On the afternoon of 7th April, the Rwandan community in Beijing, diplomatic corps and friends of Rwanda came together at the Embassy of Rwanda to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the Genocide against Tutsi.

Speaking at the event, Ambassador Kayonga said that the 1994 Genocide was the climax of generations of killings led by the Hutu ruling class and targeting Tutsi.

“On this day, 25 years ago which to some, seems like just yesterday, the government of Rwanda led its armed forces, and ruling party militia to kill the Tutsi with the objective of annihilating them completely. The ordinary Hutu people mainly peasant were also mobilized by their local leaders and militia to kill their Tutsi neighbors. The government in addition targeted for killing those Hutu that were in the opposition parties or that opposed the genocide scheme,” said Ambassador.

Commemoration is to honor those who were killed in the genocide but also to celebrate all those people who took risk and in many cases sacrificed their lives in order to protect and to save those under threat.

“Under the leadership of President Paul Kagame, the Rwandan people have managed to put aside the hatred and divisions that nearly destroyed their beautiful country,” the envoy added.

Speaking on behalf of African diplomatic corps in Beijing, Ambassador Martin Mpana of Cameroon while condemning the successive governments that spearheaded the killing of innocent people, called the International Community to remember and stand together against the genocide ideology, impunity and genocide denial.

“Twenty-five years ago, the world was shocked by the horror and chaos that engulfed Rwanda as the then government orchestrated the worst ever killings since the World War II. As the survivors have narrated, the government was killing none other than its own citizens, just because they were Tutsi. At the end of one hundred days of ceaseless killing, at least one million Tutsi and moderate Hutu were killed,” Ambassador Martin Mpana said.

As part of the commemoration activity at the embassy, participants held one minute of silence, in respect of the 1994 genocide victims and watched a documentary movie featuring similarities between the genocide against the Tutsi and the Holocaust of the Jews “words that kill”.

During the event, KABANDA Gilbert, a genocide survivor expressed his experiences before, during and after the 1994 Genocide, including rescue by Rwanda Patriotic Army, the armed wing of the Rwanda Patriotic Front.

During the evening vigil at the embassy, Ambassador Kayonga reminded the youthful audience, mainly students in and around Beijing to uphold the Rwandan values of unity and Agaciro for it is only with this that they can succeed in ensuring Never Again becomes a reality.

He urged them to study hard knowing that they are the next generation of leaders who must take over from the first post genocide generations and ensure continuity of stability and development.

Rwandan community members in the rest of the Provinces of China continue with various commemorative activities in their respective cities.