By Biel Boutros Biel
Kigali, Rwanda, April 7, 2018 (SSNA) — 2018 marks the 24th year of Genocide commemoration in Rwanda. The Genocide that happened on 7th April 1994, committed before the eyes of the whole world including UN by the Hutu extremists against the Tutsi people. Almost a million people were killed within a period of 100 days. The world was watching while innocent children, women, and every Tutsi were allowed to be exterminated. The promise of ‘Never Again’ which the world pronounced since Nuremberg days after World War II, painfully failed. Rwanda went into preventable fire as the world leaders in their comfort offices pretended to be deciding the fine type of rescue action to take! The Tutsi and moderate Hutu died helplessly!
On this day, my heart and prayers remain with the people of Rwanda in their painful journey of overcoming the evil that had befallen their society. May God continue to strengthen them to cement their unity despite the bitter past.
For those who have been denying the Genocide in Rwanda like what they are currently doing in South Sudan killings, they must pretty know that truth will always prevail over falsehood and humanity will live forever! May their souls rest in eternity! To all my Rwandan friends and colleagues wherever you are, in solidarity, my colleagues and I, stand with you.
To the people of South Sudan who are allowed to die, because Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) leaders cannot agree to end your killings, because China and Russia plus their allies cannot allow arms embargo at United Nations Security Council to stop flow of arms into South Sudan, because tribal loyalty to stand up and condemn the evils prevails over national interest, because the greed for wealth to save money instead of saving lives has clouded the conscience of your political and military leaders, name it, do not lose hope! I urge you to remain strong, in the truth and on the seat of justice, for the Most High stands with you. Among you, whoever can, always stand up, speak out against the evils. A united people must define their space in their own terms and not in the terms of whoever makes them worthless! Remain bold to truth and your conscience.
To those hypocritical disciples who remain silent in the face of injustice against innocent populations being killed while the world is watching, make no mistake that humanity will prevail at the end! To the dying elderly, women and children in the swamps and bushes of South Sudan, we stand with you! May the Most High rest the departed souls in eternity and help us strive for Peace and justice and to always stand with the isolated and helpless people, to rise beyond hypocrisies. God bless the people of Rwanda, South Sudan and also bless into actions the hearts and minds of those who have the power to stop evils including genocide, but they haven’t been either! People of conscience, stand up and help stop the extermination of the helpless souls. The good world wakes up!
Biel Boutros Biel is South Sudanese human rights lawyer; he can be reached at [email protected].