|
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 the
atrocious 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 will
meditate and draw lessons from the tragedy so as to build its bright future.
Chinese people have stood by Rwandans’ side
in the last eighteen years. We support them in their development programmes, and
helped make the genocide in this country understood back home in China.
To better understand the cause and effects
of the genocide, recently, I threw myself into piles of articles and books. The
abundant resources show me that most of the authors held the view that the
genocide could be prevented. But it happened eventually. In her famous book “Conspiracy
to Murder: The Rwandan Genocide”, Linda Melvern reveals how some outsiders
ignored the vital warnings that the genocide was planned and failed to stop the
massive killings. On the night of 12 April, Major-General Dallaire “warned that
a sudden disappearance of UNAMIR would result in violence of 'incalculable
proportions’,…, “…in Washington it was
considered that peacekeeping was not appropriate for Rwanda. China
was the only country not to have closed its embassy in Kigali and the Chinese delegate pointed our
that there was no immediate danger to the peacekeepers;…”( Page 201-202). In
this regard, if UN and the concerning Governments had accepted Mr. Dallaire’s
detailed plan of action in his fax to Annan on 14 April, and acted quickly, the
colossal calamities could be greatly mitigated.
I check the records of Chinese Embassy in Kigali during the
Genocide, in fact it was the last embassy to close. According to Mr. Yao
Liqing, First Secretary of the Embassy at the time, he and his colleague Counsellor
Lu Shudong, Chargé d’Affairs, did not leave Kigali until 10 May, 1994. However, soon
after a unilateral ceasefire was declared by the RPF on 20 July, 1994, the
Chinese diplomats returned and resumed mission in Kigali on 3 August, the same year.
At the first sight of the Chinese flag
wavering in the breeze, our colleagues all burst into tears. “We are back, our
Rwandan 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 local
staffs, Mr. Jean and Bosco, who were assigned to take care of the closed
embassy in these three months, had done a lot to protect the embassy belongings
from any possible lootings. The Chinese diplomats were deeply moved by their
excellent performance, so they embraced the two staffs with respect and gratitude
for long.
It is coincidental that China’s Qingming Tomb-Sweeping Festival falls on
April 4th every year, only three days prior to Genocide commemorating Day in Rwanda.
Last Wednesday, the Chinese community in Kigali
gathered at Rulindo cemetery where 10 Chinese people were buried who laid down
their lives for the cause of reconstruction of Rwanda. Among them, Mr. Chen Jian
was shot by a group of gunmen in 1997 when he worked as an engineer in building
road from Gitarama to Kibuye for China
Road and Bridge Company in Kigali. He was only 33 when he died. Some Rwanda
government officials were also present at the occasion as usual. Mr. Eric
Rubayita, Director of Asian Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
Cooperation, highly applauded that the Chinese Government and companies were
the first to offer a supporting hand to Rwanda after the end of Genocide, and both
the Chinese and Rwandans would never forget the contributions they had made to
the local social and economic recovery and development.
As H. E. President Paul Kagame said, we
will always remember them so that even those who did not experience it may
learn the history of the genocide and its causes, and draw lessons that will
make it impossible to repeat it. That’s the value of history.
I feel confident that the Rwandans will not
only remember what happened in the past, they will also show the world how they
will move on to the bright future under the strong leadership of the Government
and principle of reconciliation and forgiveness. Umusogongero w'isi mi umubano.
|
