Rwandan President Vows Never to Repeat 1994 Genocide Tragedy, Blames International Community

Rwandan President Paul Kagame has pledged that his country will never experience the 1994 genocide against the Tutsis, stating that “never will our people be left for dead again.”

Speaking during a commemoration ceremony at the BK Arena, Kagame criticized Western countries for their inaction in stopping the genocide but praised African countries that supported Rwanda.

He attributed the failure of Rwandan soldiers to the international community, stating that “those soldiers did not fail Rwanda, it was the international community which failed all of us, whether from contempt or cowardice.”

The killings were triggered by a plane downing of then-President Juvénal Habyarimana, a Hutu, and were followed by massacres targeting Tutsis, some moderate Hutus, and an estimated 800,000 people.