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The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass killing of hundreds of thousands of , April 1 2004 , which gives an estimate of 800,000, and OAU sets inquiry into Rwanda genocide , Africa Recovery, Vol. 12 #1 (August 1998), page 4, which estimates the number at between 500,000 and 1,000,000. In the wake of the Rwandan Genocide, the international community, and the United Nations in particular, drew severe criticism for its inaction. Despite international news coverage of the violence as it unfolded, most countries, including France , Belgium , and the United States , declined to prevent or stop the massacres. Canada continued to lead the UN peacekeeping force in Rwanda, United Nations Assistance Mission For Rwanda (UNAMIR). Despite specific warnings and requests from UNAMIR's commanding officers in Rwanda, before and during the genocide, the UN Security Council refused to send additional support, declined UNAMIR's request for authorization to intervene, and even scaled back UNAMIR's forces and authority. The only foreign entity to directly intervene was the French government, which sent troops not to stop the genocide, but rather to protect the genocidal Rwandan armed forces from the invading rebel force that ultimately ended the bloodshed. The genocide ended when a Tutsi-dominated expatriate rebel movement known as the Rwandan Patriotic Front , led by Paul Kagame , overthrew the Hutu government and seized power. Fearing reprisals, hundreds of thousands of Hutu and other refugees fled into eastern Zaire (now the Democratic Republic Of The Congo ). People who had actively participated in the genocide hid among the refugees, fueling the First and Second Congo War s. Rivalry between Hutu and Tutsi tribal factions is also a major factor in the Burundi Civil War . BACKGROUND See Also: History of Rwanda In the fifteenth century, one chiefdom managed to incorporate several of its neighbors, establishing the Kingdom Of Rwanda , which ruled over most of what is now considered Rwanda. Although some ethnic Hutu s were among the nobility and significant intermingling took place, the Hutu made up 82–85% of the population and were mostly poor peasants. In general, the kings, known as Mwami s, were Tutsi . As the kings centralized their power and authority, they distributed land among individuals rather than allowing it to be passed down through lineage groups, of which many hereditary chiefs had been Hutu. Most of the chiefs appointed by the Mwamis were Tutsi. The redistribution of land, enacted between 1860 and 1895 by Mwami Rwabugiri , resulted in an imposed Patronage System , under which appointed Tutsi chiefs demanded manual labor in return for the right of Hutus to occupy their land. This system left Hutus in a Serf -like status with Tutsi chiefs as their Feudal masters. Under Mwami Rwabugiri, Rwanda became an Expansionist state. Rwabugiri did not bother to assess the ethnic identities of conquered peoples and simply labeled all of them “Hutu”. The title “Hutu”, therefore, came to be a trans-ethnic identity associated with subjugation. While further disenfranchising Hutus socially and politically, this helped to solidify the idea that “Hutu” and “Tutsi” were labels of power, not Ethnic , distinctions. In fact, one could ''kwihutura'', or “shed Hutuness”, by accumulating wealth and rising through the Social Hierarchy . by Mahmood Mamdani , University Of Cape Town , 13 May 1998 , pp. 5-6 Conversely, a Tutsi who lost property could undergo ''gucupira'', and lose their status. by Hannington Ochwada, ''Africa Development'', Vol. XXIX, No. 2, 2004, pp. 53–7. P. 57 Following the . Accessed February 23 2007 The Belgians seeking a non-indigenous explanation for the complex monarchy they found in the colony, framed the Hutu/Tutsi distinction as one of race, rather than economics or ethnicity. The Belgians issued racial identification cards to every Rwandan, giving preferential treatment to Tutsis for positions in education, politics and business.3 The 1959 "social revolution" led by the Hutu nationalist party Parmehutu (Parti du Mouvement de l'Émancipation Hutu) established the foundations of a Hutu-led republic. It also resulted in the deaths of some 20,000 Tutsi, while an additional 200,000 fled to neighbouring countries. Independence from Belgium followed in 1961. "The Hutu Revolution" section in ''Leave None to Tell the Story: Genocide in Rwanda'', Human Rights Watch , 1999 Civil war See Also: Rwandan Civil War The Tutsi refugee diaspora in camps ringing the nation had become increasingly organized by the late 1980s. Large numbers of Tutsi refugees in Uganda had joined the victorious rebel National Resistance Movement during the Bush War of the 1980s and formed the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) in 1985 as a political movement. However, as the RPF was formed largely of combat-hardened veterans it soon proved to be a formidable military force when political options seemed to disappear. On October 1 , 1990 , RPF forces invaded Rwanda from their base in neighbouring Uganda. The rebel force demanded a right to return to Rwanda as citizens, as well as an end to discriminatory practices. The Rwandan government portrayed the invasion as an attempt to bring the Tutsi ethnic group back into power. The violence increased ethnic tensions as Hutus rallied around the President. Habyarimana himself reacted by immediately repressing Tutsis and Hutus who were perceived to be in league with Tutsi interests. Habyarimana justified these acts by proclaiming it was the intent of the Tutsis to restore a kind of Tutsi feudal system and thus to enslave the Hutu race. The journal '' Kangura '', active from 1990 to 1993, was instrumental in inciting ethnic hatred and violence.Linda Melvern, ''Conspiracy to Murder: The Rwandan Genocide'', Verso, 2004, ISBN 1859845886, p. 49 On August 4 , 1993 , the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) and the Government of Rwanda signed the Arusha Accords , which were meant to end the civil war. The accords stripped considerable power from the all-powerful president, then Juvénal Habyarimana . Most of the power was vested into the Transitional Broad Based Government (TBBG) that would include the RPF as well as the five political parties that had formed the coalition government, in place since April 1992, to govern until proper elections could be held. The Transitional National Assembly (TNA), the legislative branch of the transitional government, was open to all parties, including the RPF. The extremist Hutu Coalition For The Defence Of The Republic (CDR), nominally controlled by President Habyarimana, was strongly opposed to sharing power with the RPF, however, and refused to sign the accords. When at last it decided to agree to the terms, the accords were opposed by the RPF. The situation remained unchanged until the genocide. Preparations for the genocide The rhetoric of Hutu Power escalated in response to the outbreak of war. Media outlets such as the periodical '' Kangura '' and radio station Radio Télévision Libre Des Mille Collines (RTLM), owned by top government leaders, began a campaign of hate and fear. They broadcast and published material referring to the Tutsi as subhuman and making veiled calls for violence. Radical Hutu groups, organized and funded by members of the government, started to amass weapons and conduct training programs. Government leaders met in secret with youth group leaders, forming and arming militias called Interahamwe (meaning "Those who stand (or fight) together" in Kinyarwanda ) and Impuzamugambi (meaning "Those who have the same (or a single) goal"). On January 11 , 1994 General Roméo Dallaire (UN Force Commander in Rwanda) notified Military Advisor to the Secretary-General, Major-General Maurice Baril of four major weapons caches and plans by the Hutus for extermination of Tutsis. The telegram from Dallaire stated that an informant who was top level Interhamwe militia trainer was in charge of demonstrations carried out a few days before. The goal of the demonstrations was to provoke RPF battalion in Kigali into firing upon demonstrators and Belgian UNAMIR troops to use force. Under such scenario the Interhamwe would have an excuse to engage the Belgian troops and the RPF battalion. Several Belgians were to be killed which would guarantee a withdrawal of the Belgian contingent. According to the informant 1,700 Interhamwe militiamen were trained in Governmental Forces camps and he was ordered to register all the Kigali Tutsis. Dallaire made immediate plans for UNAMIR troops to seize the arms caches and asked UN Headquarters for permission to proceed with the intervention. The following day headquarters stated in another cable that the outlined actions went clearly beyond the mandate granted to UNAMIR under the Security Council Resolution 872. Instead, President Habyarimana was to be informed of possible Arusha Accords violations and the discovered concerns and report back on measures taken. The January 11 telegram later played important role in discussion about what information was available to the United Nations prior to the genocide.4 The killing was well organized."Leave None to Tell the Story: Genocide in Rwanda." Human Rights Watch. Report (Updated 1 April 2004 ) By the time the killing started, the militia in Rwanda was 30,000 strong — one militia member for every ten families — and organized nationwide, with representatives in every neighborhood. Some militia members were able to acquire AK-47 Assault Rifles by completing requisition forms. Other weapons, such as Grenade s, required no paperwork and were widely distributed. Many members of the Interahamwe and Impuzamugambi were armed only with Machetes , but these were some of the most effective killers. Rwandan Prime Minister 2004 ]. In addition to Kambanda, the genocide's organizers included Colonel Théoneste Bagosora , a retired army officer, and many top ranking government officials and members of the army, such as General Augustin Bizimungu . On the local level, the Genocide's planners included Burgomasters, or mayors, and members of the police. CATALYST AND INITIAL EVENTS See Also: Assassination of Habyarimana and Ntaryamira Initial events of the Rwandan Genocide On the evening of April 6 , 1994 , the airplane carrying the Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana , and Cyprien Ntaryamira , the Hutu president of Burundi, was shot down as it prepared to land in Kigali . Both presidents died when the plane crashed. Responsibility for the attack is heavily disputed, with both the RPF and Hutu extremists being blamed. But in spite of disagreements about the actual identities of its perpetrators, the attack on the plane is to many observers the catalyst for what would become the subsequent genocide. It now seems, for instance, that many Rwandans interpreted the downing of the plane as an unambiguous signal: the ultimate killers knew that they were to begin murdering others; Tutsi and moderate Hutu understood that they would be attacked. On the nights of April 6 and April 7 the staff of the Rwandan Armed Forces (FAR) and Colonel Bagosora clashed verbally with the UNAMIR Force Commander General Dallaire, who pointed out the legal authority of the Prime Minister, Agathe Uwilingiyimana , to take control of the situation as outlined in the Arusha Accords. Bagosora disputed the authority, and Dallaire gave an escort of UNAMIR personnel to Mrs. Uwilingiyimana to protect her overnight and to allow her to send a calming message on the radio the next morning. But by then, the presidential guard occupied the radio station and Mrs. Uwilingiyimana had to cancel her speech. In the middle of the day, she was assassinated by the presidential guard. The ten Belgian UNAMIR soldiers sent to protect her were later found killed; Major Bernard Ntuyahaga was convicted of the murders in 2007. Other moderate officials who favored the Arusha Accords were quickly assassinated. Protected by UNAMIR, Faustin Twagiramungu escaped execution. In his book ''Shake Hands with the Devil'', Dallaire recalled the events from April 7 , the first day of the genocide: I called the Force HQ and got through to '' GENOCIDE , where many victims were killed, is now a genocide museum.]] MRND , the ruling party of Rwanda from 1975 to 1994, under President Juvénal Habyarimana , has been implicated in organizing many aspects of the Genocide . Military and Hutu militia groups began rounding up and killing all Tutsis they could capture as well as the political moderates irrespective of their ethnic backgrounds. Large numbers of opposition politicians were also murdered. Many nations evacuated their nationals from Kigali and closed their embassies as violence escalated. National radio urged people to stay in their homes, and the government-funded station RTLM broadcast vitriolic attacks against Tutsis and Hutu moderates. Hundreds of roadblocks were set up by the militia around the country. Lieutenant-General Dallaire and UNAMIR, escorting Tutsis in Kigali, were unable to do anything as Hutus kept escalating the violence and even started targeting, via RTLM, UNAMIR personnel and Lieutenant-General Dallaire himself. The killing was quickly implemented throughout most of the country. The first to organize on the scale that was to characterize the genocide was the mayor of the northwestern town of Gisenyi , who on the evening of April 6th called a meeting to distribute arms and send out militias to kill Tutsis. Gisenyi was a center of anti-Tutsi sentiment, both as the homeland of the Akazu and as the refuge for thousands of People Displaced by the rebel occupation of large areas in the north. While killing occurred in other towns immediately after Habyarimana's assassination, it took several days for them to become organized on the scale of Gisenyi. The major exception to this pattern was in Butare Province . In Butare, Jean-Baptiste Habyarimana (no relation to the president), was the only Tutsi prefet and the province was the only one dominated by an opposition party. Prefet Habyarimana opposed the genocide, resulting in the province becoming a haven of relative calm, until he was arrested and killed on April 19th. Finding the population of Butare to lack enthusiasm for the killing, the government sent in militia members from Kigali and armed and mobilized the large population of Burundian Refugee s in the province, who had fled the Tutsi-dominated army fighting in the Burundian Civil War . | ||||||||||||
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