The Rwandan Genocide

By Tayla Hamilton

HOW DID IT START?

Before the Rwandan Genocide, the Germans colonized Rwanada in 1894. As the colonists looked at all of the Africans they favored the ones with more European features (later called the Tutsi tribe), which caused them to be looked upon as racially superior.  Soon after, the Belgiums created "identity cards" that were used to label each African individual Tutsi, Hutu or Twa. Since the Tutsi tribe made up 14% of the population while 85% of the Rwandan population identified as Hutu tension increased between these two tribes. What really set the Hutus off was on April 6, 1994 which was the Assassination of President Habyarimana (who was a Hutu). The Hutu tribe blamed the Tutsis for the assassination of the president and the Hutu community headed by Théoneste Bagosoro issued orders to kill Tutsis.

President Habyarimana

WHAT LED TO THE ABUSES?

 Long before President Habyarimana was killed there was ethnic tension between the Hutus and Tutsis because the Tutsis had better jobs and educational opportunities. In 1994, the economic situation got worse and the president of that time (President Habyarimana) began to lose popularity. Because of this, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) was formed by the Tutsi refugees in Uganda which aimed to overthrow Habyarimana in order to come back to their homeland. Even after Habyarimana negotiated with the Tutsis with the RPF, he was still assassinated.

Tutsi refugees

WHAT WERE THE PRIMARY INTERESTS OF THE ULTRANATIONALIST GROUP?/WHAT ULTRANATIONALIST POLICIES WERE ENACTED OFFICIALLY AND UNOFFICIALLY?

The Hutu extremists wanted to remove the feudal like system that was formed by the Europeans that the Tutsi were the most dominant African. They also wanted to get rid of the Tutsi's who were seen as the superior race. Lastly, they used military force to create tension and to gain power. Organized gangs of government soldiers killed many Tutsi peoples with machetes or blew up the churches where they had taken refuge.

Anti-Tutsi youth organization

WHERE DID THIS EVENT OCCUR?

The Rwandan Genocide occurred in Rwanda, which is a country in east-central Africa.

WHEN DID THE EVENT OCCUR, AND HOW DID THE WORLD REACT TO THE EVENT?

The Rwandan Genocide started on April 7 1994. More than 500,000 Tutsi and Hutu people died in the genocide. It is said that the world just stood by and watched. There are many researching the exact answer as to why the world reacted this way. Some conclusions were that some people thought that the Hutus and Tutsis were having more of a civil war rather than a genocide because of the early stages of conflict. Others say that the government knew that it was a genocide however they didn't want to pay for supplies and personnels to stop it.

WHY DID ONE GROUP RESORT TO THE POLICIES OF GENOCIDE?

The Hutus resorted to policies of genocide because they were tired of the Tutsi being considered as the "elite" and were determined to gain power. Hutus were also angry because of the assassination of their Hutu president which put the Tutsis in an even worse situation.

WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE GENOCIDE?

The genocide was planned by members of the core elite. Many of these members had top positions at top levels of the national government. The police, soldiers and milita were also backed by the government. The Hutu extremists and RPF members also participated in the genocide.

HOW MIGHT HAVE THE ABUSES BEEN PREVENTED?

The European influence impacted the Rwandan nation to the extent that the African peoples had tensions between each other. If the Europeans did not come over, there would be no system where the Tutsis were higher than every other African in Rwanda. This later on could have prevented the genocide from occurring. The other surrounding countries also could of helped prevent the genocide by providing medical care or shelter to help the victims of the genocide. Finally, the Hutus and Tutsis could of created peace with each other by providing the same equal rights that the Tutsis had to the Hutus.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-26875506

http://endgenocide.org/learn/past-genocides/the-rwandan-genocide/

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13431486

https://www.thoughtco.com/the-rwandan-genocide-1779931

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rwandan_genocide

https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-hutu-tutsi-conflict-3554917

*All images found from google images*