The Eight Stages Of Genocide In Rwanda

In Rwanda 1994, the mass killings of Tutsi and moderate Hutu took place, which was caused by numerous aspects contributing to the tensions between the two tribes. The mass killings should be considered as a genocide, because the events in Rwanda followed the 8 stages of genocide and the mass killings also conform to the definition of genocide. However, it could be argued that it was a civil war as Tutsi rebels fought against the Hutu government to restore equality in Rwanda and neighboring Burundi.

The mass murders in Rwanda in 1994 can be defined as a genocide as these events conform to the definition of the term genocide. The term genocide is defined as,” deliberate killing of a large group of people especially those of a particular ethnic

The UN stated that a process of 8 stages has to occur in order for a situation to be considered a genocide. Step 1 is classification; the creating of the feeling of “us vs them”, in the early 1900s during Rwanda’s colonial times the country was under the rule of Belgium. At this time, Belgium created an impression of “us vs them” amongst the Rwandan people as the Belgians viewed the Tutsi’s as superior to the Hutu as the Belgians referred to the Tutsi’s as ‘more European,’ granting Tutsi people better education, and jobs, even though the Hutu’s were the majority in the country. Identity cards were given out to citizens stating whether they were Tutsi, Hutu or Twa this was banned for some time until it was once again incorporated before and during the Rwanda mass murders. Step 2 is symbolization; Before the mass murders occurred the words Tutsi and Hutu were banned in both Rwanda and Burundi as they were considered to be hate words but were simply replaced by other words until they were finally used again in the mass murders and are still used today. Step 3 is dehumanization; The Hutu would often refer to the Tutsi as cockroaches, vermin, tall trees or devils which helped with the killing of the people as Hutu extremists believed that they were killing something that was

These extremist groups were given shipments of weapons such as machetes and regular clubs from an unknown source or third force. Step 5 is polarization; all forms of media and propaganda were used to drive Hutu and Tutsi away from each other and hate radio was also used to paint Tutsis as enemies of the Hutu. Step 6 is preparation; the death list was drawn up which consisted of Tutsi and moderate Hutu, the identity cards that had been given to citizens were used to identify ethnicity. Step 7 is extermination; the violent hacking of Tutsis in public and in private, these organized killings took place over 100 days. Finally, Step 8 is denial; Hutu extremists fled the country and others denied that it ever happened, The UN denied any claims that the events of Rwanda were acts of genocide at the time, but, today the UN openly admits the failures of their participation to combat the massacres that were occurring in Rwanda. The eight stages of genocide were followed, supporting the fact that the mass murders in Rwanda were acts of