The University of Tokyo’s Research Center for Sustainable Peace and Global Peacebuilding Association of Japan have organized a seminar on Rwanda, with a focus on its current status on reconciliation. Dr. Kazuyuki Sasaki, PIASS University spoke as the main speaker, Prof. Mitsugi Endo of the University of Tokyo was the commentator, Prof. Sukehiro Hasegawa, former Special Representative for the UN Secretary-General, was the moderator of discussion, and I served as the master of ceremony.
Dr. Kazuyuki Sasaki of PIASS University, Rwanda, has discussed the two different levels of reconciliation: reconciliation with a focus on national unity, and that between victims and perpetrators (on the individual level and between communities). What I found interesting was the pace of reconciliation that Rwanda as a country is chasing. Having been involved with the reconciliation process in Timor-Leste, and having read the book written by the former Force Commander of the UN Mission in Rwanda ‘Shake Hands with the Devil’, I am convinced that reconciliation takes a lot of time, probably two generations. In all the initiatives, I hope that victims’ voices are heard.
My article on the summary content of the seminar is available here.