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Causes of the Rwandan Genocide (Political Radicalization (With the Hutu…
Causes of the Rwandan Genocide
Socio Economic Factors
Fall in coffee prices. Coffee was Rwandas main export. More than 75% of exports.
Scarcity of economic resources
Small country with very dense population. 3% population growth. Women averaged 6 babies each
85% of Rwandas population lived below the poverty line
Competition for land as the price increases
LONG TERM
Political Divisions
The Tutsi had formed the RPF that stands for Rwandan Patriotic Front
The Hutus had formed PARMEHUTU and later the MRND that was Juvénal Habyarimana's party
The MRND formed a youth group named the Interahamwe. There was also the Impuzamugambi (paramilitary militia) and the Akazu (politicians)
At the end there was a power struggle between the Tutsi political party and the Hutu political party. The Tutsis that had always ruled on top were now faced with majority discrimination
LONG TERM
Pre Colonial and Colonial Past
With the arrival of the Germans and Belgians the ethnic divisions were exemplified. The Europeans started favoring the Tutsis and treating them as their junior partners.
Moreover the Belgians created and made identity card obligatory so it would be easier to identify Tutsi from Hutu
In Rwanda first there had been the Twa, then the Hutus and finally the Tutsis. The Tutsis had been the leaders since the start as Tutsi means cattle raising people and Hutu peasants
The tutsi were 15% of the population while the Hutu were 85% of the population
These divisions created hate and resentment from the Hutus to the Tutsi. Once democracy and independence was given to Rwanda the Hutus took power and were prone to take revenge
LONG TERM
Political Radicalization
With the Hutu government the Tutsis were being discriminated. Quotas were being introduced to reduce Tutsi participation in universities, the workplace and government
With the start of the civil war Tutsi discrimination was taken to another level. There was not only discrimination but the government created an ideology of Hutu superiority calling for Tutsi annihilation
Tutsi were called Inyenzi that means cockroach
With this political radicalization came the use of propaganda to create hate against the Tutsi. Anti-Tutsi propaganda came to life with the release of the Kangura magazine and RTLM radio.
The Kangura Magazine also released the Hutu Ten Commandments that reaffirmed Hutu supremacy and called for the elimination of theTutsi. Any Tutsi sympathizer was a traitor to the Hutu cause
The Hutu Power Movement , its ideology and its use of propaganda was very similar of that of Nazi Germany
Apart from that the government had trained militia such as the Interahamwe and Impuzamugambi that targeted the Tutsis
Finally the Hutu extremist did not like President Juvénal Habyarimana signing the Arusha Accords and compromising with the RPF , Tutsis. The extremist saw him as a traitor and weak, losing to the Tutsis
LONG TERM
Uganda
Kagame the RPF's leader had the support of President Museveni from Uganda
His army had fought for Museveni and had the experience of battle. They had military training
With the support of Uganda the RPF rebellion had more chances of defeating the Hutus
SHORT TERM
France
The French supported Juvénal Habyarimana as they wanted Rwanda to remain a francophone country
This might have encouraged the Hutu ruling class to believe that a compromise with the RPF was not necessary
France supported the Hutu government and the French President was very close to Juvénal Habyarimana. The plane were Habyarimana died was a gift from the French
SHORT TERM
The United Nations
After the Arusha agreements the UN Security Council created the UNAMIR (United Nations Mission for Rwanda) that would monitor the cease-fire and provide security. Brigadier General Romeo A Dallaire was put in charge of this.
However the UN did not give Rwanda enough importance and it lacked to send the resources that could have prevented or reduced the genocide
One of the reasons for this was "The Shadows of Somalia". American soldiers were killed in Somalia in a UN mission. The US started questioning whether to send its men to solve foreign conflicts. As the wound was still fresh the US decided not to intervene in Rwanda
In addition Dallaire received 2,500 peacekeepers instead of the 8,000 troops that were promised. Also the majority of his soldiers were from Bangladesh and had received little training.
LONG TERM
The Assassination of President Juvénal Habyarimana
8:20 in the night, April 6, 1994 President Habyarimana (Rwanda) and President Ntaryamira (Burundi) were killed in plane crash.
Two missiles were launched with the purpose of assassinating Hutu President Juvénal Habyarimana
His death marked the start of the Hutu campaign to exterminate the Tutsi
After the Presidents death the country was in chaos as various people with power were killed like the Primer Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana
SHORT TERM