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Twenty years after the Rwandan Genocide the country has recorded remarkable development success particularly over the last decade with an average of 8.1% per annum of GDP, a drop in poverty from 59% in 2001 to 45% in 2012 and inequality reduced from 0.52 in 2005 to 0.49 in 2011. The Government has also claimed to have met most of MDG goals.  Nevertheless building those achievements over an underlying issues such as human rights abuse, arbitrary imprisonment, lack of political space and freedom of speech, intimidation, lies and lack of impunity is like building a 10strorey building on liquefied soil where you know that soon or later the building will sink and walls will crumble.

Rwanda has created a sophisticated International PR machine to counter the accusation of the dictatorship and ruthless regime headed by President Kagame. The RPF (Rwandan Patriotic Front) the party on power have understood the need to put the whole international community (IC) under their armpit by creating a Convincing Communication strategy to tell and show the International Community only what Rwanda wants the IC to hear or see, even if is based on pure lies. So far it has worked; the IC has been fooled and duped for the last 20 years. Also, the international community, due to their feelings of guilt, continue to bow to the Rwandan Government.

The PR machine has convinced the International Community that Hutus are malicious, have planned and executed the Genocide, while every Tutsi is a victim. The implication of calling the Rwandan genocide “Tutsi Genocide, is a calculated RPF strategy to claim the ownership, use it for financial purpose and a clever way of telling Hutus and the IC : “ sorry we are the only victims here”.

No one can deny the Genocide against Tutsi. Hutus extremists and Interahamwe (Hutu militia) wanted to exterminate Tutsi Ethnic group. However it is imperative to acknowledge that a number of Hutu were also victims. Prior to the Genocide in zones occupied by RPF some reports suggested that there was a systematic killing of prominent and intellectual Hutu and in the aftermath an unprecedented mass killing was committed by the RPF army.

The government propaganda locally is to portray an image of non ethnic discrimination, a Rwanda reconciled, but coming to April Hutus are told in clever way not to commemorate their dead ones because it is “Tutsi genocide”. To rubber salt into the wound, recently an initiated Government program “Ndi Umunyarwanda” I am Rwandan that put Rwandan ownership and belonging, above and before any ethnicity, controversially summoned youth, from Hutu ethnic group to ask forgiveness for the crimes committed by their parents or grandparents. What a contrast…

It seems that the History of Rwanda is resumed within the period from 1994 when the Genocide begun to the end of the tragedy after 100days and from there to the phenomenon economical achievement particularly in the last decade. This is what RPF wants everyone to focus on as if the crimes committed prior to 1994 in zones occupied by RPF against Hutu population and in the aftermath of the Genocide especially in Kibeho Camps where 8000 people lost lives when the RPF army decided to open fire or in Goma Camps in DRC where more than 300,000 Rwandans majority from Hutu lost lives killed by RPF, are not a part of Rwanda tragic history.

It beggars belief that up to date no one has been taken accountable of those crimes committed against hutu population whilst some individuals involved still operates at the highest level of the RPF government. Various reports have named individuals involved, who still operates at the highest level of military command and security services such as Fred Bingira and Jacques Nziza the henchman of President Kagame. What is scary and annoying is the ill faded force used to silence anyone who dares bring to light that issue ; they are labelled genocide denial, which in itself a crime.

Impunity exists in Rwanda because of the dominance of authoritarian regime which uses its power and influence to subvert and corrupt the judicial system. The actual judicial system often bears little resemblance to the procedures mandated by law, especially when the circumstances of the crimes suggest involvement by the Rwandan Army or Security services.

In situation of impunity, the legal and judicial systems or at least a significant part of them are suspended prompting the concepts of innocence and guilt to lose their meaning.  No one becomes guilty or innocent in terms of any legal code which is exactly what is happening in Rwanda.

True reconciliation has to be based upon the truth and equal justice. The culture of impunity or justice for one side will hinder the true reconciliation. When the government is lacking the will to prosecute its own military involved in heinous crimes, division and bitterness amongst civilians will remain and the policy of forgive and forget cannot be viable. Either or not the Rwandan Government wants it, there are still ongoing tensions between the need for truth, the quest for justice and the desire for a lasting peace.

The Rwandan Government can continue its lies to the IC, however Rwandans from the North to the South, east to west and villages to villages know the true. They witnessed the tragedy lived the tragedy; they know who did what during, before and in the aftermath of the genocide. You can dupe the IC but not Rwandans. “Never Mr President”.

The resilient, peaceful but docile people of Rwanda want fair and equal justice to every Rwandan regardless of his or her ethnicity, they want to commemorate their love ones who lost their lives together as Rwandans regardless of their ethnic group, and they want the Government to reinstate the rule of law, to stop hijacking the justice system, stop arbitrary imprisonment and the respect of fundamental liberties and freedom.

It is in interest of Rwandan Government to allow those fundamental values to all Rwandans which will lead to a true peaceful and democratic Nation. Ignoring them will only increase the anger into Rwandans and the anger will keep boiling inside them until the tipping point where it erupts like a volcano that blasts out the lavers that probably will be impossible to content. We have lit the kindle for “Never Again” but have failed to get to the bottom of the underlying issues that may bring us back to the dark days.

Jeanne Stevens

Volunteer Human Right Researcher