The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Olivier Nduhungirehe, stated that genocide ideology targeting Tutsis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), including the Banyamulenge, continues to fuel atrocities such as killings and forced displacement.
He made these remarks in Vienna, Austria, during an international conference held under the theme: “Learning from the Past, Shaping the Future: Remembrance, Reconciliation and Reintegration – the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.” The conference aimed to reflect on history and build a better future based on lessons from the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and Rwanda’s recovery afterward.
The event was organized in collaboration with institutions including Austria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Vienna School of Diplomacy. Minister Nduhungirehe noted that despite the well-documented history of the genocide, denial, minimization, and genocidal ideology still persist.
“We are living in a time where genocide ideology, denial, and distortion are noy only persisting, but evolving.”
He explained that those promoting such ideas are increasingly using social media and modern technologies, including artificial intelligence.
“These tools, while powerful for progress, are also being misused to manipulate narratives, fuel division, and obscure truth.” he added.
Minister Nduhungirehe also emphasized that although Rwanda’s history is painful, there are still examples today that resemble past events.
“In Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, extremist ideologies targeting Tutsi communities, including Banyamulenge, continue to fuel violence, persecution, and displacement” he said.
He added: “We must be clear: silence in the face of such warning signs is complicity. We have seen before where denial and indifference can lead. We cannot afford, as an international community, to repeat the mistakes of 1994.”
Minister Nduhungirehe announced this as violence and abuses against Banyamulenge Congolese are reportedly ongoing day and night supported by the DRC government while the International community appears to not care, despite Rwanda’s continued calls for action.
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