Kigali, 8 April 2015
President Kagame today received a delegation of European youth activists forming the Grassroots Anti-Racism Movement (EGAM) comprising of members from France, Germany, Belgium, Croatia and Bosnia and members of GAERG (Groupe des Anciens Etudiants Rescapes du Genocide) who have established strategic partnership with EGAM. On their second trip to Rwanda, the EGAM members joined Rwandans during the mourning period and will be in Rwanda for one week, departing on April 11 after visiting different genocide memorial sites, government officials, researchers and students.
Speaking to the media after the meeting with President Kagame, Benjamin Abtan who headed the delegation said EGAM’s fight against genocide denial in France and Europe is strengthened by the good cooperation with Rwanda’s civil society like AERG/GAERG and IBUKA.
“We have a firm basis for our activities but this is not enough when you are facing something like genocide, we need to be strong. Our strong partnership with the Rwandan civil society which is why we increasingly see more and more individuals, officials, politicians and intellectuals in France getting involved to ask questions and seek the truth from the French Government. Thanks to this strength we are now quite hopeful that in the end all the perpetrators will be held accountable and the truth will be told.”
Charles Habonimana, coordinator of GAERG said the strategic partnership his organization has with EGAM is bearing fruit, citing the various developments in France, like the recent decision by the French Presidency to declassify documents on the genocide against the Tutsi and the growing initiatives by individuals who were involved in one way or another, to volunteer to tell the truth on what they know about the genocide and the role of France.