RWANDA’S GENOCIDE
By: Hannah Conner and Karlee Kuc
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Map of Rwanda
Background on Rwanda
• The Rwandan population is made up
of two groups, the Hutu’s and the
Tutsi’s
• Most of the Rwandan population
belong to the Hutu ethnic group,
traditionally crop-growers.
• For many centuries Rwanda
attracted Tutsis - traditionally
herdsmen - from northern Africa.
• For 600 years the two groups shared
the business of farming, essential for
survival, their language, heir culture,
and their nationality.
• Now 600 years later, the Tutsis
tended to be landowners and Hutus
the people who worked the land
Tutsi (left) and Hutu (right) men
standing together.
Tutsi vs. Hutu
• Hutu people feared and resented the Tutsi’s because they
remembered past years of oppressive Tutsi rule.
• Although the Tutsi were herders, settling on the grasslands
above the Hutu farmers, there was significant cultural
exchange between the two groups.
• The Tutsi adopted the Bantu language of the Hutu, whilst
the Hutu adopted the feudal political structure of the Tutsi.
VS.
Governmental
Tensions
• When European colonists
moved in, the two groups
separation became more
apparent.
• It was the practice of colonial
administrators to select a
group to be privileged and
educated 'intermediaries'
between governor and
governed.
• The Belgians chose the
Tutsis: landowners, tall, and
to European eyes the more
aristocratic in appearance.
• This thoughtless introduction
of class consciousness
unsettled the stability of
Rwandan society.
• Some Tutsis began to behave
like aristocrats, and the Hutu
to feel treated like peasants.
A political divide was born.
Tutsi and Hutu: Social Inequalities of
Colonialism led to Genocide
Influenced by Faith
Missionaries came from Europe, bringing a new political twist:
the church taught the Hutu to see themselves as oppressed, and
so helped to inspire revolution.
• 1956 A Hutu rebellion begins against
the Tutsis and Belgians.
• 1959 Hutu's had seized power and
were stripping Tutsi communities of
their lands.
• January 1961 The Tutsi monarchy is
abolished.
• July 1, 1962 Rwanda gains its
independence. A politically
inexperienced Hutu government
began to face internal conflicts as
well. Tensions grew between
communities and provincial factions.
Tutsi resistance was continually
nurtured by repressive measures
against them.
• 1973 They were excluded from
secondary schools and the university
Civil War Starts
• 1988 Many Tutsis retreated to exile in
neighbouring countries, where they
formed the Front Patriotique
Rwandais, the Rwandan Patriotic Front
(RPF), trained their soldiers, and
waited.
• 1990 The RPF invade Rwanda, starting
a civil war.
• 1991 A new constitution allows for
multiple political parties.
• August 3, 1993 The Arusha Accords are
agreed upon, opening government
positions to both Hutu and Tutsi. A
ceasefire was achieved in 1993,
followed by UN-backed efforts to
negotiate a new multi-party
constitution; but Hutu leaders and
extremists fiercely opposed any Tutsi
involvement in government.
Genocide Begins
April 6, 1994--The plane
carrying Rwanda's President
Juvénal Habyarimana was
shot down, almost certainly
the work of an extremist.
This was the trigger needed
for the Hutus' planned 'Final
Solution' to go into
operation. The Tutsis were
accused of killing the
president, and Hutu civilians
were told, by radio and word
of mouth, that it was their
duty to wipe the Tutsis out.
First, though, moderate
Hutus who weren't anti-Tutsi
should be killed. So should
Tutsi wives or husbands.
Genocide began.
Left- Rwanda president
whose plane was shot
down by unknown
person
Massacres Began
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April 7, 1994 Hutu extremists begin killing
their political opponents.
April 9, 1994 Massacre at Gikondo hundreds of Tutsis are killed in the
Pallottine Missionary Catholic Church.
Since the killers were clearly targeting
only Tutsi, the Gikondo massacre was the
first clear sign that a genocide was
occurring.
April 15-16, 1994 Massacre at the
Nyarubuye Roman Catholic Church thousands of Tutsi are killed, first by
grenades and guns and then by
machetes and clubs.
April 18, 1994 The Kibuye Massacres. An
estimated 12,000 Tutsis are killed after
sheltering at the Gatwaro stadium in
Gitesi. Another 50,000 are killed in the
hills of Bisesero. More are killed in the
town's hospital and church.
Massacres (Cont.)
• Lists of targets were
circulated
• Those included were:
• All born of Tutsi fathers
• Supporters of democracy
• People involved in the
human-rights movement
• The interahamwe militia
used machetes to hack their
victims to death in the
interest of saving ammo
Picture of the interahamwe militia's
used machetes
Rwanda Genocide
• This 10-week span of massacres
is known as the Rwanda
Genocide
• Government radio told Tutsi
people to gather in churches,
schools, and stadiums
• This made them an easier target
• Some managed to hold off the
militia for days or weeks with
sticks and stones
• The Rwandan army and
presidential guard were sent in
to kill them with machine guns
and grenades
• The interahamwe militia put up
roadblocks
• Used these to block off areas and
attack citizens
Tutsi man who survived being
attacked during the genocide with
a machete
• The militia stole cattle and milk
from their victims
• Woman were brutally raped
Rwandans Flee
• April 28-29 Approximately
250,000 people, mostly
Tutsi, flee to neighboring
Tanzania.
• May 23, 1994 The RPF takes
control of the presidential
palace.
• July 5, 1994 The French
establish a safe zone in the
southwest corner of
Rwanda.
• July 13, 1994 Approximately
one million people, mostly
Hutu, begin fleeing to Zaire
(now called the Democratic
Republic of the Congo).
Rwanda Genocide & Casualties
• Around 800,000 men,
woman, and children
were killed during the
genocide’s 10-week
span.
• mid-July 1994 The
Rwanda Genocide ends
when the RPF gains
control of the country.
• President Paul Kagame
took control in 2000.
Present day Rwanda
• The current president of
Rwanda is a man named
Paul Kagame.
• Rwanda is trying to
achieve universal primary
education
• There are functional
hospitals and a plan to
provide universal
healthcare
• Paved roads run through the country. Rwanda is among the
safest places to walk around in Africa.
• It is also one of the cleanest places in Africa
• Women make up 48% of the parliament, which has passed
many laws in recent years to increase women’s rights.