Rwandan patriotic front rpf, an opposition movement organised by tutsi exiles in uganda, launched a military offensive in rwanda and seized power in kigali in early july. Cause and effects of the rwandan genocide, 1994 in august of 1994 the tutsi rpf group lead by kagame retook the capital and soon after, the rest of the country, ending the genocide. The sweetly sickening odor of decomposing bodies hung over many parts of rwanda in july 1994. Explaining the 1994 genocide in rwanda the journal of. From april to july 1994, between 500,000 and one million rwandan tutsi were systematically exterminated by militiamen under rwandan armed forces far in french control. Those who took refuge in zaire and other neighbouring countries were either those responsible for the tutsi genocide, or they were innocent hutus who. In april, 1994, the president of rwanda was killed in an airplane crash. Rwandan genocide was a 1994 mass execution of central african groups called the hutus and tutsisin a period of 100 days between april 6, 1994midjuly 1994 between 500,000 and 1,000,000 tutsis. When the hutus discovered their reign had ended they feared tutsi backlash and about 2 million. Since the colonial period there has been great tension between them.
A summary of the rwandan genocide polytechnic school. In this genocide, more than one million tutsi were killed for the sole reason of being tutsi. The term genocide was created during the holocaust and declared an international crime in the 1948 united nations convention on the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide. Here you will find our digital collection of items related to the 1994 genocide against the tutsi in rwanda, pregenocide history and postgenocide reconstruction processes.
During the rwandan genocide of 1994, members of the hutu ethnic majority in the eastcentral african nation of rwanda murdered as many as 800,000 people. Our materials are also preserved and accessible at our physical archive which is located at the kigali genocide memorial. Even so, the nature of the rwandan state must be seen as absolutely central. Incitement and statesponsored violence 19901993 chapter 3 suppression of information. In just 100 days in 1994, about 800,000 people were slaughtered in rwanda by ethnic hutu extremists. Prunier, gerard, the rwanda crisis 19591994, history of a genocide, london, hurst and company, 1995, p. Causes and effects of rwandan genocide, 1994 by devika. These feature confidential government papers, cables and reports that have since been disclosed for the rwandan public interest. From 1990 through the 1994 genocide, propagandists used newspapers and later the radio to disseminate these ideas hostile to the tutsi. The documents include those cited in the new investigative account, bystanders to genocide. Message to symposium on the media and the rwanda genocide ix ko.
Although the government led by the rwanda patriotic front has achieved. Annan preface xi notes on contributors xiii 1 introduction 1 allan thompson 2 the media dichotomy 12 romeo dallaire 3 rwanda. They were targeting members of the minority tutsi community, as well. In 1994, rwanda erupted into one of the most appalling cases of mass murder the world had witnessed since world war ii.
Beginning on april 6, 1994, and for the next hundred days, up to 800,000 tutsis were killed by hutu militia using clubs and machetes, with as many as 10,000 killed each day. From april to july 1994, between 500,000 and one million rwandan tutsi were systematically. The convention defines genocide as any of the following acts committed with the intent to destroy, in. Habyarimana was shot out of the sky on the evening of april 6 1994. Dapres les donnees recueillies par lagence fides, il y a 248 victimes dans le personnel. This paper examines the question of why so many ordinary hutu participated in genocidal killing of tutsi in rwanda in 1994. France, belgium, and the united states declined to send. During the next four months, hutu extremists and their followers executed a gruesome, preplanned genocide and politicide. The genocide unfolded before the eyes of the national media, which covered the events live from rwanda until violence escalated and all foreigners were evacuated. In this paper i will investigate the true motivation of the 1994 rwandan genocide as more than just social divide and ethnic hatred between the hutu and the tutsi. Interview with the french media in paris, june 7, 1994, public papers of the presidents of the united states, william j. Despite this, the survivors, the genocide perpetrators and their respective families now have. Walking the road to genocide 20 gerald caplan part one. Click on the article to read the full report in 1994 more than 800,000 people were killed in rwanda.
A report from rwanda from the guardian the guardian. The rwanda crisis from uganda to zaire new brunswick, nj. The 1994 humanitarian response to genocide and civil war. The genocide was conceived by extremist elements of rwandas majority hutu population who planned to kill the minority tutsi population and anyone who opposed those genocidal intentions. Ten years after the 1994 genocide, rwanda is experiencing not democracy and reconciliation but dictatorship and exclusion. On 8 november 1994, seven months after the passenger plane carrying president juvenil. By nicole winfield associated press nando media december 16, 1999. However, to understand what led to the horrific atrocities in the spring of 1994, examining rwanda. Explaining rwandas 1994 genocide university of denver. The 1994 rwandan genocide einternational relations. Making and protecting the nation in postcolonial and postcommunist states. Genocide of rwandan tutsis page 11 chronology of events 1892 1994. On the eve of the tenth anniversary of the rwanda genocide, the school of journalism and communication at carleton university in ottawa hosted a oneday symposium on march 2004, entitled the media and the rwanda genocide. This case study considers military and internaional political responses to the april 1994 conflict between the rwandan patriotic front rpf and the rwandan government forces rgf and the.
The machete was the primary weapon used to hack people to death, as it required no training to use. The killings as many as 1 million people are estimated to have perished shocked the international community. Long before the genocide, around the 1890s, there were three ethnic groups. Dealing with the past is dealing with the present, it is. Any adequate account of the 1994 genocide in rwanda must acknowledge manipulation by external forces, domestic pressures and psychological factors. Genocide in rwanda aprilmay 1994 human rights watch. As the genocide was unprecedented in african annals, so is the panel. The rwandan genocide, also known as the genocide against the tutsi, was a mass slaughter of tutsi, twa, and moderate hutu in rwanda, which took place between 7 april and 15 july 1994 during the rwandan civil war. The story of the 1994 rwandan genocide told through the prism of the media, exploring their role then and today. The thenpresident of rwanda, juvenal habyarimana, had decided, after long opposition, to comply with the arusha accords and put an end to the crisis and civil war. The president of rwanda at the time, juv enal habyarimana, had decid ed, after long opposition, to comply with the arusha accords and put an end to the crisis and civil war. United states government printing office, 1995, pp. Koppel interviewed general dallaire about his experiences as commander of peacekeeping troops in rwanda and his recollections of the genocide during 1994 civil war.
The president of rwanda at the time, juvenal habyarimana, had decid ed, after long opposition, to comply with the arusha accords and put an end to the crisis. The genocide began after the death of juvenal habyarimana, the rwandan president, on 5. The rwandan genocide, also known as the genocide against the tutsi, was a mass slaughter of tutsi, twa, and moderate hutu in rwanda, which took place between 7 april and 15 july 1994 during the rwandan civil war in 1990, the rwandan patriotic front rpf, a rebel group composed of tutsi refugees, invaded northern rwanda from their base in uganda, initiating the rwandan civil war. Both precolonial legacies and colonial policies contributed to the formation of this state, whose increasingly autocratic and unpopular government. Among many other scholarly efforts, a number of journals have given over entire issues to the question of rwanda and the crises of the great lakes, or of central africa. Aug 07, 2015 the rwanda genocide was perpetrated between april and july 1994 and resulted in the intentional murder of over 500,000 rwandan tutsi, in addition to the murder of an estimated 25,000 45,000 hutu. In the bugesera province, where the small town of nyamata is located, the 1994 rwandan genocide was particularly brutal. Post genocide rwanda provides a remarkable counterexample, where ddr has largely succeeded despite the ongoing threat of. The case of rwanda introduction disarmament, demobilization and reintegration ddr programs generally reassure former combatants that they will be reintegrated, not punished. The rwandan authorities distributed firearms to militia members and other habyarimana supporters as early as 1992, and gave out many more in. Pdf explaining the 1994 genocide in rwanda researchgate.
As a result, 500,000 to 800,000 hutu refugees fled to goma, zaire in july, 1994. On april 6, 1994, rwandan president juvenal habyarimanas personal plane, a gift from french president francois mitterand, was shot down as it returned to. The rwandan genocide of 1994 is defined as the mass massacre in the african country of rwanda. A summary of the rwandan genocide the genocide on 6 april 1994, the deaths of the presidents of burundi and rwanda in a place crash caused by a rocket attack, ignited several weeks of intense and systematic massacres. The genocide occurred in the context of a political transition from the decadeslong single party rule of juvenal habyarimana to multiparty. Apr 14, 2014 the literature on regional genocide and mass murder includes. The rwanda genocide was perpetrated between april and july 1994 and resulted in the intentional murder of over 500,000 rwandan tutsi, in addition to the murder of an estimated 25,000 45,000 hutu.
On april 6th, 1994, the plane carrying the hutu president was shot down. Jun 06, 2011 click on the article to read the full report in 1994 more than 800,000 people were killed in rwanda. Rwanda genocide of 1994, planned campaign of mass murder in rwanda that occurred over the course of some 100 days in apriljuly 1994. The international panel of eminent personalities to investigate the 1994 genocide in rwanda and the surrounding events was created by the organization of african unity.
This genocide, committed by rwandans against rwandans, destroyed social bonds between rwandans and damaged economic institutions. May 07, 2012 the diplomatic conflict that arose between france and the united states during the rwandan genocide of 1994 resulted from the two nations conflicting policies toward rwanda. After the genocide in 1995, the tutsiled rwandan patriotic army rpa forcibly gained control of the country. The genocide was conceived by extremist elements of rwandas majority hutu population who planned to kill the minority tutsi population and anyone who opposed those. Rwanda is a mountainous, landlocked nation whose economy is based on agriculture and most residents are farmers. Here you will find our digital collection of items related to the 1994 genocide against the tutsi in rwanda, pre genocide history and post genocide reconstruction processes. Clinton iii 1994, book ijanuary 1 to july 31, 1994 washington dc. The rwandan genocide may have kicked off in 1994 but there were many issues behind it. A second aim of the mission was to evaluate the functioning of the international criminal tribunal for. The diplomatic conflict that arose between france and the united states during the rwandan genocide of 1994 resulted from the two nations conflicting policies toward rwanda. The genocide began after the death of juvenal habyarimana, the rwandan president, on 5 april led.
Today the national security archive publishes on the world wide web sixteen declassified us government documents detailing how us policymakers chose to be bystanders during the genocide that decimated rwanda in 1994. This genocide damaged and destroyed the social cohesion and make up. Outreach programme on the rwanda genocide and the united. Label one page section outline and the other page history of rwanda outline. Rwanda is one of the smallest countries in central africa, with just 7 million people, and is comprised of two main ethnic groups, the hutu and the tutsi. Why the united states let the rwandan tragedy happen, by samantha. It is estimated that some 200,000 hutu, spurred on by propaganda from. This article is part of an eir series marking the twentieth commemoration of the rwandan genocide. Why early warning failed published by scholar commons, 2009. From the very first signs of genocide, the united states was confronted with a difficult choice. An african ethnic group called the tutsis were viciously attacked by another group called the hutus, thus genocide was formed. Nov 12, 2007 i created this to depict the cruelty that was layed upon this nation. The thesis is divided into chapters covering the pregenocidal roles of women, their roles during the genocide, and finally, their social and political roles since the genocide. Genocide of rwandan utsi 1994 medecins sans frontieres.
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