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s the world commemorates the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, the international community has learned that promoting dialogue is essential to seeking solutions to any conflict, a scholar says.

'€œThe Rwanda genocide gave the world a very fundamental lesson: We need to engage in intensive dialogue to overcome problems and differences,'€ said University of Indonesia'€™s international relations lecturer Artanti Wardhani at a seminar to commemorate the Rwanda Genocide, organized by the United Nations Information Center (UNIC) in Jakarta Tuesday.

April 7 marks the anniversary of genocide in Rwanda that, based on the UN reports, claimed more than 800,000 innocent people'€™s lives, the majority being Tutsi. The date will be remembered as the beginning of 100 days of bloody mayhem.

The 1994 Rwandan genocide is a stark reminder that ethnic hatred, if untamed, can lead to national disaster.

Artanti underlined that misperceptions about ideological differences and ethnic diversity could result in human rights violations.

'€œAfter killing people, Rwandan troops thought they had liberated their country from '€˜state enemies'€™. They claimed recognition,'€ she said.

Out of the ashes of the genocide, Rwanda today has forged a new path, progressing toward a more peaceful and just society. The world has also honored the survivors whose resilience continues to inspire.

Artanti added that Indonesia could learn from Rwanda in seeking reconciliation: '€œFor human rights cases here, parties could be reconciled through dialogue. It is very possible. But we need strong will, they should be fully facilitated so they can be confident doing that.'€

Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) coordinator Haris Azhar noted that information played an important role in communal conflict. Therefore, to prevent such conflict, public awareness about the danger of discrimination should be nurtured from an early age.

Genocide in Rwanda was in the making for decades, fueled by hate speech, discrimination, propaganda and the training of death squads. Hutus had come to resent Tutsis for their wealth and what they saw as oppressive rule.

'€œIt is very important to learn about tolerance at school. Unfortunately, the government has not mandated that issues such as discrimination or racism should be added to the curriculum,'€ he said

Inter-ethnic issues have also occurred closer to home, with violence between Dayaks and Madurese as recently as 2001, Haris warned that as a country that boasts vast-ethnic diversity, people should always aware of its potential conflict.

'€œI really hope genocide in Rwanda or ethnic cleansing in Yugoslavia does not happen here. We must be careful because killing sprees can start from something as little as race or language,'€ he said. (idb)