Rwanda unveils archive on 1994 genocide

[News_Editor]

Rwanda unveils archive on 1994 genocide

2010-12-11 08:24:33 GMT+7 (ICT)

KIGALI, RWANDA (BNO NEWS) -- Rwanda on Friday unveiled to the public a state archive consisting of thousands of audio-visual and photographic files in regards to the 1994 genocide.

The Rwandan Genocide Archive is an effort to gather all documents related to the 1994 mass killings in which an estimated 800,000 minority Tutsis people were murdered. The project was inaugurated by Rwanda’s Prime Minister Bernard Makuza.

The archive project was set up by the UK-based Aegis Trust and Rwanda’s National Commission for the Fight Against Genocide. Aegis Trust is an organization dedicated to prevent crimes against humanity.

"In comparison to the largest genocide archives - for example Yad Vashem in Jerusalem or the Shoah Foundation Institute at USC in California, the Genocide Archive of Rwanda is an infant, but will develop significantly over the next decade," said Aegis Trust chief executive James Smith.

The Rwandan archive consists in 20,000 documents and photographs combined. It also has 1,500 taped of audio-visual film footage and testimonies of survivors. The collection will be continuously updated as researchers continue to trace materials from the genocide.

"As a survivor, having access to all these testimonies brings comfort and gives you hope," said Yves Kamuronsi, the head of the archive. "You see that you're not the only one who suffered and you see how other people managed to live again after the genocide."

The project also used a GPS satellite system to map the locations and places where the atrocities took place. The main objective of the collection is to show the evidence of where the killings were perpetrated in order to never be forgotten.

The Rwandan Genocide Archive will also allow future generations to analyze the extent of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda despite urban and rural development.

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