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Ethnic Dichotomy In Rwanda Genocide

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The Hutu-Tutsi dichotomy has long been (and still remains) a major source of instability in the Great Lakes Region. More specifically, in Rwanda memories of the 1994 genocide are still visible in contemporary politics. Building on this, this paper explores the role played by ethnicity during the Rwandan genocide. Addressing this question matters if we are to understand how the current Tutsi-led regime of Paul Kagame (in power since the end of the genocide) plays upon the notion of ‘ethnic reconciliation’ to justify his monopoly of power . Therefore, in answering the question, the paper will argue that ethnicity – here intended as a ‘subjective belief in common descent’ allegedly ‘having genetic foundations’ – deserves careful consideration …show more content…

Overall, the movement’s goal was to assert the right of the Hutu ethnic majority to rule. As soon as the revolution managed to bring Belgian colonialism and the Tutsi monarchy to an end (1962), PARMEHUTU established itself as the only legal party in newly-independent Rwanda . By that time, around 200.000 Tutsi fled to neighbouring countries following discrimination, persecution and mass killings . Some of them gathered into armed groups (the so-called ‘inyenzi’) and launched unsuccessful attacks in Rwanda . The issue of Tutsi refugees in Uganda was also central to the creation of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) in 1979 and to their invasion of Rwanda in 1990 …show more content…

In fact, after three years of protracted war, the parties met in Tanzania under the mediation of other international actors and eventually signed the Arusha Agreements (1993). The accords promoted a power-sharing solution and established a ‘Broad-Based Transitional Government’ , highly contested by the Hutu extremist ‘Coalition pour la Défense de la République’ (CDR, founded in 1992) . While the peace negotiations were pushing towards a multiparty democracy, the country had never experienced democracy before, had an almost inexistent civil society and no institutions to control possible human rights violations. Therefore, coupled with the destabilising effects of the Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs), the democratisation process urged by the Agreements greatly weakened the Habyarimana regime and Hutu control over the country, thus undermining any peace

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In 1994, Rwanda was gripped with murderous fervor as Hutus across the country took up machetes against their Tutsi neighbors in what became 100 days of genocide that left 800,000 dead. Does the history of Rwanda provide any evidence of the implementation of the ten steps of genocide? How did Belgian imperialism influence the relationship between Hutus and Tutsis? What ultimately made the average Hutu decide to murder their Tutsi neighbors? In this paper I will investigate how the ten steps of genocide was used in Rwanda, the effects of imperialism on Rwandan culture and gain insight into why Hutus decided to kill Tutsis through the analysis of the book Machete Season by Jean Hatzfeld.

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Tutsis were restricted and dehumanized in many ways. Tensions between the two castes were very high. After Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana’s plane got shot down, in April 1994, the executions really began. Hutus were basically hunting Tutsis and killing them. It didn’t matter if they were men, women, or even infants; no Tutsis were exempt from the slaughters taking place.

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C. Introduction The Rwandan genocide lasted three months and in those three months it is said that 1 million Tutsis were killed. The Holocaust lasted 4 years and 6 million Jews were killed. Bearing this in mind it would be expected that The Rwandan genocide should be extremely well known because of the loss of lives, impact and brutality of the event and the similarities it holds with The Holocaust. The fact is that the Rwandan Genocide is not very well known and is not thought to be in the same category as The Holocaust, where in fact it is.

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There was a huge power struggle going on between the Hutu’s and the Tutsi’s. Source B shows how after the long running rule of the Tutsi’s, 1959 came around with the death of the last Tutsi king of this Monarch, resulting in riots and revolts from the Hutu people, killing hundreds of Tutsi people all in order to gain change and gain power. In the 1960’s Rwanda gained its independence and was soon ruled by a Hutu government in 1961. This, with reason, left the Tutsi people feeling very betrayed and angry at the fact that their beloved power had been ripped from them. Therefore, immensely increasing the tension between these groups resulting in further dissatisfaction coming from both groups and a feeling of mutual hate

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One cannot fight fire with fire. While massacre reigns in Rwanda and people take betrayal to the extreme, Paul Rusesabagina in his book, An Ordinary Man, proofs how violence is unnecessary while standing against the power of the word. As Rusesabagina states, words are “powerful tools of life”(Rusesabagina, 19). The war between the two different ethnic groups, Hutus and Tutsis, and the death of thousands left a mark Rwanda’s memory; the author says: “It is the darkest bead on our national necklace” (222). Even though a large part of Rwanda’s population is massacred, many are saved by one of Rwanda’s timeless heroes.

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Throughout all of their differentialities, Hutu proved to be the dominant groups. This fact explains that long before the genocide even started, 500,000 Tutsi fled Rwanda for a better life. The Tutsi have many strange traditions or different, factual

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For several decades various cultures have been rich with history and traditions that transcended time. However these cultures go through very dark times such as genocide. Genocide is the deliberate killing of a large group of people, specifically those of a particular ethnic group or nation. On one hand neutrality is a positive alternative of genocide because if a country stays neutral, that country would likely have peace. On the other hand being a bystander or being neutral is letting thousands of innocent lives die at your hands.

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Abstract The Rwandan Genocide consisted of the slaughter of over eight hundred thousand African people from April of 1994 until June of the same year. Conflicts, primarily economic and cultural differences, between the Hutu and Tutsi peoples forced the country into genocide. An entire country was separated by ethnicity as neighbors, friends, and family turned against each other. After the capital of Kigali was captured, the government collapsed and the genocide finally came to an end.

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