Genocide: Rwandan Massacre

Shakib Rahat Chowdhury

Dept. of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering

University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh

Contexts• Rwanda: Overview

• The Massacre at a glance

• Background

• Early Period

• Rise of Hutu Nationalism

• Civil War, 1990

• The Masterplan

• Assassination of Habyrimana

• The Massacre

• Refugee camps

• International Response

• Ending

• Aftermath

• References

Rwanda: Overview

• Location: Central Africa

• Liberation:

• From Belgium

• On 1st July 1962

• Capital: Kigali

• Area: 26,338 sq km.

• Population: 12,012,589

• Ethnic groups:

• Hutu (84%)

• Tutsi (15%)

• Twa (1%)

The Massacre: At a Glance

• Started: 7th April, 1994

• Ended: Mid July, 1994 (100 days)

• Attackers: Hutu majorities; includes-

• Rwandan Army

• National Police

• Govt. Backed Militias and

• Hutu civilians

• Target: Tutsi civilians and politicians

• Deaths & causalities: Death of 5,00,000-8,00,000 civilians.

Background: Early Period

• Twas were the early settlers.

• Rwanda-

• 1894-1918: Part of German East Africa

• After WWI: Came under the League of Nations mandate of Belgium along with Burundi.

• In the begining, Belgians favoured the minority Tutsis over the Hutus as part of a strategy to “fuel inter-ethnic rivalries as a means of achieving political control”; which-

• Formed Tutsi monarch.

• Exacerbated the tendency of the few to oppress the many.

• Toward the end of Belgian rule, the government began to favor the Hutu, that-

• Created a legacy of tension that-

• Exploded into violence even before Rwanda gained its independence.

• Lead to Hutu Revolution in 1959.

• In 1957, a group of Hutu scholars wrote the "Bahutu Manifesto", which-

• Was the first document to label the Tutsi and Hutu as separate races.

• Called for the transfer of power from Tutsi to Hutu.

• Enhanced to rise Hutu Nationalism

Hutu Revolution

• Hutu revolution, 1959-

• Forced as many as 3,00,000 Tutsis to flee the country

• Made them an even smaller minority.

• By early 1961, Rwanda’s Tutsi monarch fell down; thus-

• The country became republic.

• Rise of Hutu Power ideology.

Formation of RPF

• Rebel

• RPF: Rwandan Patriotic Front.

• Formed by Paul Kagame in 1987

• Largely composed of Tutsi refugees.

• Had armed wing called RPA (Rwandan Patriotic Army).

Background: Civil War, 1990

• 1990s, tension grew when-

• Tutsis been exiled for over thirty years started to invade together in an organised group known as the RPF.

• Started; 1st Oct 1990

• Ended: 4th Aug 1993, by dint of

• Military and political victory of RPF.

• Casualties: +- 10,000 deaths

• Resultant: Arusha Accords

The Arusha Accords

• Signed by Rwandan government and RPF in August 1993.

• Organized by USA, France and Organisation of African Unity.

• Goal:

• To end Rwandan Civil War, 1990.

• To create a power sharing government with RPF.

• The agreement displeased many conservative Hutu, including the members of Akazu.

Background: The Blueprint

• Displacements came from Civil War and Arusha Accords.

• Planned by members of Akazu, senior govt. officials and Ministers.

• Months before of the massacre, Senior Govt. Ministars and Officials started to-

• Import automated guns and strengthen Rwandan Army.

• Import machetes in a vast amount.

• Arm Hutu civilians .

• Train large groups of armed Hutu extremists and civilians in an act of Self Defense Training.

Background: Assassination of President Habyrimana

• April 6, 1994: Airplane was shot down on Kigali; killing all on board, including-

• Habyrimana, Rwandan president.

• Cyprien Ntaryamira, Hutu president of Burundi.

• Suspected culprit: Tutsi extremists.

• Within an hour of the plane crash-

• The Presidential Guard, Rwandan armed forces (FAR) and extremist militia-

• Set up roadblocks and barricades and

• Began the organized slaughter.

• Spreaded anti-Tutsi propaganda all over the country through radio station (Radio Mille Collines).

• Command of exterminating Tutsi ethnicity.

The Massacre

• Started in capital, Kigali-

• Soon after the assassination of Habyrimana.

• Roadblocks were set across the city by-• Elite unit of Army, assisted by militias named “Interahamwe “ and

“Impuzamugambi”

• Under order & influence of Hutu powered Rwandan government.

• Hutu civilians were directly ordered by the authorities to-

• Arm themselves with machetes, clubs and other blunt objects; to-

• Rape, maim & kill their Tutsi neighbours and

• Destroy or grab their property.

• Neighbours turned into foes.

• Rwandan National ID cards were used to verify ethnicity.

• Civilians started to look for security from local authorities, but failed.

• Many started their journey towards Refugee camps on Zaire.

• Rwandan Patriotic Front-

• Started to fightback against the Rwandan Army, Police and Militias.

• Made slow but steady territorial gains in the north and east of the country, progressively ending the killings.

• The genocide ended during April in areas of-

• Kibungo and Kigali provinces.

• Within first 3 weeks, death caressed almost 3,00,000 Rwandan civilians; claims Red Cross.

• Genocide didn't affect areas that were already under RPF control, like-

• Byumba province and

• Eastern Ruhengeri.

Rape as Weapon

• Sexual violence was directed at-

• The national and local levels by political and military leaders, to uproot of the Tutsi ethnic group in every possible way.

• Within 100 days-

• Up to half a million women were raped, sexually mutilated or murdered

• The mass rapes were carried out by-

• The militia

• Members of the civilian population

• With help of female Hutus, the Army, and the Rwandan Presidential Guard.

• Resulted in an estimated 2000–10,000 war babies.

“No blood in front of my town hall”

• Drenched in Panic; people ran to the town hall of Nyamata, hoping for some protection from the local authorities.

• The mayor came out telling-

• “If you go back home, you shall be killed. If you escape into the bush, you shall be killed. If you stay here, you shall be killed. Nevertheless, you must leave here, because I do not want any blood in front of my town hall.”

Weapons Used

• Machetes

• Axes

• Spears

• Hammers

• Clubs and other blunt objects

• Automated guns

• Grenades

The Ntarama Church

• 15-16th April, 1994

• Around 5000 civilians crowded there, seeking protection.

• Attacked by Hutu extrimists.

• Only a few (5-10 person) survived.

• The Bloodstained wall: The death-smash for children.

Refugee Camps

• In Zaire (currently known as Congo).

• Two million Rwandans fled there.

• Over 200 aid organizations rushed into Goma to start an emergency relief.

• Many died in the journey towards camps.

• Over 50,000 people died of-

• Dysentery and

• Cholera epidemic that swept through the camp.

• Almost 2000 deaths per day; claimed Red-Cross.

International Response

• 3 months before the massacre-

• Clear warnings about the "Hutu Power" were sent to UN by UNAMIR commander.

• No action were taken!

• USA, France, Italy & all those developed & powerful countries acted as silent audiences.

• In 1998, Clinton on his visit to Rwanda, said-

• “USA made a mistake”, but

• didn't ever mentioned that he was sorry.

• After the genocide-

• UN peace keeping mission restarted.

• Reliefs came from all over the world.

Ending

• The gradual advance of RPF-

• Occupied the most of genocidal areas in the eve of July.

• Genocide ended in 15th July.

• Gained victory.

Aftermath

• 8 November 1994, International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) was created. So far-

• The tribunal has finished 50 trials and

• Convicted 29 accused persons.

• 20% Hutus, 70% Tutsis were reduced from total population

• Genocidal Rapes caused rise of HIV.

• Economically devastated.

• Many citizens living disabled life.

References

• "Ghosts of Rwanda", Frontline episode on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)

• http://www.history.com/topics/rwandan-genocide

• http://www.rwandanstories.org/

• Deutsche Welle- http://www.dw.de/

• http://www.wikipedia.org/

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