By Elizabeth Costner
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Africa
KIGALI, Rwanda – UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon visited a memorial for the victims of Rwanda’s 1994 genocide on Tuesday and said the Rwandan genocide “will haunt the United Nations and the international community for generations.”
Ki-moon observed a long moment of silence for the 800,000 people who died in the genocide, mainly members of President Paul Kagame’s Tutsi minority. Ki-moon’s visit was the first for a UN secretary general since Kofi Annan visited in 2001. There is still outstanding resentment towards the UN for failing to prevent the genocide, and Annan had on several occasions admitted to the body’s failure to take action.
During his visit Ban Ki-moon pledged $10,000 from his personal resources to a fund set up by the Government to assist the survivors of the genocide and to educate hundreds of orphans.
Ki-moon also stated that he supports Rwanda’s bid to receive and try genocide suspects from the Arusha based International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). The ICTR’s mandate expires at the end of this year and Rwanda has requested to take over any remaining cases at that point. The tribunal was created in 1995 and has completed 35 case, with five of them ending in acquittal. Six suspects are currently awaiting trial and 27 are currently undergoing trial.
Meanwhile, President Paul Kigame told Reuters today that military intervention may be the only way to halt the escalating ethnic violence in Kenya. Civil unrest and violence in Kenya since the re-election of President Mwai Kibaki last month has killed an estimated 850 people. Kagame warned that Kenya should learn from Rwanda’s bloody history. “It starts with five deaths, then 10, then 50, shortly it grows to 100, then it goes to thousands … By the time you realise, it has a dimension that is wiping out life in villages and communities and is getting out of control and the whole political situation is a mess,” he said. “It is not too late for Kenyans to look back and see how our country went down the drain in the past and I don’t think we would wish a similar thing for any country.”
For more information, please see:
AFP – Rwanda genocide will haunt world for generations: UN Chief – 29 January 2008
AllAfrica.com – Ban Ki-moon Says World Must Protect Civilians From Genocide – 29 January 2008
AllAfrica.com – Ki-Moon Backs Bid to Try ICTR Suspects – 30 January 2008
Reuters – Rwanda suggests military option for Kenya crisis – 30 January 2008
BBC News – Could Kenya become Rwanda? – 30 January 2008
