April 7 marked the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan Genocide. The Rwandan Government launched a 100-day official commemoration.

In 2008, He Wenping, Senior Fellow with The Charhar Institute and reseracher at the Research Institute of West Asian and African Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, spent two months in Rwanda. There she witnessed that the country had come out of the shadow of the genocide and emerged as one of the cleanest and safest countries in Africa.

In her commentary for ChinAfrica, she notes that after the tragedy, Rwanda did not fall into civil war or the abyss of failure. Instead, it has embarked on the road to prosperity, development, self-discipline and self-improvement. This can offer lessons to other African countries that are facing similar challenges. Excerpts of her thoughts follow:

International shame

When the Rwandan Genocide took place two decades ago, approximately 1 million people were killed during the 100-day conflict between the Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups. More than 2 million refugees fled the country, with a further 2 million people left homeless.

Many factors led to the tragedy in Rwanda. These include the deep-rooted contradictions among different ethnic groups, a growing population struggling for land and other limited resources, and uncontrollable party struggles resulting from Western countries’ efforts in forcing multi-party democracy onto African countries after the Cold War.

In important regards, the international community, especially Western countries, should be blamed for their neglect and omission. People who have watched the Hollywood film Hotel Rwanda will not forget the fear and helpless eyes of the Rwandan people hiding in a hotel where Western peacekeepers only aided citizens from their respective countries and let the genocide go on.

Because of this, while addressing the memorial ceremony with participants including Chairperson of the African Union Commission Dlamini-Zuma and more than 10 African state leaders, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon indirectly expressed his shame at the United Nations and the international community failing to prevent the extreme brutality in 1994. Ban Ki-moon said, "Many United Nations personnel and others showed remarkable bravery. We should have done much more. In Rwanda, troops were withdrawn when they were most needed."

Before the massacre took place in Rwanda, the UN was said to have received a report on the possible genocide, but the report failed to receive adequate attention. When the genocide took place, the UN consulted with more than 10 member countries on sending troops to Rwanda, which also failed, wasting an opportunity to prevent the tragedy's expansion.

The small African country Rwanda was neglected by Western countries at that time because of its lack of natural resources, its land-locked geographic position and its unimportance to their overall foreign strategies. In addition, they misjudged the development of the atrocity.

The Rwandan Genocide reminds the international community that facing a crisis, the UN Security Council and UN peacekeeping operations should not have cold feet and the world powers should not just stand by watching. The international community should act to prevent any tragedy with the utmost speed and concerted efforts.

Reconciliation and development

At the commemoration ceremony on April 7, Ban Ki-moon also praised Rwandans for overcoming frightful memories. Indeed, in the past 20 years, the Rwandan Government and people have made eye-catching achievements in national reconciliation and social development. Emerging from the shadows, the new-born country and its people have embraced renewal. Its unique experience in the process of national reconciliation has made the country an example for other African countries with similar ethnic and tribal problems.

After the genocide ended, the country took many measures to eliminate the hotbed of tribalism and realize national unity with forgiveness and reconciliation. Some Western scholars argue that African politics means tribal politics. It is true that the traditional family-based communal values and production systems remain in many African countries. In addition, nearly all the countries on the continent have different tribes with different languages and cultures. This has lead to tribal problems becoming a very important factor influencing these countries' political development and evolution. In Rwanda and its neighboring Burundi, the long-standing contradictions and conflicts between the minority Tutsi people and majority Hutu people became increasingly sharp with the tide of multi-party democratic movements after the Cold War, a factor leading to the genocide.

After putting an end to the tragedy, Rwandans re-examined their past and decided to eliminate the tribalism from the root. The Rwandan Government amended the country's Constitution to include combating tribalism and secessionism. Also, ID documents exclude any identification of "tribe," and all people consider themselves Rwandan people, rather than Tutsis or Hutus. In the past 20 years, the political situation in the country has remained stable.

In order to educate people not to repeat the past, the Rwandan Government established many memorial locations nationwide. While reminding people not to forget their past, the Rwandan Government firmly implemented the policy of tribal reconciliation so that people could learn to forgive, while upholding justice.

On the one hand, many of the murderers in the genocide were tried in Rwandan or European courts or the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. On the other hand, owing to the large number of people who were accused of murder in the genocide, the country did not have the capacity to try and jail all of them. In addition, trying to jail all of them would harm the country's efforts in promoting national reconciliation. Against this backdrop, the Rwandan Government introduced the traditional community-based Gacaca courts. Perpetrators and victims faced each other to confess and express forgiveness. Here consensus was reached on compensation, where those guilty of murder could work for victims for a period of time.

Like the Truth and Reconciliation Commission established by Nelson Mandela after he was elected the first president of South Africa after apartheid, Gacaca courts were used in Rwanda to find truth and realize reconciliation. The past 20 years of national unity in the country shows that Rwandan people have chosen to drop their hatred and forgive each other.

Fighting poverty

The Rwandan Government also announced a war against poverty, striving to consolidate national reconciliation through poverty alleviation and economic development. Rwanda is an inland country with a dense population and few resources. Thus, the government gave top priority to economic development while energetically promoting national reconciliation. In 2000, the country issued its long-term plan for 2020; two years later, it formulated a poverty reduction strategy; and in 2007, the country issued an economic development and poverty reduction strategy, all forming a clear roadmap for its future development. According to its long-term plan, by 2020, the population in the country will be within 16 million and per-capita income will increase to $900 from $290. This will greatly reduce its impoverished population and move Rwanda from an impoverished country to a middle-income one.

In the past 20 years, the Rwandan Government took a series of measures such as issuing a new currency, reforming the taxation system, promoting privatization, giving priority to poverty alleviation projects and narrowing the gap between the rich and the poor. It also promotes an invitation for international aid, attracts foreign investment and seeks debt reduction and exemption. Since 2001, Rwanda's annual GDP growth has been around 8 percent and more than 1 million people were dragged out of poverty. According to statistics from the World Bank, Rwanda ranks second in terms of the most economically-friendly countries in Africa, while also ranking No.1 among African countries in terms of realizing the UN Millennium Goals.

Rwanda experienced a tragic past, but it did not fall into civil war or the abyss of failure like some other African countries, such as Somalia and the Central Africa Republic. Instead, under the leadership of strong-minded and far-sighted leaders, the country has embarked on the road 
to prosperity, development, self-discipline and self-improvement, lessons which can be of value to other 
African countries facing similar 
challenges.