History: The Rwandan Genocide

Note: The following article was written by Rian Sheth 7F

In 1994, 800,000 Rwandan people were killed in the rage and destruction of the Rwandan Genocide. The genocide is one of the most pivotal points in Rwanda’s history, and its impact is still felt today. Before colonial rule, Rwanda was a paradise of rolling emerald-green hills and seas of forests. It was a kingdom ruled by a king with the name of Mwami. At the time, Rwanda was made up of three ethnic groups: the Hutu (85%), the Tutsi (14%) and, finally, the tiny fraction of people who belonged to the Twa. These groups had no sort of rivalry; they thrived in harmony and lived in peace. They shared religion, culture and language. It is said that their only difference was their wealth and occupation.

Then, in the late 1800s, Germany colonised Rwanda. But after World War 1, Belgium took control in 1916. The Belgians believed in a now-unfair theory of the Hamitic Hypothesis, which claimed that the Tutsi were naturally more successful than the Hutu. This belief transformed into an official law. The Tutsi were given the most important jobs, such as working in politics. At the same time, the most important move that the Belgians initiated was the addition of identity cards (ID). These cards stated if a citizen was Hutu, Tutsi or Twa. For years, the Tutsi got the majority of the well-paid jobs until around the late 1950s, when the Belgians decided to switch their alliance with the Tutsi workers to Hutu politicians.

In 1962, Rwanda gained independence from Belgium. This meant that they needed a new government and, to the Tutsis’ demise, it was Hutu. Grégoire Kayibanda fought for the country’s independence and, therefore, since more than half the country was Hutu, he was elected. But was Kayibanda’s country stable? The short answer is no. Kayibanda ruled a violent and dangerous country. This was mainly because many Hutus were overjoyed at the Hutu president. In their happiness, they became reckless. This recklessness forced 300,000 Tutsi out of the country. Many of these migrated to Uganda.

In Uganda, the Tutsi joined the Ugandan National Resistance Army and trained to be soldiers. They then assembled their own force, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), in 1987 in Uganda’s capital, Kampala. With years of experience, the RPF’s soldiers were highly disciplined veterans. They were elite warriors who were known for their fast advancements. Then, in 1990, the RPF invaded northern Rwanda, sparking the Rwandan Civil War. The Hutus were enraged, and they used the war to justify further violence in hope of killing more Tutsis. Thousands of Tutsis were then executed in local massacres. They also started to plan the genocide, which would later happen in 1994. They trained their military and prepared for the violence.

The Tutsi attacks allowed the Hutu to portray them as awful people. You see, the Hutu controlled the propaganda, meaning they infused it with anti-Tutsi articles. These articles stated that the Tutsi were things like ‘cockroaches’. This naturally made the Hutu readers believe that the Tutsi were enemies. However, in 1993, immense violence and war forced the RPF to sign the Arusha Accords, a peace treaty to end the civil war. But on 6th April 1994, a plane carrying the president of Rwanda (Juvénal Habyarimana) and the president of their neighbouring country, Burundi (Cyprien Ntaryamira), was cruising above the capital, Kigali, when it was shot down. The plane crashed, killing everyone aboard. The presidents had just returned from a peace talk in Tanzania, which revolved around ending the Rwandan Civil War. Whilst, to this day, we don’t know who did it or what ethnic group they belonged to, the Hutu assumed it was a Tutsi member of the RPF.

The act itself was devastating. The Hutu refused to believe that the assassin was one of their own, so they decided to frame the Tutsi (one who was most presumably part of the RPF) for this crime with the assistance of propaganda. As the Hutus began writing down their abusive articles, the Hutu military was already littered around the roads in streets, ready to interrogate anyone. The addition of ID cards meant that the Hutu soldiers could identify which ethnicity they were and, sadly, if they were Tutsi, killed them. Agathe Uwilingiyimana was quickly elected prime minister just after the assassination, yet she was assassinated on the first day, mainly because she supported the factor of peace. Her ten Belgian peacekeepers were also killed, resulting in Belgium backing away from interfering with the genocide.

Violence spread like wildfire across Rwanda. Local officials organised small but deadly attacks, and the military journeyed from town to town, killing all Tutsi and Hutu who supported them. The Tutsi were attacked from all around. Even when they sought refuge in hospitals, churches and schools, the Hutu still were able to corner them and shoot them down. Despite this, surviving Hutus who weren’t poisoned by the propaganda and fury of the genocide assisted their Tutsi allies by giving them places to hide. As the killings spread, the United Nations (UN) had a minuscule peacekeeping mission set in Rwanda. But this mission was small, and it had limited troops, powers and political support. Meanwhile, after the killing of the Belgian peacekeepers, many countries were also reluctant to intervene. It is upsetting to think that so many people lost their lives because of nothing but hatred, and it is heartbreaking to think about the survivors today.

Yet there was one hope for the Tutsis. The RPF had discarded the Arusha Accords the moment the president was assassinated. This meant that they would continue their invasion. You see, they had bubbled with rage when the Hutu framed the assassination on them and, in retaliation, decided to continue their military mission in seizing all of Rwanda and defeat the Hutu government in order to allow their refugee relatives back into the country. By the 4th July 1994, the Tutsi had overthrown the Hutu government by seizing control of the capital, Kigali, and, in doing so, stopped the number of 800,000 deaths from rising. The many surviving Hutu, in fear of dire retaliation, fled to their neighbouring country, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Around 2 million of them settled along the Rwandan-DRC border. After they fled, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda punished Hutu leaders responsible for the tragedy of the genocide. The Tutsis also punished many other suspects, but not all of them were guilty.

Rwanda today has since been focused on rebuilding their country and investing in healthcare and education. They have eradicated the ID cards once held by citizens, and they have discouraged the way of identifying Rwandans by their past ethnic group. Rwandans have also worked together in cleaning their streets and ensuring that their country is safer than before. Every year in Rwanda, they hold the Kwibuka. The Kwibuka is a time (lasting 100 days) where the Rwandans remember those who died because of the genocide. So that’s how 800,000 Rwandans were killed in 1994, just over the course of 100 days. Yet the genocide proves that Rwanda can rise from the ashes of a fire and become a strong country.