Anglicans Among Victims of Carnage in Rwanda
Episcopal News Service. May 5, 1994 [94094]
International church leaders continue to call for an end to the carnage in Rwanda and are seeking to provide relief to the thousands of victims of the crisis threatening that small Central African nation.
"The international community must be ready to assist in every possible way to bring about a cessation of hostilities, a peaceful solution to the conflict and humanitarian assistance to the suffering," said Dr. Konrad Raiser, general secretary of the World Council of Churches.
The violence in Rwanda erupted after President Javenal Habyarimana and President Cyprien Ntaryamira of neighboring Burundi were killed on April 6 when their airplane was mysteriously shot down at Kigali airport. The two presidents were returning from a meeting in Tanzania aimed at implementing a peace accord between their governments and opposition factions.
Over 250,000 Rwandans of both major ethnic groups -- Tutsi and Hutu -- have been killed in the violence, and more than 250,000 refugees have fled the carnage into neighboring Tanzania in recent weeks. Another 1.6 million are internally displaced.
Recent reports indicate that Anglican priests and hundreds of lay people are among the victims of massacres, as well as the tide of refugees.
According to the Mid-Africa Ministry (MAM) office, a department of the Church Missionary Society in London, Bishop Alexis Bilindabagabo of the Diocese of Kigeme was killed in tribal warfare. In addition, other Anglican clergy have been murdered, including the diocesan communications officer, the Rev. Canon Andrew Kayizari, and the Rev. Canon Israel Havagimana.
According to Roman Catholic bishops, "many priests and religious" were among the corpses piled high in the capital's streets. Polish church sources confirmed that at least 30 Roman Catholic priests and nuns were murdered. Nearly half of Rwanda's population are Roman Catholics.
A Roman Catholic priest outside the capital reported that a band of soldiers had entered a mission center and murdered at least 70 civilians. On April 13 an armed band kicked its way into a church in Musha, opened fire with semiautomatic weapons and grenades, and then attacked survivors with knives, clubs and spears. The pastor of the church reported that 1,180 people were murdered, including 650 children.
In a May 3 letter to President Clinton, Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning reiterated his support for efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the Rwanda crisis. Browning also expressed support for 500 hostages being held in the Mille Collines Hotel in Kigale and requested that Clinton and Attorney General Janet Reno consider granting temporary protective status to Rwandans in the United States whose visas are about to expire.
The Episcopal Church's Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief has joined with relief efforts with an initial grant of $25,000. The Primate's Fund of the Anglican Church of Canada is coordinating the Anglican Communion's response to the crisis.
The White House has announced that the United States will contribute $15 million to an emergency fund the United Nations has set up to help Rwandan refugees.
Although UN representative Madeleine Albright has said that the United States would ask the Security Council to impose and arms embargo on Rwanda, she has ruled out any role for United States forces in the area.