{"id":188064,"date":"2021-05-05T17:50:18","date_gmt":"2021-05-05T15:50:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/in-rwanda-genocide-commemorations-are-infused-with-political-and-diplomatic-agendas\/"},"modified":"2021-05-05T17:50:18","modified_gmt":"2021-05-05T15:50:18","slug":"in-rwanda-genocide-commemorations-are-infused-with-political-and-diplomatic-agendas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/in-rwanda-genocide-commemorations-are-infused-with-political-and-diplomatic-agendas\/","title":{"rendered":"In Rwanda, genocide commemorations are infused with political and diplomatic agendas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Created in 2003, the National Commission for the Fight Against Genocide<\/a> is responsible for Rwanda\u2019s genocide remembrance policy. It is a programme that has, over time, influenced all aspects of politics across all sectors.<\/p>\n

Each year, on 7 April, themed memorial events are organised by the commission, in close collaboration with the president. <\/p>\n

This article addresses the period following the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan Civil War<\/a> and its 1994 genocide<\/a>. <\/p>\n

What follows is a review of the commemorations from 2014 to the present \u2013 and a view on the challenges ahead.<\/p>\n

2014 – 2019: internationalising the remembrance<\/h2>\n

In 2014 Rwanda entered the final phase of its genocide remembrance public policy, the \u201csecond internationalisation\u201d phase. The aim was to urge recognition and commemoration of the Rwandan genocide as an ethical obligation across the world.<\/p>\n

This gave rise to commemorations in Kigali in 2014 that were considered particularly offensive, especially by the French government<\/a>. On the morning of the event, the French ambassador\u2019s accreditation was withdrawn. The day culminated in an accusatory speech<\/a> by Rwandan president Paul Kagame at a ceremony attended by the UN Secretary General<\/a> and foreign heads of state.<\/p>\n

With widespread international genocide commemorations in 2017, Rwanda submitted a draft resolution<\/a> to the United Nations General Assembly to rename the day. On 26 January 2018, the assembly adopted a decision \u2013 without vote \u2013 for the \u201cInternational Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda\u201d to become the \u201cInternational Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda\u201d<\/a>. This decision was highly criticised, given the new name excludes victims from other ethnic groups.<\/p>\n

In 2019, the 25th anniversary commemorations consecrated the international community\u2019s recognition of its responsibility towards the genocide and unwillingness to try to stop it. Official ceremonies were characterised by remorse from many countries.<\/p>\n

Even France, usually in the crosshairs, was spared. A few months prior, a French court had dismissed<\/a> a case against prominent Rwandans for the 6 April 1994 attack on Rwandan president Juvenal Habyarimana\u2019s plane. This sparked the genocide. <\/p>\n

A long-running dispute between France and the new Rwandan regime was resolved. But even as the investigation was being closed in 2017, Rwanda enlisted a prestigious US law firm to explore bringing France before international courts for complicity in genocide.<\/p>\n

In a 2019 declaration, French president Emmanuel Macron highlighted his desire to \u201cbreak with the way in which France had understood and taught the Tutsi genocide\u201d. He made 7 April a French national day of commemoration<\/a> and a commission was set up<\/a> \u201cto examine all French archives relating to Rwanda between 1990 and 1994\u201d. A French court also dismissed a case against French officers involved in Operation Turquoise<\/a> in Rwanda. <\/p>\n

This indicated an educational approach towards French sovereign institutions, who were invited to recognise the \u201cerrors\u201d of the past. <\/p>\n

2020: the return of controversial commemorations<\/h2>\n

The 2020 anniversary was particularly complicated for Rwanda. On top of COVID-19 restrictions and on the eve of commemorations, the UN secretary general Ant\u00f3nio Guterres and UN General Assembly president Volkan Bozkir unexpectedly questioned the new title. <\/p>\n

Guterres specified<\/a> that among the one million people murdered in the genocide, \u201cthe victims were overwhelmingly Tutsi, but also included Hutu and others who opposed the genocide\u201d.<\/p>\n

The following day, 7 April, Kagame\u2019s short public declaration<\/a> took note of the statements. It was addressed to \u201call Rwandans\u201d, speaking of \u201cwhat happened to our country and what we learned\u201d. It didn\u2019t specifically mention the \u201cgenocide against the Tutsi\u201d.<\/p>\n

Such a transgression of the official wording drew such criticism from survivor organisations that Kagame eventually backtracked.<\/p>\n