Rwandan Genocide April-July 1994

Arianna Kotlier, Andrew Fragala, Katie Hatrich, Beulah Dadala English 10 Period 6 Mrs. Aquino November 16, 2013

Who were the victims?

What was their number?

The victims of the Rwandan genocide were the Tutsi people, persecuted and murdered by the Hutu. They were a minority of the population, at only 14%. The women of the Tutsi were methodically raped, some being kept for weeks at a time being tortured before they were finally killed. The Tutsi people were about 980,000 of 7 million residing in the country The Hutu and the Tutsi lived together for a long time before the Europeans came and imperialized the country of Rwanda. The Tutsi were given most of the governments power and influence as they were deemed to be the to most European-looking of the people. The Hutu people were aggravated by the uneven power and thus revolted, beginning the Rwandan genocide.

Who were the perpetrators?

The Rwandan genocide was carried out by Hutu supremacist militia groups which were supported by the state government of Rwanda The state government, the Rwandan army, and Rwandan civilians all were part of the Hutu Power movement Killing was carried out by two Hutu radical militant groups: the Interahamwe and the Impuzamugambi The Interahamwe was comprised of Hutu men, while the Impuzamugambi was made up of CDRs youth wing

When, Where and Why did this occur?

When: The summer of 1994 following the assassination of the government head- Habyarimana Where: Over the course of 100 days, in the small country of Rwanda in East Africa, about 1 million people perished by the hand of a tribal dispute between the Hutu and Tutsi tribes. Why: Sprouting from the tensions between the minority Tutsi (approximately 14% of the population) and the majority Hutu (approximately 85% of the population) tribes oscillating between periods of power, their friction blew over into a civil war that left the country at a loss of people and stability losing over 20% of the population-- consisting primarily of males. Tracing the tensions back to the Rwandan Civil War in 1990, the Tutsis framed the Hutus claiming that the Hutus intended to enslave the Tutsis. This led to more strife and outside influences came to aid the minority Tutsis in 1990: Francophone Africa and France, RPF (Rwandan Patriotic Front) and Uganda. However, in 1993, due to the international communitys coercion, a cease-fire was put in order and the leader of the Hutu- Government planned to effectuate the Arusha Plans. These were a set of five agreements between the Rwandan Government and the RPF that were negotiated between the two parties. However, these plans went to waste with the assassination of the Hutu Head of government, Habyarimana in April of 1994 leading to a very violent reaction- the Rwandan Genocide.

When, Where and Why did this Occur?

Rwanda is small country in East Africa that is a conglomerate of tribes currently under Tutsi government.

Where there attempts to stop it?

The U.N. attempted to help, but they believed the situation was too risky for any operation to help the Tutsis. There were very few attempts to stop the Hutu from killing the Tutsis, but the largest resistance group was the Rwandan Patriotic Army. They begun to attack the Hutu and drove them out of many the cities that they occupied. After the genocide was over, the courts decided to speed up the process of convicting the perpetrators during the mass killings.

What did eventually end it?

The tide turned in July of 1994 and the minority tribe Tutsi overtook the government and continues to rule to this day. In remembrance of this tragic event, the Rwandan government has created two national holidays: Genocide Memorial Day on April 7th commemorating the start, and Liberation Day on July 4th to recognize the end of the genocide. To add to this, the legacy of this genocide is the International Criminal Court in place for the prevention of the violation of human liberties established by the Rome Statute.

What did eventually end it?

Bibliography

A World Without Genocide. Rwandan Genocide (2012). Retrieved from http://worldwithoutgenocide.org/genocides-and-conflicts/rwandangenocidehttp://worldwithoutgenocide.org/genocides-and-conflicts/rwandan-genocide None Given (n.d.). Genocide in Rwanda. Retrieved from http://www.unitedhumanrights.org/genocide/genocide_in_rwanda.htm BBC News. (17 Nov 2011). Rwanda: How the genocide happened. Retreived http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13431486.