Culture

UNESCO adds Rwandan genocide memorial sites to World Heritage list

Published

1 year ago

September 21, 2023

United Nations Cultural Organisation, UNESCO, has added four Rwandan genocide memorial monuments to its World Heritage list, the agency said on Wednesday.

According to UNESCO in a post on X (formerly Twitter), the four sites located at Nyamata, Murambi, Gisozi and Bisesero, which commemorate the mass killings that took place in the 1994 genocide where more than more than 800,000 minority Tutsis were murdered by the majority Hutus, have been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

“The four sites commemorate the genocide that targeted the Tutsi minority in large part but also moderate Hutus who were shot, beaten or hacked to death by Hutu extremists between April and July 1994,” the post noted.

Rwandan government spokeswoman, Yolande Makolo, who commended the Heritage listing, also posted on X saying it was a historic decision that was welcomed by the country.

“This historic decision will help safeguard memory, counter denial and strengthen genocide prevention efforts globally. #NeverAgain,” she wrote.

Local media reports claim three of the sites were actual scenes of the massacres that sent shock waves across the world.

“At Nyamata, more than 45,000 people who had sought shelter in the church were slaughtered in one day,” a report by a media platform read.

“Its chapel now houses the clothing and rosaries worn by the victims along with the weapons used by the perpetrators of the killings.

“Mass graves are situated behind the church, with a vault that houses the skulls of victims and other human remains.

“At Murambi, tens of thousands of people who were encouraged to take refuge in the technical school on the pretext of ensuring their safety were executed in one of the genocide’s bloodiest episodes.

“At Bisesero, a resistance memorial pays tribute to Tutsis who fought back with spears and stones as Hutu extremists murdered hundreds of people in the surrounding hills.

“Skulls, bone fragments, torn clothing and images of piled up corpses confront visitors to the Kigali Genocide Memorial in Gisozi, the final resting place of around 250,000 victims.

“In addition to human remains, the sites also feature material evidence of the 100-day killing spree by Hutu extremist forces – spears, machetes, clubs and bladed weapons.

“The genocide was unleashed shortly after the ethnic Hutu president was killed when his plane was shot down in an attack blamed by the government on Tutsi rebels.

“The killing ended only when the Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) took over in July 1994, having having defeated the Hutu extremists”, the report added.

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Culture

Ghanaians react angrily as American video vixen Rubi Rose tours Jubilee House

Published

2 days ago

November 3, 2024

Isaac Dachen

Some Ghanaians have been outraged following a tour of the Jubilee House, the country’s seat of government, by American entertainer and video vixen, Rubi Rose.

The visit and tour of the Jubilee House by the controversial vixen, rapper, and OnlyFans content creator who arrived in Ghana on Thursday, October 31, 2024, sparked outrage and angry reactions among Ghanaians on social media who questioned the rationale behind the visit.

The American star was a special guest for a Halloween party in Accra and during her stay, was granted access to the Jubilee House, where she met with Nadia Adongo Musah, Deputy Director of Diaspora Affairs at the Office of the President, and was given a tour of the premises.

Photos of Rose’s visit to the Jubilee House circulated on social media, prompting discontent among Ghanaians, who questioned why someone with her background was allowed into the Jubilee House, also known as Flagstaff House, which holds significant historical and symbolic value as the seat of Ghana’s presidency.

Some angry Ghanaians took to social media to voice out their discontents.

A X user with the handle @fanti_boy wrote:

“Is this really Kwame Nkrumah’s Ghana?”

Another user, @_blacksnow09, said:

“Foreigners have more access to the presidential residence than citizens.”

@CopsonClaude commented:

“The Jubilee House is now Oasis Lounge.”

@PositiveAt59011 said:

“Please, is the place a hotel where Americans do lodge in?”

@DanQuaye22 said:

“They told the citizens Flagstaff House is a security zone, but see who has easy access.”

Culture

Mauritius bans access to social media until after elections

Published

3 days ago

November 2, 2024

Isaac Dachen

The Mauritius government has placed a blanket ban on access to social media websites ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled to hold on November 10.

The ban, which was announced on Friday by the country’s national communications regulator, will be in force until November 11, the day after the election.

“The ICT Authority wishes to inform the public that in response to concerns regarding illegal postings that constitute a serious threat to national security and public safety, it has received directives in the evening of 31 October 2024, to direct all Internet Service Providers to temporarily suspend access to all social media platforms until 11 November 2024”, the Information and Communication Technology Authority said on Friday.

The move which came amid a wiretapping scandal in the Indian Ocean nation, has however, raised concerns as opposition parties and prominent figures have a ploy by the governing party to avoid defeat at the polls.

Local media say the unprecedented social media ban follows a wiretapping scandal which rocked the country last month when recorded conversations of politicians, business people, and members of civil society were leaked on social media.

According to media freedom advocacy group Reporters Without Borders (RWB), the recorded conversations of five well-known journalists were leaked published on social media, prompting the ban.

“The government of the Indian Ocean Island country, which has a population of 1.2 million, has claimed that these leaks are a threat to national security and instructed the communications authority to suspend all access to social media,” the RWB said in a statement.

In response to the bank, network service provider, EMTEL, said it would comply with the directive and user experience will be “progressively disrupted”.

“EMTEL understands the inconvenience that this action shall cause to its customers but reiterates that it has no alternative other than to comply with ICTA directive,” the company said.

Local media also quoted a statement from the office of the Prime Minister, Pravind Jugnauth, who is seeking a second term in power, as saying that the suspension of social media was essential to protect national security and the country’s integrity.