RWANDA: BEFORE AND AFTER THE 1994'S GENOCIDE

RWANDA: BEFORE AND AFTER THE 1994'S GENOCIDE

By: Octave Mugabowineza

Submitted to: Dr. Khalid El-Hassan

The University of Kansas

June 2004

Introduction

On 6 April 1994, President Habyarimana and other heads of State of the region met in Dar-Es-Salaam (Tanzania) to discuss the implementation of the Arusha peace accords. The aircraft carrying President Habyarimana and the Burundian President, Ntaryamira, who were returning from the meeting, crashed around 8:30 PM near Kigali airport. All aboard were killed.

Immediately, violence started throughout the country. As many as 800,000 people were killed and over 2 million people became refugees between April and August 1994. Until this event, Rwanda had a population of 7.5 million, with a population density among the highest in Africa. The large majority of the population (95%) resided in the countryside, and most of them relied on agriculture to sustain themselves. Rwanda was described as a peaceful country with severe demographic problems and limited resources.

In this paper, I will discuss the history of Rwanda before, during and after the 1994's Genocide, given the assumption that no single factor led to Genocide. I will conclude by offering my thoughts about the future of the Nation.

Rwanda

a. The Nation

Rwanda is a small country in central Africa, just south of the equator. It has one of the highest density in Africa and it is one of the continent's poorest countries. It has limited industry and more people than the land can support. Kigali is the Rwanda's capital and largest city of the country.

Although Rwanda is near the equator, it has a cool, pleasant climate. This is because it lies on a series of high plateaus. Rwanda's landscape ranges from volcanic mountains to winding river valleys and from beautiful lakes to grassy plains. Volcanoes National Park in the Birunga Mountains of northwestern Rwanda is a refuge for mountain gorillas, an endangered species.

The vast majority of Rwanda's people are from the Hutu ethnic group. The Tutsi form a minority of the population. The Tutsi monarchy dominated the Hutu politically and economically for hundreds of years. In 1959, the Hutu rebelled against the Tutsi and gained control of the government and the economy.

Another major bloody conflict between the two groups took place in 1994. During this conflict, government-backed Hutu extremists massacred about 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu. The conflict ended when a Tutsi group gained control of the government.

b. Population's Make Up

About 92 percent of Rwandan are Hutu, 7 percent are Tutsi, and 1 per cent are Twa. All groups share a common language (Kinyarwanda) and culture. Most Hutu are farmers who raise crops to feed their families. Some of them also raise cattle or grow coffee, which is Rwanda's chief export. Most Tutsi keep cattle or work in businesses or government agencies.

Twa (Pygmies) once made their living by hunting, but some now live and work in the towns. Only few Europeans live in Rwanda. Some are farmers who raise tea and pyrethrum, which is used in making insecticides. A few are executives in the mining industry. Others are Christian missionaries.

English, French, and Kinyarwanda are the official languages. Most of the people speak Kinyarwanda, a Bantu language and are Roman Catholics. A small percentage practices traditional African religions. The Roman Catholic and other Christian churches operate most of the primary and secondary schools. The National University of Rwanda is in Butare. Public education is free and compulsory for children from 7 through 15 years of age, but there are not enough classrooms to accommodate all the children. Many adult Rwandans can't read and write.

c. Ethnic Cleavages in Rwanda

The recent violence has been described as an Ethnic war between Hutu and Tutsi, rooted in longtime competition for control of land and power. But history tells us that the terms "Hutu" and "Tutsi" comes from social categories representing different socioeconomic positions within the Rwandan society rather than objective biological or cultural differences. The distinction between Hutu and Tutsi derives from a pre-colonial social structure. Before the administrative centralization and the colonial domination, they were almost no boundaries between the Hutu and Tutsi.

A variety of criteria determined ethnic affiliation: birth, wealth, culture, place of origin, physical attributes and social and marriage [Prunier, 1995].

Slowly, Tutsi and Hutu became important political categories, as those involved in the colonization established their political dominance around sudden new Ethnic boundaries. Increasingly the disadvantages of being Hutu and the advantages of being Tutsi were sharpened under first German and then Belgian colonial rule [Madsen, 1999].

Thereafter, the Rwandan politics were always being driven by the perception that there is an ethnic struggle between Hutu and Tutsi.

The ethnic nature of the conflict in Rwanda is undeniable. Although significant numbers of Hutu were killed, the Tutsi population was undoubtedly the target of most of the violence.

d. Land

Much of Rwanda's land is rugged and mountainous. Volcanoes form the highest mountains in the West and northwest of the country. Lake Kivu and the Rusizi River form Rwanda's western border and are part of Africa's Great Rift Valley. The Kagera River forms the eastern border, and the Akanyaru River forms part of the southern border.

The land rises sharply from Lake Kivu to about 2,700 meters (9,000 feet) above sea level. The Birunga Mountains rise to about 4,510 meters (14,800 feet) in the Northwest. Heavy rainfall in western Rwanda has leached chemicals that enrich soil [Prunier, 1995].

A series of plateaus in the east of the country range from 1,500 to 2,100 meters (5,000 to 7,000 feet) above sea level and decreases toward the East. Forests once covered the plateaus, but most of this land has been used for farming [Prunier, 1995].

The Great Rift Valley areas in the West have an average annual temperature of 24 °C (74 °F) and an average annual rainfall of 30 inches. The mountainous areas in the West have an average annual temperature of 18 °C (64 °F) and an average annual rainfall of 58 inches. On the plateaus, the temperature averages 20 °C (68 °F) annually. Annual rainfall is about 47 inches [Prunier, 1995].

e. Economy: Land Resources, Minerals Resources, Trade and Agriculture

Most Rwandans are farmers who only grow enough food to feed their own families. Food crops include bananas, beans, cassava, sorghum, sweet potatoes, peanuts, etc. Some rural people also raise cattle. Coffee is the country's chief export even if some of it is used for regular brewing. Tea and pyrethrum are also important exports. The farming varies according to the altitude. Rwanda has few manufacturing industries. It has no railroads. The country's main highways are surfaced, but most of the roads are dirt.

The territories of Ruanda (now Rwanda) and Urundi (now Burundi) cooperated closely for many years. Rwanda's exports were shipped through Burundi mainly to the ocean ports of Dar-Es-Salaam in Tanzania. But fighting between Hutu and Tutsi undermined relations between the two countries. When possible, Rwandan exports are transported to Mombasa in Kenya (where the Rwandan government has huge warehouses) via Uganda or Tanzania. This process makes it difficult and expensive for Rwanda to export and import goods and products [Prunier, 1995].

HISTORY: Before and After the Genocide

a. Before the Genocide

1. The colonial era: types of government/administration and colonialism

Hutu farmers and Twa hunters first inhabited Rwanda. During the 1300s or 1400s, the Tutsi, a warrior people with cattle, migrated to the area. Eventually, a kingdom was established in which the Hutu farmers paid tribute to the cattle-keeping Tutsi aristocrats. However, much intermarriage and change of economic status occurred between the groups. Over time, the Hutu and Tutsi developed a common language and culture.

Germany conquered the area that is now Rwanda and Burundi in 1897. It ruled this area as part of German East Africa. Belgian troops occupied the area called Ruanda-Urundi, in 1916, during World War I. Germany lost its African colonies after the war [Madsen, 1999]. Ruanda-Urundi became a mandated territory under Belgian administration in 1923. Under Belgian colonial rule, the inequalities between the Hutu and Tutsi intensified. The Belgians favored the Tutsi, who received greater employment and educational opportunities than Hutu or Twa. The Belgians also formalized the ethnic divisions in the territory by adding in the Rwandan Identity Card the Hutu, Tutsi, or Twa affiliations. In 1946, Ruanda-Urundi became a UN trust territory administered by Belgium.

Political unrest followed the death of King Mutara III in 1959. The Hutu rebelled against the Tutsi. Fighting between the Hutu and Tutsi resulted in about 150,000 deaths. The Tutsi suffered the heaviest casualties. During and after the rebellion, about a great number of Tutsi fled to Burundi and other neighboring countries [Prunier, 1995].

2. Post colonial era

The first democratic elections held in 1960 gave the Hutu control of the government. In 1961, the people of Rwanda voted to make their country a republic. The Rwandese then elected Hutu leader Gregoire Kayibanda as the first president. They reelected him in 1965 and 1969. In 1973, military leaders led by Major General Juvenal Habyarimana, a Hutu, overthrew Kayibanda and took control of the government [Madsen, 1999].

Major General Juvenal Habyarimana declared himself president. In 1978, voters approved a new Constitution and elected Habyarimana president. He was reelected in 1983 and 1988 [Prunier, 1995].

b. Conflicts

1.  The Civil War: from 1990 to 1992

Violence within Rwanda had its origins in the October 1990 attack by the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) from their bases in Uganda. Predominantly of Tutsi origin, many of the members of the RPF were refugees, or descendants of refugees, who fled Rwanda during the postcolonial establishment of a Hutu-dominated government in the early 1960s. The RPF soldiers had gained valuable military experience fighting with Yoweri Museveni's National Resistance Army in western Uganda.

After they successfully helped Yoweri Museveni in the overthrow of the former Ugandan leader Milton Obote, they created the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). The Front's leaders timed an invasion of Rwanda from Uganda to exploit growing domestic opposition against the regime of President Habyarimana. After struggling in the beginning, the rebellion increased its intensity and had by 1992, captured some area in northern Rwanda [Madsen, 1999].

The Rwandan Patriotic Front's invasion and the subsequent two years of civil war placed a lot of stress on the Rwandan government and its citizens. At the same time, the international community through its financial institutions (World Bank, International Monetary Fund) forced the government to implement a structural adjustment policy, which, together with the drought of the early 1990s, started a widespread domestic opposition to the Habyarimana's regime [Prunier, 1995].

Simultaneously, the RPF threat and the growing pressure for democratization within Rwanda inflamed the situation. Also, in the early 1990s, the government systematically arrested anyone suspected of anti-government sentiments; over 8,000 people were arrested immediately following an invasion that was thought to have occurred inside the capital Kigali.

The transition toward multiparty democracy was jeopardized; local authorities began to actively promote and lead attacks on Tutsi and all those who opposed the government. By 1992, many people were displaced from key tea, coffee, and food producing regions, which greatly reduced government revenues.

As the civil war continued in the North, opposition to the government increased in Kigali. International donors also placed Habyarimana under significant pressure to increase democratization measures and begin a dialogue with the RPF [Madsen, 1999].

Habyarimana responded in two ways:

- He introduced a multiparty system and a coalition government in April 1992, but formed alliances that allowed him to retain most of the executive and administrative power.

- He conspired with the two political parties that he controlled, the National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development (MRND) and the Committee for the Defense of the Republic (CDR), to undermine the democratization and peace processes. Together they formed militias known as the Interahamwe (those who attack together) and the Impuzamugambi (those who have the same goal). The militias received weapons from the army and were involved in multiple violent acts throughout the country.

2. Negotiation and the Arusha Accords, 1992-1994

At the end of July 1992, a precarious cease-fire came into effect and negotiations between the RPF and the government began in Arusha, Tanzania [Prunier, 1995].

With the first major international involvement since the beginning of the conflict, the negotiations resulted in the Arusha agreements of 4 August 1993. This achievement was made possible by the decisive input of the United Nations.

The agreement provided for the formation of a broad-based transitional government. The RPF and the Rwandan army would form a smaller, united national army [Madsen, 1999].

Although Habyarimana would remain president during the transition period, specific ministerial positions were allocated to members of all political parties. Elections were to take place within two years after the transitional government took office.

After the Arusha negotiations, much of the power had to be shared with the new political force "RPF", which made many of Habyarimana government members unhappy.

President Habyarimana had a double-faced policy that was to try to cooperate with the international efforts to implement the Arusha Accords while working to maintain his hold on power. Habyarimana and his allies used every possible opportunity to create animosity toward the RPF.

Two events contributed to the increase of anti-RPF and anti-Tutsi sentiments:

- The killing of the Newly elected Burundian president Melchior Ndadaye, the outbreak of massacres in Burundi were used to create and fuel fears of the RPF; as the Rwandan people established some kind of links between the RPF and the killings that were largely orchestrated by Burundi's Tutsi-dominated army.

- The death of Felicien Gatabazi, the leader of Rwanda's new Social Democratic Party, who was brutally killed by unknown assassins.

c.  The Genocide

1. April to July 1994

On 6 April 1994, President Habyarimana died when his aircraft was shot down near Kigali, Rwanda. Immediately, the ill-intentioned army and their political supporters used the president's death to ignite an anti-Tutsi revolt.

Within hours of the plane crash, the Presidential Guard, the Army, the Interahamwe, and the Impuzamugambi mounted roadblocks. The army and militias began a systematic sweep of the city, killing members of the transitional government and other civilians that were thought to be RPF collaborators and pro-Tutsi.

Their cruel goal was to physically eliminate the opposition and to weaken the RPF support in the country by killing most of the Tutsi while continuing the fight against the enemy, the RPF.

Because of the lack of a clear mandate, The UN forces, present in Rwanda to monitor the implementation of the Arusha Accords, didn't do anything to help stop the massacres. Later on, The UN Security Council refused to send any peacekeeping mission for the time being. All they did was to provide shelter and food to those hiding from the government troops and militias.

While the violence was initially in the capital Kigali, it quickly spread throughout the country, with the blessing and support of the "gouvernement y'abatabazi" (the saviors' government). The RPF responded offensively from the North and defeated the government forces by mid-July [Madsen, 1999].

Consequently, between 2 and 3 million refugees, mostly Hutu, left the country, creating one of the biggest influx of people ever to be recorded in History. Most refugees went to the area near the border towns of Goma in the North (where a cholera epidemic killed about 50,000 Rwandan refugees) and Bukavu in the South; both in East-Kivu Region, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) formerly Zaire [Prunier, 1995].

A new multiparty interim government was appointed. It included some moderate Hutu, according to the terms of the Arusha Accords.  Therefore, Pasteur Bizimungu, a Hutu, was appointed president while Faustin Twagiramungu a Hutu also, became Prime Minister. In November 1994, a United Nations (UN) tribunal was created to prosecute the organizers of the 1994 Rwanda's genocide.

2. The Refugee Camps: August 1994 to December 1996

Once the Refugee camps were established in Bukavu and Goma - Zaire and Ngara/Benaco in Tanzania, the members of the former government, the former Rwandan army, and the militias decided to be in charge. The new Rwandan government and the United Nations made significant efforts to encourage all refugees to go back home, yet they were afraid to return. Militias also intimidated any refugees who tried to go back to Rwanda. Most Refugees also feared the Rwandan Patriotic Front because it was known to be violent sometimes [Prunier, 1995].

In the absence of a strong support from the international community, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Non-Governmental Organization (NGOs) started to work with the former authorities. Together, they organized the camps into Administrative entities and opened several distribution centers of humanitarian relief, health centers and schools.

Within the following 2 years, renewed violence was reported in the camps. The report also suggested that open military training activities were going on and that some stocks of arms have been found. Therefore, it was concluded that the former Rwandan forces are preparing for a military offensive sooner than later. The UN secretary-general also stated the following: ’Former army members may be preparing for an armed invasion of Rwanda and they may be stockpiling and selling food distributed by relief agencies in preparation for such an invasion’ [Madsen, 1999].

Other reports also indicated that the newly created Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA) didn't have complete control of the troops that were deployed in the countryside and cited several backlash attacks by some RPA members against Hutu. The RPA and the transitional government said that they couldn't police or stop these revenge attacks due to an obvious lack of resources and insufficient support from United Nations Peacekeeping troops that had arrived in the meantime.

In the following months, The Rwandan government, backed to a certain extent by the UNHCR, promoted the closure of refugee camps. But the International community did not know if Rwanda would peacefully absorb the return of all the refugees, due to the fact that some of them were armed and had the intention of destabilizing the new government.

All of the refugee camps, both in Zaire and Tanzania, were closed when the RPA attacked Zaire (now DRC) in November 1996 [Prunier, 1995].

The Aftermath

Some achievements has been made in a number of areas, which explains the desire on the part of citizens and their leaders to forge a new future for the country. Peace has been achieved within Rwanda's borders. This has been supported by different programs, such as the organization of local elections, the reintegration of refugees and combatants involved in conflicts within neighboring states, and through the development of civic education.

Some steps have also been taken towards reconciliation, at local, national, and regional levels, for instance through the efforts of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda to prosecute those who were involved in the Genocide and through community level Gacaca initiatives (justice for the people by the people).

The Rwandan Government continues to welcome Rwandan refugees (about four million) who are returning from neighboring countries. In August 2003, Rwandese voted in the first Democratic Presidential elections since the genocide. On the other hand, the Government is looking to the future.

While marketing opportunities remain poor, the current Government has shown a commitment to fight poverty, and has been accepted into the Highly Indebted Poor Countries Initiative, which open the door for the struggling Government Ministries to receive more help from the international community.

A desire to rebuild the society is clearly being shown at the community level, perhaps most significantly the fact that a high number of children who were orphaned or living on the street are now being relocated into the community or family care.

The Rwandan genocide had domestic origins and a long-term reconciliation should come from within the country, Even if the regional institutions and economic relations are weak, we can’t ignore the regional context. A key element for the reconciliation will be a political accommodation involving power - sharing.

Rwanda conducted local elections in 1999 and 2003, demonstrating that it is ready to share power at the local level [Madsen, 1999].

The international community through its donations is the most important long-term answer to the country's trauma and deep poverty. Also, the building of a culture of justice is necessary to break the cycle of impunity and vengeance. Women and youth have to be involved in all levels of activity in order to achieve the eradication of poverty. Indeed, a durable reconciliation must begin at the village and community level.

Health issues (AIDS, family planning and malaria) undermine Rwanda's development prospects, because they weaken the base of Human Resources. Education is a major challenge. Despite different bogus spending, Rwanda's short-term macro-economic management is technically good. Long-term economic prospects are not encouraging because of high levels of debt [Prunier, 1995].

The most important factor for sustainable development of Rwanda is a regional economic integration, which remains a distant goal until there is peace and security in the region great lakes region (Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Rwanda).

Conclusion

In retrospect, Rwanda's 1994 genocide seems to be one of very few events in world history which will remain for decades a point of reference of human tragedy, evil and suffering.

The Genocide Planners were able to establish a genocidal norm and push it past its tipping point, ensuring the implementation of the genocide through mass participation, by framing their genocidal story in historic terms, by spreading the story through media and official pronouncements at every level of the administrative chain; by making their story appear 'real' through staged attacks, directed massacres and calculated rumors.

The fact that the actions and policies of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) did little to sway people away form the extremists' position, meant that no counter-discourse emerged that could challenge the explosive rhetoric of the Genocide planners. Thus were the Genocide Planners able to realize their goal of re-ordering Rwandan society permanently and irrevocably.

Constructive lessons can be drawn from dramatic events. My hope is that the Rwandan people look at what happened and try to build the future on principles of unity, peace and equal opportunity for all. In this perspective, we should critically reflect on the past events in order to increase the chances of a better future for the country.

Bibliography

National Security Archive: "The U.S. and the Genocide in Rwanda 1994: Information, Intelligence and the U.S. Response." (March 24, 2004) By William Ferroggiaro. Electronic Briefing Books. (George Washington University, Washington, DC);  http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB117/index.htm.

Special Report 13 by United States Institute of Peace, Rwanda: Accountability for War Crimes and Genocide; http://www.usip.org/pubs/specialreports/early/rwanda1.html.

"Leave none to tell the story: genocide in Rwanda." March 1999. Written by Alison Liebhafsky Des Forges -- New York, NY: Human Rights Watch, c1999, http://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/rwanda.

The Rwanda crisis: history of a genocide / Gérard Prunier; Publisher: New York: Columbia University Press, c1995.        

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