Remains of more genocide victims continue to be accorded decent burial in Rwanda

KIGALI, April 18 (Xinhua) -- The remains of at least 117 victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi were given a decent burial on Friday in a village in western Rwanda as part of the ongoing commemoration of the 31st anniversary of the genocide.

The remains retrieved from mass graves in different parts of Karongi District were reburied during a commemorative event at Gatwaro stadium in the Bwishyura sector.

Benjamin Byiringiro, the only survivor in a family of eight children, recalled the cruelty with which the Tutsi populations were killed in the area until the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA) soldiers arrived to stop the genocide. Byiringiro, also a university lecturer, said he managed to overcome despair.

Bosco Muhayimana, another survivor, decried the fact that 31 years later, some families are yet to discover where the remains of their loved ones were dumped, which hinders reconciliation efforts.

Gerald Muzungu, mayor of the district, criticized those trivializing the genocide against the Tutsi and appealed to deniers to visit memorial sites to see evidence of how the genocide was well planned and implemented.

About 1 million people, mostly of the Tutsi community and moderate Hutus, were killed by Hutu extremists within 100 days during the genocide in 1994. ■