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Clinton meets Rwanda genocide survivors
Bizimungu with Clinton after his arrival Announces U.S. aid
March 25, 1998
Web posted at: 9:38 a.m. EST (1438 GMT)KIGALI, Rwanda (CNN) -- U.S. President Bill Clinton on Wednesday told Rwandans that the international community had failed to act to prevent the country's genocide in 1994, and he urged measures to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.
"The international community must bear its share of responsibility for this tragedy," Clinton said in a speech at the airport of the Rwandan capital Kigali, where he met with the country's leaders and with survivors of the massacres.
President Clinton's speech in Rwanda
VXtreme streaming video (14:30)
Clinton's brief visit was restricted to Kigali airport because of security fears raised by continued instability in the East African nation. Hutu rebels have stepped up their campaign against Rwanda's mainly Tutsi army since December.
The U.S. president called the 1994 massacre of minority Tutsis and moderate Hutus "the most intensive slaughter in this blood-filled century we are about to leave."
Clinton speaks about the Rwandan genocide 
320K/30 sec. AIFF or WAV sound "All over the world there were people like me sitting in offices who did not fully appreciate the depth and the speed with which you were being engulfed by this unimaginable terror," Clinton told the audience of several hundred assembled, including many survivors of the genocide.
The Clinton said the international community failed to stop the Hutu extremists from killing up to 1 million people -- a higher figure than the standard estimates of between 500,000 and 800,000. It was the worst genocide since the Nazis killed 6 million Jews in World War II.
Uganda:
Battling AIDS
Senegal:
Unshackling history
Rwanda:
The genocide and after
Ghana:
An economy in shambles
Botswana:
Making hay of ivory
South Africa:
Combating crime"Genocide can occur anywhere. It is not an African phenomenon. We must have global vigilance. And never again must we be shy in the face of the evidence," Clinton said.
Rwandan President Pasteur Bizimungu thanked his U.S. counterpart for making the three-hour stop at the Kigali airport.
"Your decision to visit Rwanda is an eloquent statement of your condemnation of genocide, a show of solidarity with the victims and a challenge to the international community to work together to stem the recurrence of genocide," he said.
Bizimungu said the killings continue in eastern Rwanda even today, and bemoaned that the perpetrators of the 1994 massacre have eluded justice.
Clinton announced that the United States would become the first to contribute to a survivors fund, giving $2 million this year.
The president also announced $67 million in U.S. aid to promote the justice system in Rwanda and elsewhere, and to avoid future African conflicts.
Some Rwandans felt they were being paid short shrift because Clinton's trip was restricted to the Kigali airport.
Forty Tutsi villagers were reportedly massacred Monday northwest of the capitol of Kigali They noted that the president was not visiting a genocide monument recently erected in the hills above the airport.
The sculpture of ceramic and concrete contains farming tools used in the killings as well as bones and skulls. It was put up after Clinton added Rwanda to his itinerary two weeks ago.
White House press secretary Mike McCurry said Clinton would donate a plaque for the monument.
After his Rwandan stop, Clinton was returned to Uganda for a summit of regional leaders as part of his 12-day Africa tour.
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The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Special section:
Related stories:
- Clinton flies to Rwanda to meet genocide survivors - March 25, 1998
- Clinton offers Africa aid for schools - March 24, 1998
- Clinton faces diplomatic challenge in Uganda - March 23, 1998
- Cheering Ghanaians greet Clinton - March 23, 1998
- Analysis: What does Clinton's African trip really mean? - March 22, 1998
Related sites:
- Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1997 - U.S. Department of State
- Rwanda Page - African Studies at University of Pennsylvania
- The World Factbook page on Rwanda
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.
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