Rwanda
100 Days of Genocide
Genocide
• Genocide is a term defined as any of the following
acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in
part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, as
such:
Killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or
mental harm to members of the group; deliberately
inflicting on the group conditions of life, calculated to bring
about its physical destruction in whole or in part; imposing
measures intended to prevent births within a group; and
forcibly transferring children of the group to another group
Rwanda Genocide
• The Rwandan genocide was the systematic
massacre of an estimated 1,000,000 Tutsi tribe
members and moderate Hutus in Rwanda
• The killing was mostly carried out by two extremist
Hutu militia groups, Interahamwe and the
Impuzamugambi
• The massacre lasted approximately 100 days from
April to mid-July, 1994
Rwandan Genocide Cont.
• The genocide began with Tutsi individuals
and families being taken from their homes
and killed in secret locations.
• Then it grew into mass killings in central
locations like schools and churches.
• Eventually the slaughter spread
everywhere, and people were being hacked
to death in the streets.
Rwanda-History
• 3 tribes of people that inhabit Rwanda
– Twa, the original inhabitants
– Hutus, migrated in 1000 A.D.
– Tutsi, migrated in the 14th or 15th century
Rwanda-History (Continued)
• The Tutsis tribe of people gained a large dominance over the
Hutus
• By the late 18th century, a single Tutsi-ruled state occupied
most of the present day Rwanda
• The rule was headed by a Tutsi King who controlled the land
and gave power over the regions to the Tutsi groups
• The Tutsis, in turn, dominated the Hutus, who had the
majority of the population-The population of Rwanda was :
– 75% Hutu
– 20% Tutsi
– 5% Twa
Rwanda Under Belgian Rule
• During WW1 (1916), Belgian forces
occupied Rwanda
• In 1919 it became part of the Belgian
League of Nations
• Before the Belgian rule, Hutus and Tutsis
lived together as neighbors
• When the Belgians took power in Rwanda,
they gave political power to the Tutsis
• Tutsis were considered to have Caucasian
ancestry (through lighter skin, larger skulls)
and therefore were ‘superior’ to Hutus
Rwanda Divided
•
One of the major contributing factors to the split of ethnic groups
was the creation of group classification on ID cards in 1933
•
The Belgian government introduced a rigid racial concept of group
identity where it had not previously existed-the ID cards now stated
if the individual was Twa, Hutu or Tutsi
•
Another important factor was the repeated decision by the Rwandan
Government (after independence in 1962) to retain the group
classifications on ID cards
Tutsi Superiority Myth
• The Belgians gave the majority of
political control to the Tutsis
• Tutsis began to believe the myth of
their superior racial status and
exploited their power over the Hutu
majority
• Created a resentment of the Tutsis by
the Hutu people
Rwanda 1990-1993
• In 1990, Rwanda was invaded from Uganda
by the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF),
made up mainly of Tutsi refugees. The
invasion was unsuccessful, but the
president of Rwanda agreed to share the
power of the country
• In 1993, a power-sharing agreement was
signed between Hutus and Tutsis
Rwanda 1994
• In April 1994, the president of Rwanda
and the president of Burundi were
killed in a suspicious plane crash
• Civil strife erupted on a massive scale
• Rwandan soldiers and Hutu gangs
slaughtered an estimated 500,000 to
1,000,000 people, mostly Tutsis and
moderate Hutus
Rwanda Today
• Rwanda is struggling to heal and rebuild
• It is showing signs of rapid development
• Many Hutu members have returned to
Rwanda
• The government has promoted
reconciliation and economic development
Images From Rwanda
The follow set of slides show images from Rwanda and the
Rwandan Genocide.
Some of these images show how beautiful Rwanda and its
people are.
Other images, some graphic and disturbing, show the
unspeakable violence and horror of genocide.
Rwanda is in Central Africa
Machetes – Tools of Genocide