President Thabo Mbeki and his wife, Zanele arrived in Kigali, Rwanda, on Wednesday morning for the commemoration of the genocide in that country 10 years ago, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.
They are accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Deputy Minister of Agriculture Dirk du Toit and senior government officials, the department said in a statement.
The delegation will join the commemoration “conscious and aware of the unfortunate experiences of inhumanity that the people of Rwanda and South Africa went through at the hands of unjust and repressive regimes”.
It is the South African government’s hope that the international community will draw a lesson from the events of 1994 on the need to respond timeously to challenges facing humanity, the department said.
The genocide began on April 7 1994 and ended 100 days later.
Estimates of the dead varied between 500Â 000 and one million. The United Nations has put the number at 800Â 000.
Most of the victims belonged to the country’s Tutsi minority and moderate Hutus who gave them shelter. The Hutu Interahamwe movement has been largely blamed for the ethnic violence.
The genocide started within hours after a plane carrying then-president Juvenal Habyarimana, a Hutu, was shot down.
An international criminal tribunal, sitting in Arusha, Tanzania, has tried 21 people since late 1994. The trials of another 20 suspects are in progress and those of a further 22 have yet to begin.
About 15 people suspected of planning the violence are still at large.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame is to light a flame at Wednesday’s commemoration service in memory of the victims. He will also inaugurate a national memorial where the remains of about 250Â 000 victims will be entombed.
Leaders of several African countries as well as United States and European officials are expected to attend the ceremony. — Sapa
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