RWANDA TO LAUNCH ‘CAMPAIGN AGAINST GENOCIDE MUSEUM’ AT PARLIAMENT IN KIGALI
(Posted 09th June 2014)
Information is coming out of Kigali that July 04th, which will mark the 20th anniversary of the end of the genocide, will be commemorated with the launch of a new museum located at the national parliament in Kigali.
Already has for some time a monument been installed on the top of the building, which continues to show bullet holes from the final days of the liberation struggle in 1994, which portrays two Rwanda Patriotic Front / Army soldiers manning a heavy machine gun which was used to first contain and then repel attempts by the genocide army of the former killer regime to retake that section of Kigali.
Also due to be launched at a later date is a planned Liberation Museum which will be taking shape around the former RPA command centre near Mulindi, which was in use for the entire duration of the 1990 – 1994 liberation struggle. Both facilities will join the existing national Genocide Memorial in Kigali which has established itself as a must visit location for foreign visitors to the country, while in the capital city.
Every year does Rwanda observe the 100 days of genocide between April and July, during which nearly a million innocent lives were lost in often the most cruel ways, as documented at the national Genocide Memorial and other memorial sites across the country.
Notably are the genocide militias and remnants of the former regime army still holed up across the border in Eastern Congo and pose a clear and present danger to the new Rwanda which has gained shape and rose like a Phoenix from the ashes of 1994. These militias have, inspite of assurances to the contrary, not faced any military action by the Congolese national army nor the UN peace keeping forces deployed there, suggesting an unholy alliance between the Kinshasa regime, the UN and the killer militias. They are clearly left untouched to roam areas under their control where they reportedly maintain mines through the use of slave labour under the eyes of the UN forces and continue to stage attempts to penetrate Rwandan defenses along the border. Said a regular source from Kigali: ‘Rwanda can only rely on herself and some friendly neighbours to ensure our security. The UN has been in Eastern Congo for a long time and they have, apart from accusing Rwanda of all sorts of things, not done one thing to contain and eliminate the biggest threat to regional security in the Great Lakes region, the FDLR. The mistakes of 1994, when the UN forces were withdrawn from Rwanda to allow the genocide to go ahead without any opposition other than from the RPA, are perpetuated by the present UN policy of letting these killer militias continue to threaten Rwanda. No one should therefore be surprised that we Rwandans assert our right to self-defense and if our President used strong words recently, the essence of those is clear, those trying to disturb us or cause trouble will face overwhelming force and will have to pay the price for their ongoing warmongering’.
The 20th anniversary of the genocide was and continues to be marked across Rwanda with marches, commemorative services, the launch of newly established memorial sites where victims were given a proper burial and series of lectures and events dealing with the genocide mentality and the root causes of genocides which have been committed in modern times around the world. Watch this space to learn when both new museums are opening for the public.
