Rwanda And Genocide Of The Twentieth Century

In chapter two of the order of genocide, the author, Scott Straus, evaluates the course of commentary on the Rwandan genocide, by exploring already existing literature by other authors that tries to elucidate the reasons that led to genocide in the first place.

Rwanda is a country located in Central Eastern Africa, with an extensive history of colonization, after Belgium attained control in 1924. Belgium’s rule however also marked the beginning of a lengthy ethnic rivalry between the Hutu and the Tutsi people. Belgium favored the Tutsi the minority at 14 percent of the population over the Hutu, the majority at 85 percent, simply because the Tutsis were more resembling of the Europeans. “Colonial policy helped to intensify bipolar differentiation between Tutsi and Hutu, by inscribing “ethnic” identification on identity cards, by relegating the vast majority of Hutu to particularly onerous forms of forced cultivation and corvee, and by actively favoring Tutsi in access to administrative posts, education, and jobs in the modern sector,” (Newbury, 12). Belgium’s control fueled the Hutu’s resentment towards the Tutsis because the Tutsis received superior treatment for decades. Thus, when Rwanda finally acquired independence in 1962, the Hutus fought for control over the government, highlighting the first warning sign of the genocide to come. Many Tutsis were killed afterwards, while many others fled to neighboring countries to escape the violence.

Often described as the most horrible and systematic human massacre since the Holocaust, the Rwandan Genocide has been a subject of research and debate for decades. Typically, ethnic and cultural differences between segments of Rwanda’s diverse population, namely the Hutu and the Tutsi, is the reason given to explain the genocide. Although this is a valid argument, the roots of the conflict are more complex stretching back to the era of colonialism. The impact of colonialism on Rwandan politics and society set the foundations for revolution in 1959 and, ultimately, genocide in 1994.

The Rwanda Genocide was an unfortunate case where thousands of deaths could have been prevented, but because of irresponsibility and selfishness of global governments’ innocent lives were lost. The Genocide began on April 6, 1994 and was, “initiated by the Hutu political elite and extremists and its military support, their prime targets were the Tutsi, as well as Hutu moderates.” (Hain 2) The Hutu made up majority of the population and government officials and enforced a government-assisted military force to fatally attack the Tutsis. The genocide lasted one hundred days until a rebel Tutsi groups army Hutu armies in a Civil War. Within ten years of the genocide, Rwanda would make exceptional changes to government that would hold genocide participants accountable, within twenty years of the genocide; the economy has grown about 8% an annum. In the next fifty years, Rwanda will continue to see economic and population growth, but will continue to push peace and unity as the genocide continues to cause ethnical tension.

known as the Rwandan Genocide where the murder of the ethnic group, Tutsis, was administered

The world has seen many gruesome acts throughout history. These acts are often too cruel to even imagine for some people. The Rwandan Genocide is without a doubt one of these acts. This genocide is a very controversial topic that stirs up a lot of anger, emotion and regret. The Rwandan genocide shows a prime example of a country ignored when it needed help the most.

The killings were carried out with meticulous organization and their militias had the help of the government who gave them specific locations and people to go and kill (BBC News). Not only did government officials help the Hutus in the killing but the radio played a major role in it as well. The United End to Genocide article states that “The radio was utilized to not only list the location of specific Tutsis to be targeted, but to also justify the genocide. Radio hosts discussed discrimination the Hutus suffered under the power of the Tutsis … Radio stories were used to anger the Hutus and channel that anger into action” (United End to Genocide). The Hutus were going around exterminating every Tutsi when they encountered a Tutsi rebel group who fought back which only made the fighting more toxic on both sides. According to an article by BBC News “The killings were carried out so swiftly and effectively because the then governing party, MRND, had a youth wing called the Interahamwe, which was turned into a militia to carry out the slaughter. Weapons and hit-lists were handed out to local groups, who knew exactly where to find their targets” (BBC News). The newspaper and radio affected everybody, including priests and nuns who were also convicted of killing people just to save

On April 6 1994, prior to the death of president Juvenal Habyarimana, the nation of Rwanda become released into turmoil as genocides claimed the lives of at the least ½ a one million of its citizens (Seltzer in Des Forges, 1999,). Instigated by using the Hutu political elite and its military guide, their top objectives were the Tutsi, as well as Hutu moderates. Many have purported “ethnic hatred” as the motive of the Rwanda Genocide and at the same time as an ethnic divide became indeed found in Rwanda across the time of the warfare, the reasons for the genocide are more than one and was greater complex.

The author shows how catastrophic the killings were by comparing it to other murders experienced in the past. It is evident that it was difficult to find the Tutsis who were alive unlike the dead. Even though, Rwanda’s killings were less compared to Cambodia’s, the former was genocide because it was planned while the later seemed amateurish. Furthermore, Yugoslavia’s was similar to a riot. Rwanda’s dead also accumulated around three times the Jewish Holocaust rate (Gourevitch, 1995). The article further illustrates how worse it is when one community massively kills fellow men. The perpetrators will soon appear before Rwanda’s Tribunal court for judgment. Overall, the article was informative as it addressed the genocide concept using Rwanda as illustration for better

During this stage, extremists drive the groups apart. A form of polarization in genocide is when hate groups broadcast and print polarizing propaganda. Public demonstrations of separation are organized. The Hutu Power’s most dangerous and useful weapon was the radio. This was the most significant way to polarize the groups by constantly broadcasting for the death of all Tutsis and moderate Hutus. Tutsis and moderate Hutus were not separated physically; Tutsis and Hutus lived together, were neighbors, until the call for the murder of all Tutsis. Hutu Power trained Rwandans to practice prejudice against Tutsis on a daily basis. In line with its ideology of the “social revolution,” the new Hutu elite developed a policy of systematic discrimination against Tutsi, especially in areas of political power (the arm, the government, the single party) and of vertical mobility (education, foreign training, state jobs) (Uvin, 1997). This polarized Tutsis and Hutus early on, years before the genocide started, yet was intensified in the early moths before genocide. To prevent this stage, society must vigorously protest laws or policies that segregate or marginalize groups, or that deprive groups of citizenship rights (Stanton,

Genocide is “the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, ethnic, political, or cultural group”. In Rwanda for example, the Hutu-led government embraced a new program that called for the country’s Hutu people to murder anyone that was a Tutsi (Gourevitch, 6). This new policy of one ethnic group (Hutu) that was called upon to murder another ethnic group (Tutsi) occurred during April through June of 1994 and resulted in the genocide of approximately 800,000 innocent people that even included women and children of all ages. In this paper I will first analyze the origins/historical context regarding the discontent amongst the Hutu and Tutsi people as well as the historical context as to why major players in the international

The 1994 genocide in Rwanda took place on the 7th of April, a day after the aircraft carrying the Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana and Cyprien Ntaryamira, president of neighboring Burrundi was shot down. The 7th of April 1994 saw a succession of massacres across Rwanda. In 100 days, this state-led extermination campaign targeted at the Tutsi minority and “moderate Hutus” was orchestrated by specific, influential architects -Hutu hardliners of the Habyarimana’s inner circle. This power clique was accountable for the systematic annihilation of Rwanda’s Tutsi minority, an approximate of over half a million civilian lives.

“The Tutsis are collaborators with the Belgian colonists. They stole our land. They whipped us. Now they have come back, these Tutsi rebels. They are murderers. They are cockroaches. Rwanda is our Hutu Land. We must squash the infestation. This is RTLM, Hutu Power Radio. Stay Alert. Watch your neighbors. (Hotel Rwanda).” This is a part of one of the broadcasts Radio Télévision des Milles Collines (RTLM) used to transmit hate propaganda to the state of Rwanda. From October 1993 to late 1994, the RTLM advanced fearmongering ethnic distinctions and misinformation to maintain the climate of fear during the genocide; it defined the Tutsis as enemies and distorted the line between the RPF (Rwandan Patriotic Front) and domestic Tutsis. Essentially, the RTLM was a facilitator of genocide; it was able to create a dehumanizing discourse - a discourse that procured Hutu participation in the mass killings and provided the legitimacy for Hutu perpetrators to kill the Tutsis and moderate Hutus. But the RTLM not only mobilized the Hutu in an organized and coordinated campaign against the Tutsis, it also mobilizes the conversation about the role media plays in and against any large scale massacre.

The most astonishing thing is the number of lives that were lost in such a span of time (Akresh 4). What triggered the genocide is when Juvenal Habyarimana, the Rwandan president died on sixth April nineteen ninety four in a shooting that happened in Kigali Airport. This wave of violence spread drastically in all places of the country. The Hutus being the perpetrators of the massacre, wanted to wipe away the Tutsi (Mamdani 3). However, could the death of President Juvenal Habyarimana be the cause of such a dreaded massacre? This paper will explore the historical rivalry of the Hutu and Tutsi communities, the motive of the genocide, the role of the media and the international community and the aftermath of the massacre. In my opinion, I must declare that it I unavoidably difficult to discuss the Rwandan genocide without raising the deepest emotions, a cry for humanity.

I chose to write about the Rwandan Genocide, because I remember vividly the news accounts that broadcast images of its ravages during the 1990s. The conflict was identified as an ethnic conflict with very little context provided. Like most Western observers lacking knowledge of the history of the region, I saw the conflict as both complex and senseless. The course chapter on the Rwandan Genocide was very especially informative, and inspired my further study on the topic.