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Rwanda: Citizens in the Netherlands Turned Away From International Conference On Ethnic Grounds
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The New Times (Kigali)
26 April 2008
Posted to the web 28 April 2008
Felly Kimenyi
Kigali
Rwandans living in The Nethelands demostrate outside the Peace Palace hall in The Hague after they were denied entry into a conference for allegedly being Tutsi.
Rwandans in the Netherlands have called the Hague-based Peace Palace a sanctuary for the Tutsi Genocide deniers. This emerged after several Rwandans who had earlier been confirmed to attend the International Conference on Peace and Development in the Great Lakes Region were yesterday barred from attending on ethnic grounds.
The conference which had Paul Rusesabagina, a self-acclaimed hero among the speakers, was organised by Duurzam Voor Afrika and Dusabane, two Rwandan organizations known to be apologists of the Tutsi Genocide and close allies to Genocidal forces.
According a release from the IBUKA wing of the Netherlands, Rwandans living in the European country denounced the discrimination based on physical appearance which they maintain is the same criteria used during the 1994 Genocide.
"People had registered for the conference and were confirmed, but on entry this morning the organisers deliberately refused them the right to attend because they were believed to be "Tutsi" yet it was a conference for all people of the great lakes region," reads the statement signed by Dr Narcisse Gakuba, the chairman of IBUKA in the Netherlands.
The survivors say they were shocked that such actions could take place in a country like the Netherlands which respects human rights; moreover in the presence of police.
Strangely enough, the Peace Palace is next door to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Rwandans staged a protest in front of the Palace in a peaceful demonstration, holding banners that denounced Rusesabagina's heroic claims.
Rusesabagina shot to fame after he was falsely depicted as a hero in the movie 'Hotel Rwanda' allegedly saving thousands of Tutsis who had sought refuge at Hotel des Milles Collines. This has since been disputed by several people who survived from the hotel.
He became caretaker of the hotel- then owned by Sabena, a Belgian Hotel and airline conglomerate- after the hotel managers were evacuated in the middle of the Genocide.
"Hotel des Mille Collines was a UN protected site, the same as other places like King Faycal Hospital and Amahoro Stadium. This Hotel was protected by UN forces and it just happened that Rusesabagina had the keys, the food supplies and the only working telephone," the release reads.
The survivors also accuse the former hotel manager of hiding behind his foundation called Hotel Rwanda Paul Rusesabagina Foundation (HRRF) to disrobe money from donors.
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According to the statement, the foundation which is meant to help genocide survivors has not spent 'any cent' in promoting the welfare of the survivors.
Dear Readers, It is a pity! This story demonstrates the pains the Rwandan media is going through to reinvent itself following the 1994 image scar. I am surprised by the New Times assertion that members of Rwandan community in the Netherlands were turned away from attending the conference because of their physical appearances!! This is ridiculous. I happened to be among those turned away and I in no way have a 'so-called Tutsi look'. But because the reporter was just fed the story on phone, he believed everything he was told and none of his editors ever questioned the assertions... [Read Full Text]
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