Rwanda: History is Not Allowed to Repeat Itself

作者：孙成功

From April 7th, people in Rwanda began to mark the 18th Anniversary of theatrocious Genocide which took place in Rwanda from April 7th to July 18th,1994. Many of them would visit sites where their families and friends were murdered.While remembering and paying tributes to their lost ones, Rwandans willmeditate and draw lessons from the tragedy so as to build its bright future.

Chinese people have stood by Rwandans’ sidein the last eighteen years. We support them in their development programmes, andhelped make the genocide in this country understood back home in China.

To better understand the cause and effectsof the genocide, recently, I threw myself into piles of articles and books. Theabundant resources show me that most of the authors held the view that thegenocide could be prevented. But it happened eventually. In her famous book “Conspiracyto Murder: The Rwandan Genocide”, Linda Melvern reveals how some outsidersignored the vital warnings that the genocide was planned and failed to stop themassive killings. On the night of 12 April, Major-General Dallaire “warned thata sudden disappearance of UNAMIR would result in violence of 'incalculableproportions’,…, “…in Washington it wasconsidered that peacekeeping was not appropriate for Rwanda. Chinawas the only country not to have closed its embassy in Kigali and the Chinese delegate pointed ourthat there was no immediate danger to the peacekeepers;…”( Page 201-202). Inthis regard, if UN and the concerning Governments had accepted Mr. Dallaire’sdetailed plan of action in his fax to Annan on 14 April, and acted quickly, thecolossal calamities could be greatly mitigated.

I check the records of Chinese Embassy in Kigali during theGenocide, in fact it was the last embassy to close. According to Mr. YaoLiqing, First Secretary of the Embassy at the time, he and his colleague CounsellorLu Shudong, Chargé d’Affairs, did not leave Kigali until 10 May, 1994. However, soonafter a unilateral ceasefire was declared by the RPF on 20 July, 1994, theChinese diplomats returned and resumed mission in Kigali on 3 August, the same year. 

At the first sight of the Chinese flagwavering in the breeze, our colleagues all burst into tears. “We are back, ourRwandan friends; We are back, Kigali.”They exclaimed. Entering the Embassy gate, they found everything is in order,with three beautiful crowned cranes dancing easily on the grass. The localstaffs, Mr. Jean and Bosco, who were assigned to take care of the closedembassy in these three months, had done a lot to protect the embassy belongingsfrom any possible lootings. The Chinese diplomats were deeply moved by theirexcellent performance, so they embraced the two staffs with respect and gratitudefor long.

It is coincidental that China’s Qingming Tomb-Sweeping Festival falls onApril 4th every year, only three days prior to Genocide commemorating Day in Rwanda.Last Wednesday, the Chinese community in Kigaligathered at Rulindo cemetery where 10 Chinese people were buried who laid downtheir lives for the cause of reconstruction of Rwanda. Among them, Mr. Chen Jianwas shot by a group of gunmen in 1997 when he worked as an engineer in buildingroad from Gitarama to Kibuye for China Road and Bridge Company in Kigali. He was only 33 when he died. Some Rwandagovernment officials were also present at the occasion as usual. Mr. EricRubayita, Director of Asian Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs andCooperation, highly applauded that the Chinese Government and companies werethe first to offer a supporting hand to Rwanda after the end of Genocide, and boththe Chinese and Rwandans would never forget the contributions they had made tothe local social and economic recovery and development.

As H. E. President Paul Kagame said, wewill always remember them so that even those who did not experience it maylearn the history of the genocide and its causes, and draw lessons that willmake it impossible to repeat it. That’s the value of history.

I feel confident that the Rwandans will notonly remember what happened in the past, they will also show the world how theywill move on to the bright future under the strong leadership of the Governmentand principle of reconciliation and forgiveness. Umusogongero w'isi mi umubano.