Confronted by victims' skulls and survivors' horrifying tales, former President Carter held back tears Sunday during his fact-finding mission into Rwanda's genocide and its refugees.
At a church memorial in the capital of Kigali, Carter's hosts showed him dozens of decomposed bodies in the chapel and thousands of skulls stacked outside, evidence of three weeks of terror there in April 1994."It is one of the worst things I've seen in my life," Carter said. "I hope those who are responsible will be brought to justice, or else it could happen again."
Carter's visit lays the groundwork for Nov. 27 talks in Cairo on the region's refugees. Leaders of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Zaire asked the former president to mediate the talks.
Carter said he wanted his tour to remind the world of the genocide in which more than 500,000 Rwandans, mostly minority Tutsis and moderate Hutus, were slain by Hutu-led government troops and militias.
"I think it is important that I visit here and bring attention to what happened, because the international community forgets too easily," he said.
He will continue to Burundi on Monday and Goma, Zaire, on Tuesday.