Modern Genocides
U.N. Defines “Genocide”
What is a Genocide?
5 Acts of Genocide
• The deliberate and systematic
1. Killing members of the
extermination of a national,
group
racial, political, or religious group.
2. Causing serious bodily or
• Derives from the Greek word
mental harm
genos, meaning race and the
3. Creating conditions of life
Latin word cide meaning killing
calculated to bring about
physical destruction of the
group
4. Imposing measures
intended to prevent births
5. Forcibly relocating groups
of people
Modern Examples
• Stalin's Forced Famine in the Ukraine (1932-33)
– Stalin used the military to force the Ukrainians to give up
their food to meet wheat quotas – 7,000,000 dead
• Rape of Nanking (1937)
– Japanese soldiers slaughtered 250,000 civilians and
raped an estimated 20,000 women, girls, and infants
• Cambodian Genocide (1975-79)
– Created utopian communist farming country by ridding
of all western/capitalistic elements
– Forced labor and murder resulted in 2,000,000 deaths
Other Modern Examples
• Many other examples exist, several of which are ongoing
• Check this site out for a more complete listing
• http://worldwithoutgenocide.org/
Focus Example:
Rwandan Genocide
April 1994 – July 1994
Background
• Rwanda is a central
African country
• Two main ethnic
groups
– Majority = Hutu
– Minority = Tutsi
• Became colony of
Belgium in the
early 20th century
Background
• Belgium kept the minority
Tutsi in power during colonial
period
– “Looked more European”
• Rwanda gained independence
in 1960 (“Year of Africa”)
• Hutu took revenge to claim
back power and a civil war
broke out
– Millions of Tutsi refugees flee to
neighboring Burundi
Background
• In the decades from the 1960’s –
1990 the Tutsi formed a rebel army
of refugees in Burundi
– The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF)
• Beginning in 1990 the RPF (Tutsi)
and Rwandan Army (Hutu
controlled) went to war
• In October 1993 the Rwandan
President Habyalimana agreed to
share power with the Tutsi rebels
• The UN is sent to oversee the
peace agreement
RPF leader Paul Kagame
became the new Rwandan
president after the
genocide ended
Background
• Many extremist Hutus
were not willing to share
power
• A Hutu militia known as
the Interhamwe began a
propaganda campaign
against Tutsis and
moderate Hutus
– RPLM – “Hutu Power
Radio”
Background
• Interhamwe political rallies:
The Genocide
• On April 6, 1994 President Habyaliman’s plane was shot
down with a shoulder-fired missile as he returned from his
peace talks in Burundi
• The RTLM radio station spread the rumor that the Tutsi
rebel RPF had shot down the plane
– Gave the “signal” to begin carrying out the genocide
• “Cut the tall trees”
• The Interhamwe and other Hutu extremists
began targeting and killing Tutsi and
moderate Hutus
The Genocide
• RTLM radio continuously broadcast propaganda and
locations of prominent Tutsi and Hutus and called upon “all
good Hutus to ‘go to work’”
• After Interhamwe militia kill 10 UN Belgian soldiers, the UN
evacuates Rwanda
• For 100 days the killings go on with no one to stop them
– 8,000-10,000 killed daily – many with clubs and
machetes
The Genocide
• The genocide finally ends in
July of 1994 when the Tutsi
RPF oust the Rwandan Hutu
Army and the Interhamwe
from the capital of Kigali
• Over 800,000 were killed
– Nearly 75% of all Tutsis
• Millions of refugees
The Genocide
The Genocide
• RTLM Hutu Power Radio and their role in the
Rwandan Genocide:
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_e
mbedded&v=uW6GyzT-wbs
Hotel Rwanda
• Based on the true story of Paul Rusesabagina
– Manager of four-star Hotel Milles Collines in Kigali,
Rwanda
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZzfxL90100