(New York, April 6, 1999)—On the fifth anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda, Human Rights Watch called on the U.S. government to order a thorough and transparent inquiry into the U.S. failure to respond to that catastrophe. On April 6, 1994, a small band of ruthless politicians launched an extermination campaign that killed over half a million Tutsi and Hutu allied with them. A comprehensive study of the genocide published last week by Human Rights Watch and the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues showed that the U.S. saw saving money as more important than saving lives both before and during the tragedy. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Related Material Leave None to Tell the Story: Genocide in Rwanda HRW Report, March 1999 Human Rights Watch And The International Federation Of Human Rights Leagues Urge Continued International Monitoring Of Human Rights In Rwanda Press Release, July 1998 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Telling the truth about what happened during the genocide is the best way to honor the memory of the victims. U.S. authorities must come to terms with their guilt over failing to intervene in the genocide and they must help establish an accurate record of the events." Alison Des Forges Consultant for Human Rights Watch -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In a visit to Rwanda last year, President Clinton admitted he and his administration refused to heed cries for help from genocide victims. Alison Des Forges, author of the genocide study entitled Leave None to Tell the Story, said that Clinton's admission was not enough. "U.S. authorities must go beyond easy, generic apologies. Only if we really look at what went wrong can we learn the necessary lessons for the future." Rwanda investigation