prioritized reconciliation and the rebuilding of unity as
opposed to revenge that simple human instinct could otherwise have dictated.
Informed by the revived Rwandan values and her internal context, the
post-Genocide RPF-led Government enlisted many individuals both from the former
regime and opposition political parties that had had no known role in the 1994
genocide against Tutsi.
The
same policy was used in establishing a national army, national Police, and
other security institutions. The broad-based transitional Government lasted
until the Presidential elections of 2003 which were conducted after the
promulgation of the new Constitution in 2000. This Constitution, later revised
in 2015, has institutionalized power-sharing. No winning party in presidential
elections can have more than 50% of Cabinet members or more than 50% of the
Legislature. More so, the President of the Republic and Speaker of Parliament
must be from different political parties.
Despite
the institutionalization of power-sharing as opposed to winner takes all,
however, there is always special observance of one’s delivery competencies. The
Constitution also provides for a minimum of 30% women representation in all
arms of Government. Indeed gender parity is high on Government’s agenda and for
example, women now comprise 61% of Parliament and 54% of the Cabinet. There is
equal access to education and a guaranteed right to other national resources.
To
ensure maximum delivery, there is a well-elaborated system of performance-based
contracts as well as a monitoring and evaluation mechanism established in the
Prime Minister’s office. Given Rwanda’s internal context and her unique
challenges, numerous Rwandan homegrown solutions and policy choices have been
initiated and implemented.
With
the country’s Gacaca transitional justice that was restorative and helped
expedite Genocide related cases; prioritization of unity and reconciliation;
efforts of fighting genocide ideology and its related impunity; choice of an
economic development model that is inclusive and people-centered; ensuring
security and justice for all; choice of consensual as opposed to
confrontational democracy and taking decision making closer to the people,
Rwanda’s fortunes have been turned around.
Rwandans
have reconciled, human capital rebuilt, the economy is generally on an
impressive growth trajectory and the country is one of the most secure, ranking
2nd biggest contributor to UN Peacekeeping and this year was ranked
6th Safest Country in the World and 1st in
Africa for Solo Travellers (Userbounce.com).
Relatedly,
with Vision2020 promulgated in the year 2000 and its succeeding blueprint
Vision2050, the general trajectory of the economy is reassuring to Rwandans despite
the bad spell caused by COVID19. The economy for sixteen years until the
COVID19 global disruption in 2020 had grown at an average of 8%. With
the ramping up of COVID19 vaccination across the country (now nearing 70% of
the entire population) and related full reopening of economic activities, the
economy which contracted by 3.4% in 2020 due to lockdowns, is according to the
Minister of Finance and IMF rebounding with a 10.2% growth in 2021.
With
the now waned COVID19 pandemic, there is no doubt the Commonwealth Heads of
Government Meeting (CHOGM) will be held in Kigali this June.
Rwanda’s rich experience as a destination for big conferences, sports
tournaments, and other events coupled with her ever-growing world-class hotels.
For example, from zero (0) five-star hotels/boutiques in the year 2000 to nine now and many more, CHOGM guests are assured of their most comfortable stay in a serene environment and a results-packed meeting.
We meanwhile note and delight in the gradually growing interest in Rwanda by Sudan-based businesses/investors and hope for its continued progression. We wish to encourage more visits to Rwanda by Sudan residents not only for business but also for tourism and more people-to-people interactions.
Source: https://blnews.net/