A Critique on the 1994 Rwanda Genocide

Thesis: The Rwandan Genocide is one of the lesser known, quickest, and most inhumane genocides this world has ever seen, and it is still affecting the people of Rwanda till this day.

This investigation studies two of the causes of the 1994 genocide of Rwanda. The two causes are examined in order to see to what extent each contributed to the genocide. The social and ethnic conflicts between two Rwandan groups called the Hutus and the Tutsis caused violent disputes and riots. The assassination of President Juvenal Habyarimana is often thought of as the event that sparked the mass murders. Did the assassination of President Juvenal Habyarimana influence the Rwandan genocide of 1994 more than the ongoing social and ethnic conflicts?

The author throws light on historical background of Rwanda which clarifies the circumstances that gave spark to the huge extermination of

The Rwandan Genocide was one that will never be forgotten. It occured from April 7, 1994 to July 1994. Rwanda was mainly separated into three different ethnic groups. The Hutus, the Tutsis, and the Twa. The population of the Hutus in Rwanda was about 84 percent of the country, the Tutsis group was 15 percent, and the Twa ethnicity was only a trivial 1 percent. The start of the country’s civil war was triggered by the killing of the Rwandan president. The country was having difficulties before the assassination, and the killing only initiated the anger. The Rwandan Genocide left the country struggling to reconstruct the relationships between its people.

Rwanda is a country located in the middle of the African continent. The two ethnic groups present in the country lived in peace under their monarch until the arrival of Europeans. The Belgians arrival into Rwandan is what split the two ethnic groups of the Tutsi and Hutus, making them identify themselves with ID cards. This caused tension between the two groups as the Belgians favored the ethnic Tutsi, and made them the head of the government. Decade’s later Hutu extremists would take over the government and have revenge on the Tutsi. The new government would send out broadcasts calling on Hutus to kill their friends and neighbors. The Rwandan genocide would become the worst genocide to ever happen in Africa and one of the worst in the world. Today Rwanda’s recovery is surprisingly fast with the help of multiple nations and organizations. Rwanda’s recovery is nothing short of a miracle and is an amazing story of a war between two peoples.

In the 1990’s, the mass media concentrated all its thoughtfulness on a refugee catastrophe. This was connected to the Rwanda Genocide, and the United Nation provided assistance for those distressed by these event (Herta, 2014, p. 263-264). Prior to this event The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) structured themselves and invaded the country. They had a purpose to force the Hutu dictatorship into reforming the country. They wanted the Tutsi regime to return back into the country. As per Herta (2014), The Great Lakes region was affected by the event, just about fifty-six million people lived below poverty levels, and this led to the greatest humanitarian effort of the decade. The target of this paper is to explain how this event was a genocide.

The struggle for power and the constant tension between these two groups led to the event that would spark this genocide. It would occur at 8:30 p.m., on April 6th 1994. On this day President Juvénal Habyarimana of Rwanda was returning from a summit and his plane was shot down, causing the death of everyone on board. (BBC) Hutu extremist immediately took control over the government and blamed the assassination on the Tutsi. This was the last straw for the Hutu.

The 1994 Rwandan Genocide, deemed one of the worst genocidal mass slaughters in history of the Tutsi and moderate Hutu people, was no doubt a significant historical event that has shaped the way the world responds to such events now, and resulted in numerous accounts of the tragic occurrence in the past two decades, both traditional and popular. The traditional format of historical book, When Victims Become Killers by historian and political commentator Mahmood Mamdani, is one account which attempts to reason the mass murders undertaken by Hutu extremists, however also disregards certain aspects of the cause of the genocide itself. An alternate historical novel, The Rwandan Crisis by Gerard Prunier, French historian and academic, does the same

In the depths of Central Africa lies the country of Rwanda, where its geography is exotic and diverse from one area to the next. It has a chaotic history, which led to one of the biggest genocides ever. Its political system for the last few years has been identical to the one in America. Its economy is going strong, with an abundance of money being earned from their different types of exports. Along with Rwanda’s rich and extravagant culture filled with things from African ideas, while also being influenced by its colonist country Belgium and even America.

From June 7 to July of 1994, a kind of terrifying violence overcame small East-African country, Rwanda. Close to a million lost their lives in just a span of one hundred days. Neighbors killing neighbors, streets riddled with dead bodies and blood-thirsty rebels waiting to strike, and the near- extermination of an entire population became an everyday reality for helpless Rwandans. The same questions perplexed horrified people all around the world: What inspired such hate? And why did this hate suddenly lead to such a gruesome course of action? The assassination of Rwanda’s president may have been the final catalyst that began the genocide, but it was far from being the only catalyst. Rwanda’s colonial history resulted in a clear schism between

The issue of abandonment will be brought to the forefront but not in terms of the genocide guilt card. Rwandan officials will believe that the same states that abandoned Rwanda before and during the genocide have little ability to criticise the continuation of the only person who did not leave the country during its darkest periods. President Kagame as leader of the RPF led the campaign to put an end to the massacres in response to international abandonment of the genocide. This might be easily misinterpreted as Rwanda promoting genocide guilt to deflect criticism of electing Kagame for more terms than the current Constitution allows. But at the heart of the issue is the distrust of the international community. They rather listen to and trust Kagame who did not abandon the country rather than the countries that did. How he ended the genocide and led the nation into wars with the DRC is met with the other two themes. Unlike the international community, which seems to disappoint Rwanda by not properly combating the FDLR , Kagame is credited for promoting the security of Rwandans by fighting the FDLR and other extremist groups bent on harming Rwanda. These military campaigns are all through a central belief that Rwanda needs to be self-reliant for its own protection and development. Since the 2012 M23 allegations and aid withdrawal by donors, Rwandans are increasingly accepting President Kagame’s call for self-reliance. As discussed in Chapter Six, his rhetoric campaigns against foreign aid, Kagame continues to instruct Rwandans to trust that economic development has to come from within Rwanda rather than continual acceptance of foreign aid. Ronal Nkusi commented how the reduction of aid went beyond just the realm of rhetoric to include it as a belief to be held by all government officials. This sense

involved until after the atrocities were done. There is also a question of motives that has recently come out on the part of the French.

The Rwandan Genocide was a genocidal mass slaughter of Tutsi and moderate Hutu in Rwanda by members of the Hutu majority.

Hintjens, Helen M. “Explaining the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda.” The Journal of Modern African Studies, vol. 37, no. 2, 1999, pp. 241–286. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/161847. 21 May 2018.

The wheels towards the 2017 Rwandan Presidential election begun turning over the last few months with Paul Kagame seeming to be legally able to run for an additional term in office. For those who study Rwanda, Kagame has been in control since the end of the horrific 1994 Rwandan genocide also known as the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. Officially, during his first six years in power, Kagame was the Vice President. Political pressures forced the acting President, Pasteur Bizimungu to step down paving the paving the way for Kagame to at least publically, hold the most important office. The 2003 and 2010 cemented Kagame’s position as not only President, but also as leader of Rwanda despite international claims of voter intimidation and arrest of opposition leaders. Despite these claims, Kagame’s ability to retain power stems from a combination of how Rwandans are willing continue the political status quo and genuine belief in Kagame’s abilities to further Rwanda’s development.