What Role Did Colonel Oliver Play In Fighting The Rwanda Genocide

In April of 1994, Rwanda was in the middle of a genocide. This genocide took place between the Hutus and Tutsis. The Hutus make up the majority of the population, while the Tutsis make up the minority of the population. Although the Hutus and Tutsis are not considered different ethnic groups, they act as different ethnic groups. Tutsis make up the upper class, like herders; while Hutus are peasant masses, like farmers. The genocide occurred because Habyarimana, Hutu president, plane was shot down above Kigali. The Interahamwe and Rwandan Armed Forces blamed the Tutsis, and the genocide began almost immediately. One of the most controversial questions is why the United Nations didn't intervene. The UN peacekeepers were sent into Kigali to maintain peace between the group of people. The soldiers were told to only draw their weapons for self defense. However, if Colonel Oliver were to fire without order, there would have been an increase in mass deaths, limited support from UN members, and a decrease of success in fighting the Rwandan Genocide.

As the Colonel of the United Nations, Colonel Oliver had to experience a high amount of violence and death with his job. However, if he were to decide to fire against the Interahamwe and other Hutus, there would be even more deaths because there would not only be deaths of Tutsis, but deaths of soldiers too. Soldiers would most likely be killed because there were more Hutu fighters then UN peacekeepers. Viewers see in Hotel Rwanda that if the soldiers fought without any order, there wouldn’t have gotten backed up by the rest of the UN. However, if the soldiers were to fight, there may have been a decrease in deaths because they would have been able to stop the killings. But, this would not have worked because if soldiers were killing, the UN would officially have to get involved and name the