Democracy Human Rights
April 10, 2011
3rd Annual Memorial Service in Louisville, Kentucky,
USA for the Victims of Violence, War and Genocide in Africa
On Saturday April 9, 2011, around 100 Africans from Rwanda, Burundi, the DRC, and Sudan who have experienced untold violence in their home countries, came together in Louisville, Kentucky, for a memorial service led by Most Reverend Joseph Kurtz, the Archbishop of Louisville, to remember all those who have been killed in the last 2 decades of unending conflict and violence, and make a solemn appeal for peace in the whole region.
Also present were Gerald Gahima and Gervais Condo of the Rwanda National Congress (RNC), who made the trip from Washington to partake in this annual commemoration service, the third since 2009.
The Archbishop exhorted the congregants to pray for peace and exert all means necessary to collectively promote peace and unity, and shun violence and those who advocate it.
In a meeting that followed the service, members of the Rwandan and Burundian community were extensively briefed by Gahima and Condo about the progress the RNC has made since coming into existence last December, and its goal of joining hands with other Rwandans in the opposition to put an end to the RPF dictatorial regime in Kigali and bring about democracy, equitable justice and genuine reconciliation among Rwandans.
Gahima came out forcefully against what he calls a deeply flawed justice system in Rwanda, including the notorious Gacaca courts which he never believed in from the beginning, railed against the persecution, incarceration, demonization and killing of political opponents, condemned the killings of ethnic Hutus inside Rwanda and the DRC by the RPF army as documented by human rights groups, experts teams reports including the U.N. Mapping report, and blasted the insensitive, blind political exploitation of genocide memorial sites throughout Rwanda where bones and skulls of simple and unknown Rwandans are exposed while relatives of those in power are buried in dignity.
Gahima regretted not having left the RPF a lot sooner, and also regretted defending the RPF human rights record in international fora as he was blindsided by his position from atrocities being committed by the RPF army and by President Kagame and the powerful clique around him. However, Gahima vividly reminded all present that for there to be genuine reconciliation in Rwanda, Tutsis and Hutus must candidly accept the truth of the tragedy that took place in our country, and collectively move forward from there. He said that while Tutsis must accept that the RPF did kill Hutus in perhaps even bigger numbers than are made public, Hutus must also accept the reality that genocide did happen because “all those Tutsis who died did not kill themselves”.
He concluded by insisting that if Hutus and Tutsis come together as brothers and endeavor to build a common future, there is no doubt that they will defeat the RPF’s evil system put in place by President Paul Kagame. The movement for democracy has started and it will not be stopped.
Related Materials:
On The Legacy of Numerous Genocide Memorials in Rwanda
Theogene Rudasingwa "A Case For Humanity"
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