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The Minister for National Unity and Civic Engagement, Jean-Damascène Bizimana, said that there has been a reorganisation of how activities during this year’s commemoration week will be conducted.
Among the changes include having only one dialogue session that will be held on Friday, April 7, the same day the 29th commemoration activities will commence.
According to Bizimana, on April 7, dialogue sessions will be held at the village level and will be followed by a national address.
He explained that “people need information and knowledge about the Genocide but frequent and lengthy dialogues may not be very productive and could potentially lead to people losing track of the information that needs to be communicated and its usefulness, that’s why we are limiting it so as to have the information consumption period within a manageable timeframe.”
Previously, during the commemoration week, dialogues sessions used to be held every afternoon throughout the whole week of national mourning.
“Businesses used to close for people to attend the dialogues, every day in the afternoon, and in some cases, those who failed to attend would be fined, and we found out that it was not necessary,” he explained
Bizimana pointed out that Rwandans have taken a step forward in their understanding of history and in building their country. He emphasized that people must work to survive and contribute to the country’s development without replacing work with commemoration activities.
“In other words, commemoration remain important and very critical part of the Rwandan society but it should not impede progress or prevent people from working,” he noted
He emphasized that the dialogues would provide an opportunity for discussing the challenges hindering the progress of the country, such as security, genocide ideology, and other related issues.
Bizimana also explained the reasons behind setting fixed hours for commemorative activities that will be taking place such as virgil among others, saying that it should not go beyond three hours.
“We found that when such activities exceed three hours, trauma rates tend to increase yet it’s not the intended goal. As a result, we found that three hours are enough if people plan all activities well and that would reduce such risks,” he noted.
Meanwhile, the ministry has released a list of seven prohibited activities for the initial commemoration week, which includes mass celebrations, weddings, and other marriage ceremonies, sports competitions (except for individual sports), and playing music not related to the commemoration in public places such as bars, restaurants, barber shops, studios, and bus stations.
Other activities include betting games, projecting football matches, and entertainment events such as concerts, comedy nights, dances, movies, and theatrical performances that are not related to commemoration.
Commenting on the changes, especially those related to time, Philbert Gakwenzire, the president of Ibuka, the umbrella organisation for the survivors of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, said what matters most is what people will be doing during that time dedicated to commemoration. New Times noted.
“Whatever time is designated, be it a full day or just two to three hours, the most important thing is to know what we are doing during it. It is not about closing shops just for the sake, but using that time to attend community dialogues and share thoughts and ideas with the community,” he noted.
