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Genocide: Debate rages on over call for apology

Saturday July 20 2013
genocide

A Gacaca court in session. The Rwandan traditional courts tried suspects of the 1994 Genocide. Photo/File

A suggestion at a meeting attended by President Paul Kagame that Rwandans born in the community in whose name genocide was committed should apologise on behalf of the perpetrators has elicited raging debate.

During a Youth Connect dialogue recently, some young people mooted the idea, which elicited the president’s praise.

The president encouraged relatives of the 1994 genocide perpetrators who wished to apologise on behalf of their parents or relatives to do so without fear or shame.

Although the head of state described failure to do so as “absolute nonsense”, some people say heeding this suggestion could affect the country’s reconciliation process.

Not ordinary

Nineteen years after the mass murder of Tutsis, relatives of genocide perpetrators have remained fearful and unsettled with some skeptical about the government’s commitment to reconciliation.

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Some Rwandans have lived with the guilt of being Hutu because of their relatives’ deeds, and the president says that can be ended by an apology – including from children whose parents killed.

“What happened in Rwanda is not something ordinary. I did not commit genocide but when I go to the West...I apologise on behalf of Rwandans,” Kagame stated.

The president’s argument, which is shared by some top officials in his government — including Hutus — is that the apology by Hutu families would make a difference in transforming Rwanda for the better.

However, law experts have challenged the idea on the grounds that it is unconstitutional since the burden of criminal responsibility cannot be transferred.

Prof Jean-Pierre Dusingizemungu, the president of Ibuka, an umbrella organisation of genocide survivors, said one cannot ask all Hutus to seek forgiveness because not all of them committed genocide.

READ: Apology: Singling out a community over the genocide is not right

At the height of the 1994 mayhem, many Hutus helped their Tutsi friends and relatives to escape and some were killed for hiding them.

Dr Theogene Bideri, a lawyer and researcher on genocide, however said asking Hutus to seek forgiveness on behalf of their relatives was not strange. He said that would help to achieve true reconciliation among Rwandans.

“Our culture is unique, and when people commit mistakes in your name, ethnicity...you have a duty to apologise on behalf of your people,” Dr Bideri said.

At the end of the conference, more than 10 youths apologised on behalf of their parents and the president praised them for their action.

Now, the government’s reconciliation efforts are being put to test: The debate coincides with the passage of a Bill to amend the 2008 law on ideology of genocide, which has been the subject of contention between the government and civil society activists.

The activists had for a long time argued that the law was vague and ambiguous, especially regarding charges, and that the government used it as a tool for crushing dissent and clamping down on freedom of speech.

The government has, however, often defended it, saying it was necessary for punishing those manifesting dangerous hate speech.

The Bill, which is subject to review by the upper chamber, the Senate, seeks to reduce the punishment for harbouring genocide ideology from 25 years to the nine contained in the Penal Code.

It is hoped that countries hitherto reluctant to send suspects to Rwanda for trial citing the law could change their stance.

President Kagame said some genocide survivors lived in pain but could not take revenge because the government has ordered them to live in peace with those who killed their relatives.

The youth promised the head of state that they would help those still chained by the complexities of the genocide to move on.

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