The Belgian Defence Minister, Ludvin Dedonder, joined by the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF), saluted the fallen 10 Belgian commandoes that were killed during the 1994 genocide against Tutsi.
The Defence Minister of Belgium, accompanied by Belgian Foreign Affairs Minister Lahbib, Charles Michel, the President of the European Council and Wairimu Anderitu, the UN Secretary General Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide.
There was a notable presence of the family members of the 10 paracommandos of the 2nd batallion based in Flawinne, Belgium.
They travelled to Kigali as part of a large military and civil Belgian delegation that on April 7, took part in the national commemoration ceremonies for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
Also present were four classes of Belgian schoolchildren with their teachers.
The 10 Belgian soldiers are remembered for their courage and dedication in the fulfillment of their mission to protect the values of peace and democracy.
Their ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty is a reminder to learn from the past and create a better future.
The particpation of a large delegation from Belgium is an occasion to show respect to the victims of the genocide against the Tutsi, the fallen soldiers and their loved ones.
The Belgian U.N. soldiers were killed a day after the plane carrying President Juvenal Habyarimana was shot down on April 6, 1994.
A Belgian court found Bernard Ntuyahaga, a former Rwandan army major, guilty in 2007 of murdering 10 Belgian peacekeepers and an undetermined number of civilians in the early days of the 1994 genocide against Tutsi which claimed more than one million lives.
Bernard Ntuyahaga was also accused of having a hand in the murder of then Rwandan Prime Minister, Agathe Uwilingiyimana, but was acquitted of the charge.
The killing of the peacekeepers triggered the pullout of U.N. forces, opening the way for the genocide against Tutsi to spread.
“If Belgian troops had stayed (in Rwanda) we could have saved hundreds of thousands of people,” Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt told the court in his testimony.
In her speech, Belgian minister of Defence Ludivine Dedonder said: “April 7 will always be remembered in Belgium as the day we lost ten of our bravest soldiers. That is why the 7th of April is our national day of remembrance for all soldiers who lost their lives during active service. We will never forget their sacrifices for our country and for maintaining peace. We also commemorate the genocide against Tutsi here in Rwanda. We remember all the lives lost, in the hope that such acts will never be repeated.”
The commemoration at Camp Kigali was preceded by a more restriced ceremony at the Embassy of Belgium in Kigali for the families of the Belgian nationals and the Rwandan employees of the embassy who lost their lives during the Genocide. Also for this occasion, two families travelled from Belgium to Rwanda.
In her speech, Belgian minister of Foreign Affairs Hadja Lahbib said: “We should do more to make sure that such a tragedy can not happen again. The state of the world in 2024 leaves us no other choice. It is no longer enough to say “never again”, we should take our responsibilies and act to prevent it from happening again.”