Let us into the house of the dead

Abstract

This article revisits the genocide of the Tutsis in Rwanda and makes a passionate plea for rendering justice to the victims. The authors also remind us of the difficulties of such an enterprise, pointing to a negationist discourse that takes various shapes. The first kind of denial was that of the perpetrators of the genocide and originated at the time of the crimes. The international community – institutions and states – have then misjudged the situation, and the western media played an ambiguous role. This gave rise to a “low-grade, almost involuntary denial” that made the perpetrators’ “premeditated denial” possible. The article thus examines different aspects, types and stages of denial. Its focus lays specifically on the Rwandan context, essential for anyone who seeks to understand the evolution of negationist discourse. The authors’ ultimate goal is to reopen the debate on justice and to critically assess the way we deal with genocide denial.