Rwandan President Paul Kagame said on Monday he was concerned by what he saw as a US failure to characterise the 1994 massacres as a genocide against the country's minority Tutsis.
Kagame told reporters that the issue was an “element of discussion” in talks with former US President Bill Clinton, who led the American delegation to a ceremony on Sunday commemorating the 30th anniversary of the genocide in which Hutu extremists slaughtered about 800,000 people, most of them Tutsis, in a government-orchestrated campaign.
Many Rwandans criticised US Secretary of State Antony Blinken for failing to specify that the genocide targeted the Tutsis when he wrote late Sunday: “We mourn the many thousands of Tutsis, Hutus, Twas, and others whose lives were lost during 100 days of unspeakable violence.”
Responding to a journalist's question about Blinken's post on the social platform X, Kagame said he believed he had reached an agreement with US authorities a decade ago for them not to voice any criticism on the genocide anniversary.
'Distorting history'
“Give us that day,” he said, adding that criticism over “everything we are thought not to have at all” is unwanted on the genocide anniversary.
Rwandan authorities insist any ambiguity on who the genocide victims were is an attempt to distort history and disrespects the memory of the victims.
US officials did not comment on Monday. President Joe Biden issued a statement Sunday, saying, “We will never forget the horrors of those 100 days, the pain and loss suffered by the people of Rwanda, or the shared humanity that connects us all, which hate can never overcome.”
“In the 100 days that followed, more than 800,000 women, men, and children were murdered. Most were ethnic Tutsis; some were Hutus and Twa people.
'Restraint'
It was a methodical mass extermination, turning neighbour against neighbour, and decades later, its repercussions are still felt across Rwanda and around the world,” Biden wrote.
“We honour the victims who died senselessly and the survivors who courageously rebuilt their lives. And we commend all Rwandans who have contributed to reconciliation and justice efforts, striving to help their nation bind its wounds, heal its trauma, and build a foundation of peace and unity. Those efforts continue to this day.”
The question of how to memorialise the genocide stems from allegations that the Rwandan Patriotic Front — the rebel group that stopped the massacres and has ruled Rwanda unchallenged since 1994 — carried out its own revenge killings during and after the genocide.
Kagame has previously said that his forces showed restraint. He said in a speech on Sunday that Rwandans are disgusted by what he described as the hypocrisy of Western nations that failed to stop the genocide.
Genocide
The genocide was ignited when a plane carrying then-President Juvénal Habyarimana, a Hutu, was shot down over Kigali on April 6, 1994.
The Tutsis were blamed for downing the plane and killing the president, and became targets in massacres led by Hutu extremists that lasted over 100 days. Some moderate Hutus who tried to protect members of the Tutsi minority were also killed.
As part of weeklong commemorations, flags flew at half-staff and public places across Rwanda were told to keep entertainment quiet.
Rwandan authorities also face questions over how to present commemoration activities in a way that acknowledges the efforts of some Hutus to protect their Tutsi neighbours.
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