Rwandan genocide survivor Claude Gatebuke told Anadolu that there is no difference between what Israel is doing in Gaza and what took place in his country in 1994, reports the Middle East Monitor.
On 7 April 1994, Rwanda witnessed the start of a genocide that lasted until 15 July of the same year. Extremist leaders of the majority Hutu population launched a systematic extermination campaign against the Tutsi minority. It is estimated that around 800,000 people were killed during the massacre.
In an interview with Anadolu on the anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, Gatebuke expressed sorrow that Palestinians in Gaza “are not as lucky as I was to survive the genocide.”
Gatebuke, who co-authored a book about the Rwandan genocide, strongly criticised international organisations for remaining silent in the face of what he described as genocide, ethnic cleansing and war crimes in Gaza.
He said that the justifications presented by Israel for targeting Palestinian civilians in Gaza “do not match the reality,” stressing that Tel Aviv uses various pretexts to legitimise what he views as genocide.
He further noted that significant world powers will not take action unless there is international pressure on them to do so. He highlighted that instead of stopping the genocide, support is given to the perpetrators of it.
