As Rwanda commemorates the 30th anniversary of the 1994 genocide, President Paul Kagame has pointed a finger at the international community for its inaction during the horrific event that claimed the lives of an estimated 800,000 people. The genocide, one of the darkest chapters in modern history, was orchestrated by government-backed Hutu extremists against the Tutsi minority and moderate Hutus.
In a somber ceremony held in the capital, Kigali, Kagame, whose rebel movement ended the genocide and seized power, led the commemoration events. The event was attended by foreign dignitaries, including former U.S. President Bill Clinton, who was in office during the genocide, and Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
The Rwandan president criticized the international community for its failure to intervene during the genocide. "It was the international community which failed all of us, whether from contempt or cowardice," Kagame said in his speech after lighting a flame of remembrance and laying a wreath at a memorial site holding the remains of 250,000 genocide victims in Kigali.
The genocide was sparked by the assassination of then-President Juvénal Habyarimana, a Hutu, whose plane was shot down over Kigali. The Tutsis were blamed for the incident, leading to massacres led by Hutu extremists that lasted over 100 days.
Despite the painful past, Rwanda has shown remarkable resilience and economic growth in the years since the genocide. However, questions linger about whether genuine reconciliation has been achieved under Kagame's long rule. While he has been praised for bringing relative stability to the country, he has also been criticized for his intolerance of dissent.
Rwanda's ethnic composition remains largely unchanged since 1994, with a Hutu majority. The Tutsis account for 14% and the Twa just 1% of Rwanda's 14 million people. Kagame’s Tutsi-dominated government has outlawed any form of organization along ethnic lines, as part of efforts to build a uniform Rwandan identity.
Rights groups have accused Kagame’s soldiers of carrying out some killings during and after the genocide in apparent revenge, but Rwandan authorities see the allegations as an attempt to rewrite history. Kagame has previously said that his forces showed restraint in the face of genocide.
As Rwanda continues to grapple with its past, the country has also had troubled relations with its neighbors. Tensions have flared with Congo, Burundi, and Uganda over allegations of supporting armed groups.
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