KIGALI, April 21 (Xinhua) -- Remains of up to 4,209 victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi were given a decent burial on Monday in southern Rwanda's Nyamagabe District as part of government efforts to consolidate memorial sites in the country.
The reburial ceremony took place at the Murambi memorial center for the remains of victims recently relocated from a site at Nyamigina village. The memorial center is already the final resting place for the remains of about 50,000 genocide victims.
Speaking at the occasion that also served as a commemorative event, Rwandan Minister of National Unity and Civic Engagement Jean Damascene Bizimana warned youth against ethnic divisions and the ideology of genocide.
Legislator Solina Nyirahabimana stressed the importance of remembrance ceremonies and cautioned Rwandans against genocide deniers and those who trivialize it.
Under a presidential order issued in 2019, which determines the modalities for consolidating genocide memorial sites, Rwanda is merging some sites to enhance preservation and optimize resource allocation.
Memorial sites located in areas prone to natural disasters, those in inaccessible areas, and others with remains of fewer than 1,000 victims are being relocated to larger, safer sites.
In Southern Province alone, 69 genocide memorial sites could be reduced to 53, according to local government officials.
About one million people, mostly of the Tutsi community and moderate Hutus, were killed by Hutu extremists within 100 days during the genocide in 1994.
