The annual ceremony in the Belgian Parliament to commemorate the victims of the 1994 genocide has been rescheduled from this Friday to 24 January.
Officially, organisational problems are cited as the reason for this decision, but Le Soir reports that political pressure from the Rwandan Embassy may be the true cause. A reliable source confirms this account.
Each year, the Federal Parliament, also known as the Chamber of Representatives, organises a commemorative ceremony on the Friday closest to 9 December for the victims of five genocides recognised by the Belgian State.
These genocides include the Holocaust, and the atrocities in Armenia, Cambodia, Srebrenica, and Rwanda. Representatives, victims, and survivors from these regions attend the ceremony.
This event never focuses on one specific genocide. However, with it being 30 years since the Rwandan genocide, the initial invitation for this year’s event explicitly mentioned it.
Two journalists, Katrien Vanderschoot from VRT and Colette Braeckman from Le Soir, were scheduled to speak.
Two weeks ago, the Chamber’s protocol service received a notice from the Rwandan charge d’affaires in Belgium stating that the Rwandan Embassy would withdraw its cooperation. It meant that no Rwandan representatives or victims would attend. The issue reportedly involved the presence of Katrien Vanderschoot, whose articles had displeased the Rwandan officials.
As a result, the ceremony has been moved to 24 January, close to the anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz on 27 January, and the explicit mention of Rwanda has been removed from the invitation. The participants of the event remain the same.
