Rwanda Unveils Genocide Archive

Added by Annika L. Krugel on December 13, 2010

An archive of thousands of documents and photographs of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda is being unveiled in the capital Kigali.

The initiative, which has collected thousands of documents, photographs and audio-visual recordings from survivors, witnesses as well as perpetrators of the genocide that saw more than 800,000 people killed, is a collaboration between the Rwandan government and the UK-based human rights group Aegis Trust.

The idea is, according BBC East Africa correspondent Will Ross, to ensure that evidence of the atrocities does not disappear as Rwanda develops and the landscape changes.

Some of the locations where massacres took place will be mapped using GPS, and Ross said parts of the archive will be available online. He added that it will provide a new way of learning about the terrible events that took place.

However, that is not to say that the genocide isn’t still a contentious issue; it is still illegal to dispute the official version of the event as provided by the government.

In addition, opponents of President Paul Kagame claim that he has used laws that relate to the genocide as a tool for oppressing opponents and keeping a strong hold of the power in the country.