STATEMENT BY HIS EXCELLENCY HON. C.G.H.

, PRESIDENT AND COMMANDER DEFENCE FORCES OF THE REPUBLIC OF 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE RWANDA RWANDA, 7THAPRIL, 2014

UHURU KENYATTA, IN CHIEF OF THE KENYA DURING THE GENOCIDE, KIGALI,

I join you today, pleased to be here but bearing a heavy heart in remembering the terrible events that got underway this day, twenty years ago. The people of Kenya reach out to their Rwandan brothers and sisters; we mourn with you, and join you in our determination that genocide will never find space in our region again. For a hundred days, Rwanda suffered grievously while the world watched without daring to step in and fulfil the famous pledge of never again! made after the "ewish #olocaust. $lmost a million Rwandans were lost in an escalation of violence that had plagued Rwanda for decades with its roots in colonialism%s racist ideology and a post&colonial state that practised the politics of division and terror. These beautiful hills were deluged with pain and death. The world%s refusal to act against the 'illers e(posed the gulf between high&minded avocations of humanity, and the calculating approach that judges )interests% against human lives. *ur region also stood aside, and for that we owe the most profound apology to the people of Rwanda. +e have learned that no one from far away can be relied on to come to our aid; we must build an independent capability and will to protect the lives of our children and their futures. This is why as the chairman of the ,ast $frican -ommunity I believe that we must ensure that our region is as strong on security and mutual aid, as it is in trade and economic integration..uilding an ,$in this second decade of the /0 st century that would have intervened in 0112 is the least we can do to honour the memory of the dead.

Rwanda learnt its painful lesson well. +e proudly watched you go about the business of burying your dead, see'ing justice for them by pursuing the 'illers, and then building a country that disavowed ethnic division, and promised good government. 3our nation is a phoeni(, home of millions of unsung heroes.I salute the Rwandans who endured and survived. I applaud those who reached out to save their neighbours. I than' the Rwanda 4atriotic Front for doing what so many others were unable or unwilling to do. I join hands with your 4resident, #.,. 4aul Kagame, in wor'ing toward a region that is prosperous, brotherly and safe for all our people. +e have learnt from your outstanding e(ample of resisting the politics of ethnic division. +e too have suffered from the violence that arises from not putting colonial divide&and&rule narratives to rest. +e must guard against those who sought to dominate and e(ploit us all those years ago, and who even today pursue their economic and geopolitical interests with scant regard for our independence and sovereignty. .ut that is not all we need to guard against. +e must ta'e the Rwandan e(ample of 5acaca to deploy home&grown solutions that find the difficult balance between the victim%s craving for justice and the nation%s need for reconciliation and peace following conflict. The dreadful media of Kangura and Radio RT67 must be remembered for us to reject hateful and inflammatory speech that see's to turn us against one another on the basis of ethnicity or religion. +e must also guard against deniers of the genocide and their supporters. +e note that genocidaires remain abroad, openly rejecting the horrors of 0112 and even see'ing to argue, from reputable rostrums, that it is they who were the real victims. This is a way to hide their vile agenda, which is nothing less than the continuation of the genocide by narrative means, behind admirable norms such as free speech.

+e are not fooled for one instant. Free speech is not hate speech. 8enial of the 0112 genocide is not an e(ercise in academic freedom or democratic politics; it is a cloa' for murderers who to this day believe their genocidal wor' is not complete. Rwanda has moved forward together with Kenya and ,ast $frica. 3ou are no longer just a nearby country; you are a first&line partner in our transformative political and economic enterprises. These days we loo' out for each other. $lthough we do not e(pect mass violence to revisit Rwanda, our history has taught us the need for vigilance. The Inter&5overnment -ommittee on the 5reat 6a'es Region 9I5-6R:, the ,astern $frica ;tandby Force, and other arrangements remain at hand to ensure that our region is never again home to mass murder and genocide. *ur concern e(tends to the tragic events in ;outh ;udan and the -entral $frican Republic. Kenya has wor'ed hard to engage in the search for peace in these troubled countries. *ur troops li'e those of Rwanda have been deployed to protect civilians, while our diplomats wor' overtime to forge stability and then peace. +e must not allow those crises to escalate any further into the 'ind of mass atrocities that would betray our determination to ensure that never again! is a real promise. 6et me finish by telling all Rwandans that in Kenya you have a friend. +e grieve with you, and honour the memory of all who suffered and perished. I pray with you for the souls of the dead, and for the healing of their families, friends and compatriots. I loo' to the future in e(pectation of continued stability and progress. ;tay united and independent. I wish you all 5od<s blessings = and peace, love and unity always. Than' you.