Photo by Hanna Morris on Unsplash
An estimated 3 million people were “slaughtered” in the Rwanda genocide.
It is an event that has passed into the annals of history as one of the worst ever such atrocities.
The weekend,therefore, was a chance for the international community to come together to mark what was the 30th anniversary of this sad and tragic event.
The weekend – Sunday 7 April – marked the commemoration of the three decades that have passed since the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda and, for its part the EU, paid its own respects to the many lives lost in the Rwanda genocide.
On Sunday, to commemorate that tragedy and to send the message “Never Again“, scores of people also participated in a silent march from Place Royale to Place Poelaerts in Brussels city centre.
On what Brussels called “this solemn, tragic occasion” the European Union joined the Rwandan nation and its people in the remembrance of the over 1 million men, women, and children who were murdered in a campaign of deliberate atrocities.
The EU expressed its “solidarity with the families and friends of the victims whose loss endures today.”
A statement read, “The EU honors the survivors and their families, whose daily bravery and resilience in the face of this horror, continues to inspire the world. What the people of Rwanda have achieved over three decades in their national journey towards unity, reconciliation, justice, and the preservation of the memory of the Genocide against the Tutsi, is a lesson to the rest of the world.”
It goes on, “The transformation of Rwanda ever since in terms of governance, economic recovery, social cohesion and development is a remarkable achievement. The EU will continue to stand by the people of Rwanda and its transformation journey.”
The EU, in its statements, said it reiterates its “unwavering commitment to the prevention of genocide and any crime against humanity across the world and to ensure full accountability.”
The EU, in its long statement issued on Sunday, said it “stresses the importance of a united and sustained effort by the international community to learn the painful lessons of the past, and do the utmost to thwart the repetition of any such abomination, including by rejecting and fighting against xenophobia, as well as any forms of discrimination and hate speech targeting persons belonging to national, ethnic, racial or religious groups.”
