Belgium sends delegation to Rwandan genocide commemorations

Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo met with families of Belgian and Rwandan victims of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda on Sunday morning before they flew to Kigali where they will mark the 20th anniversary of the genocide today, April 7, accompanied by an official Belgian delegation. In total, 10 Belgian UN soldiers and 12 Belgian civilians lost their lives during the 1994 genocide, which in three months saw the deaths of an estimated 800 000 Rwandans.

The prime minister, along with Belgian politicians Louis Michel, André Flahaut and Guy Verhofstadt, greeted the families of the victims at Melsbroek military airport. The visit by the Belgian delegation to Kigali had been called into question earlier after the Rwandan President Paul Kagame had stated in an African newspaper that Belgium and France had had ‘a direct role’ in the political preparation of the genocide. It was decided to go ahead with the trip out of respect for the families of the victims. Foreign Affairs minister Didier Reynders said: “We’re not going to Kigali to pay homage to a government, but to pay homage to the victims of the genocide and the Belgians, military and civilian, who were murdered 20 years ago.”