Keep Us Strong WikiLeaks logo

Currently released so far... 51122 / 251,287

Articles

Browse latest releases

Browse by creation date

Browse by origin

A B C D F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

Browse by tag

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Browse by classification

Community resources

courage is contagious

Viewing cable 06KIGALI408, Embassy Commemorates 28 Local Staff Killed During

If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs

Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:
  • The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
  • The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
  • The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.
To understand the justification used for the classification of each cable, please use this WikiSource article as reference.

Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #06KIGALI408.
Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
06KIGALI408 2006-04-28 12:25 2011-08-24 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Kigali
VZCZCXYZ0020
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHLGB #0408/01 1181225
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 281225Z APR 06
FM AMEMBASSY KIGALI
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 2685
UNCLAS KIGALI 000408 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/C AND DRL 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL SOCI AFSN KDEM RW
SUBJECT:  Embassy Commemorates 28 Local Staff Killed During 
1994 Genocide 
 
1.  Summary:  On April 20 Embassy held a memorial service in 
honor of 28 locally engaged staff killed during the 1994 
genocide.  The fifth annual commemoration brought together 
American and local staff with the widows and orphans of the 
victims.  In his remarks, Ambassador acknowledged that the 
international community failed to respond and that the U.S. 
failed to label the killings as "genocide."  He noted that 
while we cannot undo the past we can move forward with hope 
and the recognition that reconciliation is a long and 
difficult, but necessary, process.  A representative of the 
Genocide Survivors Association described the many 
consequences of the genocide and called on the international 
community to support the government in assisting survivors 
and helping arrest those who planned the genocide.  Catholic 
and Muslim religious leaders offered prayers of comfort to 
the families.  A widow of a former USAID employee and a 
guardian of a genocide orphan offered poignant personal 
testimony.  End summary. 
 
Burying the Past 
---------------- 
 
2.  Two religious leaders offered spiritual guidance to the 
families of the victims.  Mufti Sheikh Habimana Swaleh of 
the Muslim Association of Rwanda noted that each and every 
individual is guilty, including those who were not directly 
involved but stood by and failed to take action.  He warned 
that genocide ideology will continue as long as Rwandans do 
not bury the past.  He urged those responsible for the 
atrocities to bury the past by accepting responsibility for 
their actions, repenting, and asking for forgiveness.  He 
urged survivors not to be "slaves of sadness," and all 
Rwandans to work together to unite the country so that 
genocide will never happen again. 
 
3.  Father Incimatata Oreste said killing another human 
being was not only genocide; it was tantamount to killing 
God himself since we were all created in his image.  He 
urged Rwandans to take time for self-reflection, put aside 
anger and hatred, forgive each other even if their grief is 
great, and understand that even an evil person can change. 
 
Surviving the Genocide 
---------------------- 
 
4.  The widow of a former USAID local staff member provided 
a moving testimony of the atrocities she witnessed and 
suffered during the genocide, the chaos in the immediate 
aftermath of the shooting down of the former president's 
plane, her odyssey of survival, and her husband's death. 
During gacaca, she was told her husband may have been killed 
by someone in another village but she still does not know 
the details of his death.  A guardian of a genocide orphan 
gently reminded Rwandans of the need to take care of the 
family members of victims and to have hope that one day 
Rwanda can become one family. 
 
Time for Remembering and Healing 
-------------------------------- 
 
5.  FSN Committee Chair Charles Mugabo described the 
commemoration as a time for remembering and honoring fallen 
colleagues and their families, a day when Mission employees, 
friends, and survivors can share their stories, support each 
other, and find healing.  He said that two other groups 
should also be remembered - the perpetrators, most of whom 
have never been brought to justice, and the international 
bystanders who chose to stand by and do nothing.  He noted 
that Rwanda is working hard to address the legacy of its 
past and showing that there is hope in the face of tragedy. 
 
6.  During the previous week, teams of FSNs visited the 
families who are taking care of genocide orphans to show 
their support and solidarity.  Last year, in remembrance of 
their former colleagues, U.S. Mission employees created a 
Genocide Orphans Fund to provide for the educational needs 
and related expenses for the children of the 28 FSNs who 
were killed.  U.S. Mission staff have thus far contributed 
USD 2,500 to the Fund.  The FSN Committee resolved to pay 
regular visits to victims' families to help rebuild their 
lives emotionally and financially, and asked the Embassy to 
follow up on the status of U.S. citizenship for the 24 
genocide orphans.  (Note: During last year's FSN 
commemoration service when the question was first raised, 
the then Charge d'Affaires said he would look into it but 
did not make any promises.  End note.) 
 
Looking Ahead 
------------- 
 
7.  Ambassador remarked that the ceremony, and especially 
 
the testimony of survivors, helps us understand the tragedy 
of the genocide and gives personal meaning to it.  He 
acknowledged that the international community failed to 
respond and that the U.S. failed to label it "genocide." 
While we cannot undo the past, he said, we can move forward 
without fear and with hope.  The testimony of survivors 
serves as a reminder of the resilience of the human spirit 
in overcoming even the most difficult challenges. 
 
8.  He said that he has been impressed by the progress 
Rwanda has made thus far on reconstruction and 
reconciliation, which is hard and long but necessary.  He 
lauded the initiative of U.S. Mission staff in establishing 
the Genocide Orphans Fund and encouraged all to contribute 
to the effort.  He urged all to grieve, learn from the 
lessons, and work together to build a country that does 
honor to the memory of the FSNs who were killed. 
 
Genocide Survivors 
------------------ 
 
9.  Kalisa Evariste, member of Parliament and representative 
of Ibuka ("remember"), a nationwide association of genocide 
survivors, observed that although the genocide occurred 12 
years ago, the wounds are still there.  He described the 
1994 genocide as "the cruelest in the history of mankind," 
killing one million people in just 100 days.  It was 
announced, planned, and executed while the entire 
international community watched.  Even the UN Security 
Council had been warned by General Dallaire that a genocide 
would take place in Rwanda.  Despite this widespread 
knowledge and the UN's declaration of "Never Again" after 
the Holocaust, nobody intervened to stop it.  Even the UN 
forces left Rwanda, he said.  Had the U.S. been willing to 
intervene, the genocide -- a "shame for all of humanity" -- 
would not have happened.  He pointed out, however, that the 
U.S., unlike other developed countries, at least 
acknowledged that it did not assist in stopping the 
genocide.  He thanked the U.S. for its good relations with 
the GOR and for its support. 
 
10.  Evariste pointed out that the genocide left numerous 
consequences, which the government, with its limited 
resources, is struggling to face -- a large portion of the 
population who must be tried for genocide crimes, survivors 
who still do not know where their loved ones were killed and 
have not uncovered their bodies for proper burial, children 
who lost their parents and now head households and who 
continue to suffer, women who were raped and tortured 
sexually, and widows who were infected with HIV/AIDS during 
the genocide and have no place to live. 
 
11.  On behalf of Ibuka, Evariste called on the 
international community, particularly the U.S., to show 
compassion to genocide survivors by supporting the 
government in addressing these many problems confronting 
Rwanda and helping to arrest those still in hiding who 
planned the genocide.  Reminding the international community 
that it did nothing to stop the genocide, he suggested that 
it can pay respect to the survivors by assisting them now. 
He also noted that there are opportunists who are profiting 
from the production and sale of films about the genocide 
while survivors continue to suffer, and he asked that they 
stop producing those self-enriching films. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
12.  The commemoration was a poignant reminder that 12 years 
after the genocide that ravaged the country and permeated 
the entire population, Rwanda has not recovered from the 
deep emotional trauma and loss it suffered collectively and 
individually.  The personal testimony of those who survived 
the tragedy brought home to U.S. Mission staff, especially 
those who were not here during that time, the immediacy and 
the lingering impact of the genocide in the life of every 
Rwandan.  Twelve years have passed, but the memories 
continue to indelibly haunt those who survived as well as 
those who committed the atrocities.  For both, the genocide 
is as real now as it was then, and their wounds far from 
healed. 
 
Arietti