Rwandan Genocide - 1994 By Anand and Jesse

Causes Before 1963, Rwanda was split into two classes. The Hutus, were the peasant population and the Tutsis were the more wealthy aristocracy. The Belgian colonial rule rewarded Tutsis with a Western education yet denied political and economic power to the Hutus. Rwandan Independence in 1963 gave the Hutus power, then discriminating against the Tutsis and sending them into exile in Uganda.

Causes Continued “CUT THE TALL TREES” However, Civil War broke out in 1990 when the Tutsis returned to Rwanda. A cease-fire occurred on August 4 1993 and a power- sharing treaty was signed in the Tanzanian town of Arushaby the Hutu president Habyariman, overseen over by the UN peacekeeping force. However when the President was shot down in his plane on April 6 1994, the Hutus blamed the Tutsi for this and the genocide begins. “CUT THE TALL TREES” This was the signal given out on the radio by the interhamwe to begin the genocide.

Key Groups and Individuals The interhamwe were a paramilitary organisation that worked under the hutu led government and had a great part to play in the massacre of the Tutsis. The hutu-extremist group known as the akazu planned the genocide. They had many members in top positions in government Augustin Bizimungu was a General of the Rwandan Armed forces, responsible for training many of the militia who carried out the genocide.

Outcomes Within 100 days around 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus are killed. One haunting factor is that the genocide was carried out mostly with machetes and hand-held weapons, all in a matter of a few days. 1994-96 Refugee camps in Zaire fall under the control of the Hutu militias responsible for the genocide in Rwanda. 1995 - Extremist Hutu militias and Zairean government forces attack local Zairean Banyamulenge Tutsis; Zaire attempts to force refugees back into Rwanda. 1995 - UN-appointed international tribunal begins charging and sentencing a number of people responsible for the Hutu-Tutsi atrocities.

UN Intervention  The UN failed to successfully intervene in the mass genocide because it lacked an objective or proper view of the crisis, the funds, supplies, and skills needed to intercede. Additionally they failed to recognise it as a genocide until it was far too late. This may have been caused by the fact that the Hutu and the Tutsis had been involved in a civil war since 1990, and the killings were shrugged off as war casualties. A lack of funds and supplies severely limited the amount of peacekeeping that could be accomplished in Rwanda. The peacekeeping mission sent to Rwanda was created to be as uninvolved as possible with few soldiers. A United Nations member stated that they apparently cared more for the risk of losing a few of their men than for the 800,000 people being murdered.

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