EAC holds 23rd Kwibuka Commemoration of Genocide Against the Tutsi
East African Community Secretariat; Arusha, Tanzania; 10 April 2017:
The East African Community in collaboration with the Arusha and Moshi Rwandan Community and the UN Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (MICT) commemorated the 23rd Anniversary of the Genocide Against the Tutsi on 7th April 2017, at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
This year, Rwanda marks the 23rd commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Themed “Remember the Genocide against the Tutsi – Fight Genocide Ideology – Build on Our Progress”, the commemoration was an occasion to pay tribute to the more than one million innocent lives lost through the heinous extermination of Tutsis in Rwanda in 1994.
The commemoration began with a walk to remember from the East African Community Secretariat Headquarters to Arusha City Centre followed by a wreath laying ceremony led by the Regional Commissioner, Arusha, Mr. Mrisho Gambo; the High Commissioner of Rwanda in Tanzania, Mr. Eugene Kayihura; the EAC Secretary General represented by the Deputy Secretary General in charge of Finance and Administration, Hon. Jesca Eriyo; and the MICT Registrar, Mr. Olufemi Elias.
The East African Community (EAC) staff led by Hon. Jesca Eriyo and Hon. Christopher Bazivamo; Deputy Secretary General in charge of Productive and Social Sectors, participated in a somber ‘walk to remember’ from the EAC Headquarters to Arusha City center.
On return to the venue, the front-liners of the ‘walk to remember’ lay flowers at the Genocide Memorial Plaque at the EAC headquarters, after which commemorative candles were lit in honour of the lives lost during the horrendous genocide.
The commemoration brought together a broad spectrum of stakeholders including local government, religious groups, Trademark East Africa, GIZ, Rwandans from the diaspora, Arusha and Moshi Rwandan Community, EAC staff, United Nations Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals, University youth and schools children.
Speaking during the commemoration, Arusha Regional Commissioner, Mr. Mrisho Gambo called for East African Community to be at the forefront of preventing conflicts and fighting against genocide ideology and denial in the community that do escalate into mass murders, extermination and the genocide as we experienced in Rwanda in 1994.
“Let me register my appreciation to the Secretariat for having taken it over as EAC family to own this commemoration event as you have demonstrated by hosting us here in your premises’’.
Mr. Gambo urged the EAC Secretariat to continue in that spirit by putting in place policies geared towards preventing conflicts in the region and more specifically to adopt measures to combat the spread of genocide ideology and its denial in the Community.
“I am happy that there is a good number of youth in this room. The youth are usually misled and used in cases of violence, conflicts and as we witnessed in Rwanda the youth were very active in the killings of their peer innocent children during the genocide. It was awful, added Regional Commissioner.
He called upon the EAC leadership to do all it takes to design programs to support the youth to grow into responsible citizens. Rwanda’s High Commissioner to Tanzania, H.E. Ambassador Eugene Kayihura thanked the EAC Executive for taking the lead in organizing the event and standing with the Rwandan Community in this year’s commemoration.
Amb. Kayihura disclosed that Rwanda experienced a tragedy in which over a Million innocent Tutsis were savagely exterminated in a very horrific and systematic manner, during a three months’ Genocidal killing from 7th April to 4th July in 1994; meaning on average, 10,000 people were killed per day, yet all this happened as the entire world was simply looking.
He informed the invited guests that for the last 23 years Rwandans chose a completely different path of resilience and courage necessary to get solutions for their problems, rejecting the rotten politics of hatred and divisionism, thus, rebuilding Rwanda from the ashes.
Amb. Kayihura expressed his appreciation to the governments and the people of East African Community for standing in solidarity with the government and people of Rwanda during trying moment. “Not forgetting the African Union (AU) and the United Nation (UN) who have also set apart this day the 7th of April every year on their calendars as a special day to commemorate the 1994 genocide against Tutsi”, noted the Ambassador.
On her part, the EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Finance and Administration, Hon. Jesca Eriyo said that as the region and world at large commemorate for the 23rd time, it is important to reaffirm the fundamental truth that we are all created equal and we have certain alienable rights that include the right to life and no one has the right to take it away as it was done 23 years ago from the innocent children, men and women of Rwanda.
“Let’s join the Government and people of Rwanda to commemorate the 23rd anniversary of the Genocide against Tutsi and to encourage all EAC Partner States to be part of the event”.
The EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Productive and Social Sector, Hon Christophe Bazivamo said the EAC region in general and the Government and the People of Rwanda in particular ask the world to stand against genocide denial and its ideology and to recognize the incredible bravery of those who rescued others during the genocide – at great risk to themselves and their families.
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For more information, please contact:
Mr Owora Richard Othieno
Head, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Department
EAC Secretariat
Arusha, Tanzania
Tel: +255 784 835021
Email: OOthieno [at] eachq.org
About the East African Community Secretariat:
The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation of five Partner States, comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.