By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
As Rwandans marked 30 years since a genocide orchestrated by Hutu extremists tore apart their country, President Cyril Ramaphosa says the world cannot stand by idly as another genocide is unfolding in the Palestinian territory of Gaza.
Following the conclusion of his visit to Rwanda for the 30th Commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, which commemorated on 7 April 1994. The genocide was one of deadliest in history as approximately one million men, women and children lost their lives across a period of 100 days in a campaign of violence and civil war.
Ramaphosa said that the world cannot turn a blind eye to Gaza, the same way it had to Rwanda all those years ago, he said in his weekly newsletter.
“It is because of our stated commitment to never again allow atrocities of this kind, that the world cannot stand idly by as another genocide is carried out, this time against the people of Palestine in the besieged Gaza Strip. Nobody can claim ignorance about what is happening in Gaza, because, unlike in Rwanda in 1994, these atrocities are being televised, written about, tweeted and live streamed,” the President said.
The Israel-Palestine conflict has claimed 32 000 Gazan lives with 13 000 of those being the lives of children.
Ramaphosa condemned the “campaign of violence” Israel has “unleashed” on Gaza since Hamas attacked that nation.
He reflected on South Africa’s approach to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Israel’s actions in Gaza and noted the urgency needed to get aid into the embattled area.
“The Court directed Israel, among other things, to ensure that its military does not commit such acts, to prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to commit genocide, and to enable the provision of urgently needed basic service and humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza.
“In clear defiance of this legally-binding order, Israel has intensified its violence against the residents of Gaza. These people are now also facing starvation and famine as the delivery of aid continues to be disrupted, including the killing of humanitarian and aid-workers.
He said South Africa’s freedom, attained 30 years ago, comes with the responsibility to work for peace, justice and human rights everywhere.
Ramaphosa highlighted that head of the UN deployment had predicted a mass extermination of the tutsi people, but UN peacekeepers in Rwanda during the time of the genocide could not prevent the genocide as the lacked authority to intervene. Several western countries, some of which had a presence in Rwanda at the time, would later say they were not aware of the extent of the killings
He said the atrocities in Rwanda were allowed to happen because of a lack of intervention from the outside world, and only years later did the ‘bystanders to the genocide’ apologise for what had happened.
“It should never be, and must never be, that atrocities, gross human rights violations and genocide should somehow carry less weight because of the race, ethnicity or religious affiliation of the victims. We owe it to the victims of all the world’s genocides to not betray their memories by looking away, by failing to act, or worst of all, by claiming we did’t know.” he added.