Rwanda Marks Liberation Day 32 Years After 1994 Genocide Ended
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jul 4
Rwanda Marks Liberation Day 32 Years After 1994 Genocide Ended
2 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jul 4
Summary
Thousands of Rwandans marched 21 kilometers in the country’s northeast on Friday ahead of Saturday’s Liberation Day commemoration.
July 4 marks the 32nd anniversary of the Rwandan Patriotic Front’s capture of Kigali in 1994, which ended 100 days of mass killing that left hundreds of thousands dead, most of them Tutsis.
President Paul Kagame, who led the RPF and has ruled since its victory, used the anniversary to cast the country’s recovery as self-liberation after a “very dark chapter.”
Rwanda has rebuilt sharply over three decades—expanding health, education and tourism—but Kagame faces criticism for authoritarian rule and allegations of backing rebels in eastern Congo, which his government denies.