The Rwandan Genocide 100 Days of Slaughter April 6, 1994-July 18, 1994

1. The Rwandan Genocide100 Days of SlaughterApril 6, 1994-July 18, 1994 Source: David Simon, The Teaching of Africa, PIER, Yale University , July 11, 2005

2. Classification (Rwanda) Belgian colonialists believed Tutsis were a naturally superior nobility, descended from the Israelite tribe of Ham. The Rwandan royalty was Tutsi. Belgians distinguished between Hutus and Tutsis by nose size, height & eye type. Another indicator to distinguish Hutu farmers from Tutsi pastoralists was the number of cattle owned.

3. Stage 2: Symbolization (Rwanda) • “Ethnicity” was first noted on cards by Belgian Colonial Authorities in 1933. • Tutsis were given access to limited education programs and Catholic priesthood. Hutus were given less assistance by colonial authorities. • At independence, these preferences were reversed. Hutus were favored. • These ID cards were later used to distinguish Tutsis from Hutus in the 1994 massacres of Tutsis and moderate Hutus that resulted in 800,000+ deaths.

4. Stage 3: Dehumanization • One group denies the humanity of another group, and makes the victim group seem subhuman. • Dehumanization overcomes the normal human revulsion against murder. Der Stürmer Nazi Newspaper: “The Blood Flows; The Jew Grins” Kangura Newspaper, Rwanda: “The Solution for Tutsi Cockroaches” .

5. Dehumanization • Hate propaganda in speeches, print and on hate radios vilify the victim group. • Members of the victim group are described as animals, vermin, and diseases. • Hate radio, Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines, during the Rwandan genocide in 1994, broadcast anti-Tutsi messages like “kill the cockroaches” and “If this disease is not treated immediately, it will destroy all the Hutu.” • Dehumanization invokes superiority of one group and inferiority of the “other.” • Dehumanization justifies murder by calling it “ethnic cleansing,” or “purification.” • Such euphemisms hide the horror of mass murder.

6. Organization (Rwanda) • “Hutu Power” elites armed youth militias called Interahamwe ("Those Who Stand Together”). • The government and Hutu Power businessmen provided the militias with over 500,000 machetes and other arms and set up camps to train them to “protect their villages” by exterminating every Tutsi.

7. Extermination (Genocide) Government organized extermination of Tutsis in Rwanda in 1994

8. Extermination (Genocide) • Although most genocide is sponsored and financed by the state, the armed forces often work with local militias. Rwandan militia killing squads Nazi killing squad working with local militia

9. Pre-colonial ethnic divisions? • Arrival of the Tutsi and Hutu in Rwanda • Are the divisions between Hutu and Tutsi ethnic or socio-economic • Share language, religion, and cohabitate • Division was occupationally defined: based on size of cattle herds. • “Tutsi feudalism”- cattle-work exchange • Some physical differences: height, skin color, skull shape

10. History of the Conflict • In the fifteenth century the Tutsis were the rulers of most of today's Rwanda • Put in place by the Belgians to rule • Tutsis were a minority of the population, mostly herders • Majority Hutus were mostly croppers • When kings distributed the land, they gave it the to Tutsis who charged Hutus to live and work on the land

11. Rwanda Background • In Rwanda the Tutsis are the minority in terms of population. • They held the most power and land. • This was brought about by favoritism towards them when Rwanda was under Belgian Rule. • The Hutus were the majority in terms of population. RadiSys Corporation Confidential

12. Evolution of Titles • Originally an ethnic distinction • Everyone who wasn’t Tutsi is labeled Hutu • Became an economic status • Gaining wealth meant losing “Hutuness” • When the Belgians gained the land as part of the Treaty of Versailles in 1918, they used the distinction to “divide and rule” • Issued passcards to Rwandans • Gave preferential treatment to Tutsis (“with the long nose”) • Hutu’s had “blunt nose”

13. Pre-colonial political system • Pre-colonial political system is not well understood. • Rwanda was a kingdom ruled by Tutsi king and predominantly Tutsi court. • Was this a centralized and inegalitarian system or more theoretical?

14. Three Tribes of Rwanda • 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

15. Dominance of the Tutsis Tribe • 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

16. Colonial Rwanda: Fixing ethnic difference • Indirect rule • Ethnic identification cards • Empowered Tutsi to rule Hutu majority • Given weapons and support for rule • Incorporation of North-West Rwanda into Tutsi rule • Official discourse that viewed Tutsi as more intelligent, reliable and hardworking • Administration and army jobs reserved for Tutsi

17. The Beginning 1986 Paul Kagame, a Tutsi who had become head of military intelligence in the new Ugandan army, founded the RPF The Rwandan Patriotic Front They began to train their army to invade Rwanda from Uganda, and many Tutsis who had been in the Ugandan military now joined the RPF. In 1991, a radio station broadcasting RPF propaganda from Uganda was established by the RPF (So the Tutsis started the propaganda “battle”, but the Hutus took it much further)

18. The Rwandan Civil War • Conflict lasting from 1990-1993+ • Between the government of President Habyarimana (Hutu) and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (Tutsi group in other country) • Tutsis were trying to take back the power in Rwanda • Peace agreements were signed, but Habyarimana (Hutu President) doesn’t cede power to any other political party Habyarimana

19. 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

20. The Action of… • two extremist Hutu militias • The Interahamwe • "those who stand together" or "those who work together" or "those who fight together” • A Hutu paramilitary organization • Backed by the Hutu Government • Impuzamugambi • "Those who have the same goal" or "Those who have a single goal" • Hutu militia

21. Threats to Regime in 1990s • FPR (Rwandese Patriotic Front) invasion. Comprised predominantly of Tutsi refugees pushed into Uganda following post-independence ethnic conflict. • Frustration among Hutu in south with lack of power within regime • International pressure to democratize, power share with FPR.

22. This also created a Tutsi exile community in Africa, eager to get back to their homeland. • This group was called the Rwandan Patriotic Front, or RPF, and led by their General Paul Kagame. Paul Kagame in the early 1990’s

23. Before the Genocide • In 1990 Rwanda was invaded by the Rwandan Partiotic Front(RPF). Most of these soldiers were Tutsi refugees. Many Hutus were killed. • In 1993 he United Nations sent peacekeepers to maintain a peace accord. • Over the next few months presidents from both countries and tribes were killed suspiciously. • In April 1994 the Rwandan and Burundi presidents were killed. Hutu extremist retaliated by killing 11 United Nations Peacekeepers. • After this killing the peacekeeping mission came to abrupt halt and the UN evacuated all peacekeepers.

24. Scared of losing their influence, the Hutu Power movement was formed. • They put pressure on the President of Rwanda Juvénal Habyarimana to not share power with the RPF, and to withdraw from the UN peace agreement known as the Arusha Accords. President Habyarimana

25. Background: In 1994, Rwanda had a population of seven million, comprised of the following three tribes: • Hutu: 85 percent • Tutsi: 14 percent • Twa: 1 percent

26. Immediate Cause: Plane Crash and Death of the President of Rwanda and President of Burundi

27. 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

28. The government of Habyarimana responded in 1993 (to the RPF invasion) with a radio station that began anti-Tutsi propaganda On April 6, 1994, the Hutu president of Rwanda was assassinated when his jet was shot down, allegedly by missiles from the Ugandan army. Kagame and several members of Habyarimana's government, however, have claimed that disgruntled Hutus killed their own Hutu president, to justify the upcoming genocide.

29. The Catalyst • On April 6, 1994,the airplane carrying Rwandan President Habyarimana and the Hutu president of Burundi was shot down as it prepared to land in Kigali • Both presidents died when the plane crashed. • Responsibility for the attack is disputed, with both the RPF and Hutu extremists being blamed • In spite of disagreements about the identities of its perpetrators, the attack on the plane is to many observers the catalyst for the genocide

30. The Beginning • Started with a plane crash (April 6, 1994) • 2 Presidents killed • Juvenal Habyarimana (Rwanda) • Cyprian Ntayamira (Burundi)

31. The beginning • Hutu extremists are considered responsible for the crash • President of Rwanda was about to sign a Peace Accord • The extremists disapproved

32. The Genocide Begins

33. Racism as a political instrument • In order to deflect internal and external threats to power, Rwandan regime initiated program of vilification of Tutsi • Mobs organized by government officials to attack Tutsi • Political rallies and media vilified Tutsi • Tutsi described as an “enemy within” • This diverted people’s attention from their own subjugation and impoverishment by the government and toward an “external” threat.

34. The killings begin • The same night of the plane crash • The Rwandan Armed Forces (FAR) and Hutu militia begin killing Tutsis and Hutu moderates

35. The Beginnings of Genocide • National radio urged people to stay in their homes • the government-funded station RTLM broadcast vitriolic attacks against Tutsis and Hutu moderates • Hundreds of roadblocks were set up by the militia around the country • Lieutenant-General Dallaire of the UN Peacekeeping Force and UNAMIR, escorting Tutsis in Kigali, were unable to do anything as Hutus kept escalating the violence and even started targeting the peacekeepers themselves

36. “Beware of the cockroaches…”

37. The Hutu Ten Commandments, 1990 • Every Hutu must know that the Tutsi woman, wherever she may be, is working for the Tutsi ethnic cause. In consequence, any Hutu is a traitor who: • - Acquires a Tutsi wife;- Acquires a Tutsi concubine;- Acquires a Tutsi secretary or protégée. • 2.Every Hutu must know that our Hutu daughters are more worthy and more conscientious as women, as wives and as mothers. Aren’t they lovely, excellent secretaries, and more honest!

38. Rwanda Genocide • The genocide began on April 6th, 1994 • The genocide lasted for 100 days. • Extremist leaders from the Hutu majority started to murder the Tutsi minority. • Nearly one million Tutsis were killed. • Thousands of women were raped. Hutus who hid Tutsis were killed. • The Tutsis were killed because the Hutus militants made people believe that they were the enemy out to kill them first. RadiSys Corporation Confidential

39. The killings begin • Roadblocks set up to capture Tutsis and Hutu moderates • Machetes are the weapon of choice for killings

41. How was the Genocide Carried Out • The Hutus militia that carried it out killed the Tutsis just by using machettes and clubs. • They were trained ahead of time. • The Hutu militia used constant propaganda to incite their followers • They used the radio to broadcast that the tutsis were cockroaches and devils. • They also used the radios and speakerphones to tell the location of fleeing Tutsis. • The Tutsis also couldn’t jam the radio signals because they didn’t have the technology. RadiSys Corporation Confidential

42. These factors gave birth to the Hutu death squads of unemployed Rwandan young men known as the Interahamwe, or “Those who attack together.”

43. All of these were common sites for an everyday Rwandan during this genocide. Burned and murdered, the dead were left to rot out in the open. Top right is a picture of a survivor who suffered numerous machete attacks.

44. Genocide in Rwanda April-July 1994 • Many Tutsis ran to churches and missions to hide, thinking that they would be protected there. These became the sites of some of the worst massacres because they were trapped. • In many local villages, Hutus were forced to kill their Tutsi neighbors or risk death for themselves and their families. • They also forced Tutsis to kill their own families. • By mid-May, over 500,000 Tutsis had been murdered. The UN, under media pressure, agreed to send up to 5,000 troops to Rwanda, but never sent them in time to stop the massacre. • The butchering did not stop until July of 1994 when 200,000 Tutsis from neighboring countries invaded and attacked Hutu forces, stopping the genocide. • The total death toll ended at 800,000 people.

46. The Killings • Killed in their villages or in towns, often by their neighbors and fellow villagers • Militia members typically murdered their victims by hacking them with machetes, although some army units used rifles • The victims were often hiding in churches and school buildings, where Hutu gangs massacred them • Ordinary citizens were called on by local officials and government-sponsored radio to kill their neighbors and those who refused to kill were often killed themselves • Everyone killed so they weren’t killed themselves: • Mayors • Priests • EVERYONE

48. Number Killed • Unlike Nazis they didn’t keep record • The RPF government has stated that 1,071,000 were killed, 10% of which were Hutu (determined in February 2008) • Gourevitch agrees with an estimate of one million • United Nations lists the toll as 800,000 • African Rights estimates the number as "around 750,000," • Human Rights Watch states that it was "at least 500,000

50. War Rape Sexual violence against women and girls during the Rwanda genocide included: • rape • gang rape • sexual slavery (either collectively or individually through “forced marriages) • sexual mutilation Some women were kept as personal slaves for years after the genocide, forced to move to neighbouring countries after the genocide along with their captors. Pregnant women were not spared from sexual violence and on many occasion victims were killed following rape Over 20,000 children had been born as products of rape during the Rawandan genocide.