GISOZI: VICTOIRE INGABIRE UMUHOZA’S SPEECH
January 16, 2010
I
would like to say that today I came back to my country 16 years after that
tragedy took place in this country. I know very well that there was genocide
and crimes against humanity. Therefore, with my return after 16 years in a
country where such actions took place in my absence, I could not have fallen
asleep without first passing by the place where those actions took place. I had
to see the place. I had to visit the place.
The
flowers I brought with me are a sign of remembrance from the members of
FDU-INKINGI and its Executive Committee. They told me to pass by here and tell
you, the Rwandan people, that what we wish for is to work together, to make
sure that such a tragedy will never take place again. That is one of the
reasons why the party FDU-INKINGI decided to return to the country peacefully,
without resorting to violence as many people think that the solution to Rwanda
Therefore,
within FDU-INKINGI, we wish that all of us, the Rwandan people, can work
together, join our different ideas, so that the tragedy that befell our nation
will never happen again. It is clear that the path to reconciliation has a long
way to go. It has a long way to go because if you look at the number of people
who were killed in this country, it is not something that one can get over
quickly. But still, if one looks around, he/she realizes that there is no
strong political policy designed to help the Rwandan people achieve genuine
reconciliation. For example, if we look at this memorial, it only refers to the
people who died during the genocide against the Tutsis. There is another untold
story with regard to the crimes against humanity committed against the Hutus.
The Hutus who lost their loved ones are also suffering; they think about the
loved ones who perished and are wondering ‘When will our dead ones also be
remembered?’
For
us to reach reconciliation, we need to empathize with everyone’s suffering. It
is necessary that for the Tutsis who were killed, those Hutus who killed them
understand that they have to be punished for it. It is also necessary that for
the Hutus who were killed, those people who killed them understand that they
have to be punished for it too. Furthermore, it is important that all of us,
the Rwandan people, from our different ethnic groups, understand that we need
to unite, respect each other, and build together our country in peace.
Therefore,
the reason we came back to the country is to start together that path of
reconciliation and find a way to stop injustice so that all of us, the Rwandan
people, may live together with freedoms in our country.
posted by Mamadou Kouyate @ 10:48 PM
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