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					Rwandan Genocide
    Origins of the Rwandan Genocide
   Following WWI, Rwanda was brought under the
    colonial rule of Belgium.
   Seeking to better organize and strengthen their
    rule, the Belgians artificially divided the
    Rwandans into three groups: Hutu, Tutsi, and
   Drawing influence from various then-popular
    racist theories, the Belgians separated the
    groups based on their physical characteristics;
    Tutsis were those who appeared to have more
    features in common with white Europeans, and
    therefore deemed superior.
   Hutus were felt to have more traditionally “African”
    features, and were therefore deemed inferior,
    despite their majority status. Twa were nomadic
    hunting peoples.
   Due to the perceived superiority of Tutsis, they
    were placed in power, and Hutus and Twa were
    discriminated against, leading to tension and
    resentment between the two groups.
   Rwandans were required to carry identity cards
    specifying whether they were a Hutu or a Tutsi.
   The privileges allowed to Tutsis, and the
    discrimination towards Hutus under colonial
    influence continued to breed resentment into the
    mid-20th century.
Rwandan King with Belgian   Rwandan Identification Card
   The European colonial system began to break down
    worldwide following WWII, and this led to the 1959-
    1962 social revolution in Rwanda, in which the Hutu
    majority overthrew the Tutsi minority rulers, and
    declared independence.
   Hutus turned the discriminatory tables on the Tutsis
    and used the same tactics the Belgians and Tutsi
    rulers used against them. Tutsis were viewed to be
    outsiders, invaders, and Hutus were viewed to be the
    “true” Rwandans.
   Over the next few decades, discrimination against the
    Tutsis increased. Many of the Tutsis fled to
    neighboring Burundi and Uganda, and over time, the
    exiles formed the RPF (Rwandan Patriotic Front)
    army, intent on regaining power from the Hutus in
     Rwandan Civil War and Arusha
   In 1990, the RPF
    invaded Rwanda from
    Uganda, leading to a
    civil war that lasted
    until 1993.
   A peace agreement,
    the Arusha Accords,
    was signed in 1993,
    and the UN sent
    peacekeepers in to
    oversee the
    implementation of the
    agreement (UNAMIR
    mission, led by Lt.-
    Gen. Romeo Dallaire).
   In early 1994, Hutu extremists mounted a series of
    demonstrations aimed at disrupting the peace efforts and
    promoting “Hutu Power,” an anti-Tutsi ideology of hate.
   A government informant contacted Dallaire and told him that the
    there were forces within the Hutu government and militias
    (Interahamwe) who were planning to slaughter the Tutsi
    population and to kill Belgian UN peacekeepers to force a
    withdrawal of their forces (Belgium was the leading nation in the
    UNAMIR mission.)
   The informant was employed as a militia
    trainer, but disagreed with the plans to
    commit genocide, believing at first that
    the militia was only fighting the RPF.
   Dallaire sent a memo to the UN
    informing them of this, and came up with
    a plan to raid the militia's arms cache to
    stop them in their tracks.
   Acronyms and Unfamiliar Terms in Dallaire’s
• RPF: Rwandan Patriotic Front (Tutsi rebels)
• RGF: Rwandan Government Forces (Hutu)
• PARA CDO: Paramilitary Commandos
• MRND: National Republican Movement for Democracy and
  Development (President Habyarimana’s political party)
• UNAMIR: United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda
• RF: Rwandan Francs (currency of Rwanda)
• BN: Battalion
• Sous-prefect: A government-appointed authority
• SRSG: Special Representative of the Secretary-General
• Peux Ce Que Veux. Allons-y.: “Where there’s a will,
  there’s a way. Let’s go.”
                                The UN was concerned
                                 about the validity of the
                                 information Dallaire received,
                                 and was reluctant to get
                                 involved in a dangerous
                                 mission in the heart of Africa,
                                 especially following the
                                 recent disastrous US mission
                                 in Somalia.
The UNAMIR mission had          As a result, the UN prevented
a Chapter VI mandate,            Dallaire from raiding the
meaning that they were           cache, and suggested merely
only there for
                                 “shedding a light” on the
peacekeeping, not military
intervention.                    supposed plans, warning the
                                 Rwandan government that it
                                 knew what it was up to, and
                                 would punish them if they
                                 went through with the
              The Genocide Begins
   This pattern of reluctance to get
    involved in Rwanda, of not fully
    understanding the conditions on the
    ground, allowed the genocide of
    approximately 800,000 Tutsis and
    some Hutus during a 100-day period
    in 1994.
   When President Habyarimana's
    plane was shot down by an unknown
    rocket on April 6, the genocide
    began. Driven by hate radio
    broadcasts, Hutu extremists rapidly
    killed Tutsis and moderate Hutus,
    largely with cheap machetes
    imported from China.
Cover of Kangura, a Hutu propaganda         Interahamwe militia at a roadblock
paper, featuring a machete and the first    during the genocide.
President of Rwanda, Grégoire Kayibanda.
The implication is that the machete will
“complete” the revolution he led in 1959.
                         Key Figures

Paul Kagama, Tutsi leader of RPF and
current President of Rwanda

                                       Juvénal Habyarimana, former Hutu
                                       President of Rwanda; assassinated
                          Key Figures

Roméo Dallaire, Force Commander of
UNAMIR mission                       Théoneste Bagosora, Director of
                                     the Cabinet in Rwanda’s Ministry
                                     of Defense; one of the architects
                                     of the genocide

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