Daphne WongIn the first article in the Rwanda Genocide series, the overwhelming power of the Tutsis in Burundi has swept the country for twenty years, leaving the already poor country almost paralysed. Rwanda, however, did not learn from the experience of its neighbour. Indeed, history was allowed to repeat in 1994.
IMMEDIATE CAUSE
The conflicts between Tutsis and Hutus were accumulated as the war between the two ethnic groups outside the border got worse. Also, the serious discrimination of Hutus by the Tutsi-dominated government under Juvénal Habyarimana's regime (since 1973) made reconciliation even harder. In April 1994, Habyarimana was assasinated. Then, the extremist Hutus started the three-month long massacre of Tutsis and pro-peace Hutus, also named as the "Rwanada Genocide".
THE WAR
What happened in the first stage of genocide movement had proved that the War was not just a provocated act out of cumulated rage. The War was planned, right from the beginning. First, the armed force who was responsible for the killing had been formulated in a systematic manner that every 10 families in Rwanda would be targeted by 1 militia member. The weapons had also been well-prepared that once filing a requisition form, the army could get an AK-47 assault rifle. These are manifestation of a premediated mass killing of peoples.
Until mid-July, a death toll of 800,000 people had been reported. The organizers, who were mostly top government officials and military leaders, manipulated the mass media and broadcasted anti-Tutsi speeches around the nation. The organizers even encouraged and openly recruited men to join their force, with attractive incentive of food and drugs. An organized capture, raping and killing of the Tutsis and moderate Hutus was carried out until July, when the heat of massacre was cooled down by the death toll and political powers gained by the Hutu.
INTERNATIONAL RESPONSES
(To be continued)
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