Genocide in rwanda

Genocide is defined as the systematic

killing of all of the people from a

national, ethnic, or religious group, or an

attempt to do this.

It is also called ethnic-cleaning.

Can you think of any other times in

history where genocide has taken

place?

The extermination of more than 10 million

Native Americans in North America

The Holocaust

Darfur and the Sudan

Rwanda is a country in Africa that had a

population of around 7 million people in

1994 (currently 309 million people in the

U. S.).

The people were comprised of 3 main

groups: the Hutu (85%), the Tutsis(14%),

and the Twa (1%).

It had been previously colonized by

Germany.

Once Germany signed the Treaty of

Versailles, control of Belgium went to

Belgium.

FACT CHECK: Which war did the Treaty

of Versailles end?

The Hutus and the Tutsis speak the same

language.

They embrace the same cultural

practices.

The ethnic groups were turned into a

class system under the Belgians in 1918.

Both the Germans and the Belgians developed a class system in Rwanda (one group received better treatment than another).

Both countries favored the Tutsis over the Hutu.

Belgium took things a step further by creating ethnic identity cards for them to carry so people would know if they were Hutu or Tutsi.

The Tutsis were treated as if they were far

more superior than the Hutus.

They were given better jobs, placed in

official positions, and offered Western-

styled education.

The Tutsis eventually began to see

themselves as “better” than the Hutus.

Hutu groups began to rebel against both

the Belgians and the Tutsis.

Belgian troops were forced to withdraw

from Rwanda in 1962.

Tutsis, knowing that their protection

would be gone with the Belgians, Tutsi

citizens fled Rwanda by the thousands.

By 1960, more than half of the Tutsi

population had been forced to flee.

By 1973, the Hutu began purging the

Tutsis from local universities. There was

an ethnic quota put on hiring. Tutsis

weren’t allowed to have more than 9%

of the available jobs.

Widespread killings of Tutsi citizens began again.

Politicians and journalists who were opposed to the killings were also singled out.

The fighting between the two groups continued throughout the 70s and the 80s.

In 1993, the current Hutu president decided to sign a peace agreement between the two groups.

The United Nations sent in troops to help the Hutu president coordinate the peace agreement between the Hutus and the Tutsi rebels.

Instead of the Hutu president immediately signing the resolution, he stalled on it.

This heightened tensions between the two groups and the massacres began again.

Hutu extremist groups began to use the radio to call for the annihilation of all of the Tutsis in Rwanda. The extremists informed the people that they would use a code when it was time to begin eliminating them. The code would be “cut the tall trees”.

Various human rights groups began to beg the international community to intervene.

On April 6, 1994, the plane that was

carrying the Hutu president was shot

down. Hutu rebels immediately blamed

the Tutsis.

The Rwandan Armed Forces went house

to house killing Tutsis. They also killed

politicians that they believed had

“tricked” the president into accepting

the idea of a peace agreement.

They wiped out entire neighborhoods at

a time.

It is estimated that at least 200,000

people participated in the violence

against the Tutsis.

Hutus that chose not to participate in the

mass killings were killed themselves.

Tutsi women were captured and brutally

assaulted at the hands of Tutsi rebels.

Soldiers from the United Nations

desperately wanted to help the Tutsis,

but they had only been given orders to

“monitor” the situation.

After repeated requests for permission to

intervene were denied, the soldiers

accepted their fate and watched idly as

hundreds of thousands of Tutsi citizens

were killed.

Belgian soldiers had been assigned to

protect the Hutu prime minister since he

was seen as “moderate”.

Hutu rebels killed the prime minister and the

Belgian troops. They were tortured, shot

and hacked to death with machetes.

Instead of sending in more troops, the

United Nations decided to cut the number

of troops stationed in Rwanda (the troops

were reduced from 2500 to 250).

24 days later(April 30, 1994), the United Nations Security Counsel met to discuss the situation in Rwanda.

They condemned the acts of the Hutu militia, but they were very careful not to use the word “genocide” in their meeting.

Had they described the situation as “genocide”, they would have been forced to act.

Had the word “genocide” actually been

used, the Security Counsel would have

had a legal obligation to “prevent and

punish” those committing the crimes.

Thousands of Rwandans were able to

flee to nearby countries, but hundreds of

thousands continued to be slaughtered.

17 days later (May 17, 1994), the United

Nations makes the decision to send in

6800 troops.

Troops were not immediately sent in

because of infighting between the

United States and the other members of

the U. N. over who was going to pay for

the troops and the equipment.

The U. N. dispatched French soldiers

(instead of an international police force)

into Rwanda to establish Refugee camps

and “safe areas” for the fleeing Tutsis.

Killings continue and eventually spread

to the “safe” areas.

June 22, 1994, more than two months

after the killings began, the United States

finally uses the word

“GENOCIDE”.

Ethiopian troops are dispatched. An

international police force is still not sent

in.

The killings continue.

4 months later in November, the United

Nations appoints an international court

and gives them power to prosecute

anyone suspected of being involved in

genocide. It would be a year before

they would issue their first indictments.

Meanwhile, the West joined together

and pledged to send $600 million to help

aid the Rwandans.

September 20, 1995, Pope John Paul II traveled to Africa and pleaded for peace in Rwanda.

In December 1996, trials finally began for Hutus that were involved in the 1994 genocide.

In December 1999, a Hutu militia leader was found guilty for his role in the 1994 murders.