Genocide in Rwanda

Rwandan People

Rwanda’s estimated population (2008)

10,186,063

Hutu (Bantu) 84%,Tutsi (Hamitic) 15%,

Twa (Pygmy) 1%CIA Factbook

HistoryRwanda had been a colony of Belgium

European colonial powers often ignored tribal lands when drew the boundaries of colonies

HistoryIn 1959, three years before gaining independence, the majority Hutus overthrew the ruling Tutsi king

Over the next several years, thousands of Tutsis were killed

Some 150,000 Tutsis were driven into exile in neighboring countries

Civil WarChildren of these exiles formed a rebel group -- the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF)

In 1991, the RPF began a civil war.

This civil war would exacerbate ethnic tensions and culminate in a genocide.

Attempts at Peace -- 1993The warring parties agreed to a cease-fire

This agreement called for the Hutu government to share power with the Tutsi minority

First the Hutus refused this, then the RPF (Tutsi) refused it

United Nations peacekeepers deployed to patrol ceasefire and assist

What sparks the GenocideOn April 6, 1994, a plane

carrying Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana and Burundi President Cyprien Ntaryamira, both Hutus, was shot down as it approached the airport in Kigali

Both presidents died

Next…Approximately 2,000,000 Rwandan Hutus, fearing Tutsi retaliation, flee to neighboring countries

Tension and conflict continues sporadically

Both the RPF and the Hutu extremists were blamed for shooting down the plane…

Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana and other moderate Hutu leaders were assassinated

April 7 to mid-July 1994:Approximately 800,000 Tutsi and Hutu moderates are murdered

RPF seized control of country and genocide ends

In a March, 1998 visit to Rwanda, President Bill Clinton states:“We come here today partly in recognition of the fact that we in the United States and the world community did not do as much as we could have and should have done to try to limit what occurred”