Joachim Bonde 21.

december, 2017
Hans Christian Jensen Historie, 5. Semester - Aalborg Universitet
Anders Houen Pedersen Modul 13A
Jens Lie Stokbro Vejleder: Martin Ottovay Jørgensen

Abstract
In the evening of the 6 April 1994, the Rwandan President at the time, Júvenal Habyrimana was
shot down in his plane over the Rwandan capital, Kigali, by unknown perpetrators. This marked
the beginning of the one of the largest genocides in recent decades. Upwards of 850,000 people
were brutally murdered during the 100 days the genocide lasted.
During the German and Belgian colonization of Rwanda, the colonizers divided the
indigenous Rwandan population into three ethnically distinct groups, the Hutus, the Tutsis and
the Twas. The Tutsis, a minority in Rwanda, were considered a superior ethnic group by the
Germans and Belgians. This ethnic division sparked bloody conflict through the 19th and 20th
centuries and culminated with the tragic events in 1994.
Twenty-three years after the genocide, the memories of the conflict still shape the
Rwandan society. Both victims and génocidaires, who were often neighbours to one another,
describe how the genocide escalated and unfolded. Testimonies of persecution, murder and
rape are common among the victims’ traumatic recollections of the events. The paper, however,
argues that not only victims, but also perpetrators live with traumas following their actions
during the genocide. Therefore, to understand the consequences the genocide has left in today’s
Rwandan society, one must include both parties’ testimonies in an analysis.
Following the genocide, the Rwandan nation soon embarked on a journey towards
reconciliation. In 1996, the Rwandan Government began organising mass re-education pro-
grammes for perpetrators and victims alike in an attempt to develop national unity and pro-
mote reconciliation. In 1999 the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission was established
by parliamentary law to over-see and administrate the national reconciliation programmes
such as the Ingando camps and the very similar Itorero camps.
In 2002, as a different way of promoting reconciliation, the Government of Rwanda
voted for a transitional justice system, named Gacaca, which was put into place in 2005 to deal
with the many perpetrators awaiting justice. While the system dealt with the overcrowded pris-
ons, it was further argued by the Government of Rwanda, that the system would promote rec-
onciliation, as victims and perpetrators through the local trials were forced into dialogue.
Gacaca promised lower sentences for those who spoke openly about their crimes and asked for
forgiveness in an attempt to promote reconciliation.
 Joachim Bonde 21. december, 2017
Hans Christian Jensen Historie, 5. Semester - Aalborg Universitet
Anders Houen Pedersen Modul 13A
Jens Lie Stokbro Vejleder: Martin Ottovay Jørgensen

The same emphasis on dialogue as a way of fostering reconciliation between vic-

tims and génocidaires can also be found in the reconciliation programmes of the NGO’s Prison
Fellowship Rwanda and International Alert. Through these programmes, victims and perpetra-
tors are invited to attend dialogue and group trauma counselling. Aimed at rebuilding trust be-
tween the former conflicting parties on both national and local levels, these initiatives have
adopted multi-disciplinary approaches focusing on trauma healing, dialogue and economic aid.
In The Ten Stages of Genocide Gregory H. Stanton theorizes the build-up and exe-
cution of genocides. Through application of Stanton’s theories, this paper argues that the Rwan-
dan Government has tried to combat early stages, such as ethnic classification, symbolization,
discrimination and dehumanization in order to foster reconciliation. Unfortunately, it can be
argued that the initiatives have not lived up to their expectations due to the Government’s over-
shadowing practice of memory politics, in which the genocide dichotomy of victim and perpe-
trator is maintained.
Through the use of international criticism of the Gacaca courts, this paper dis-
cusses whether or not the Gacaca initiative was successful in promoting reconciliatory dialogue
between the conflicting parties. From a theoretical standpoint, the Gacaca court practice
showed great promise, but this initiative, too, was hindered by national politics of memory, and
it is furthermore argued that poverty hindered the Gacaca reconciliation process.
Prison Fellowship Rwanda and International Alert both acknowledge poverty as
an inhibitor for total reconciliation. As such, this paper points out that their multi-disciplinary
approaches with focus on socio-economic aid have overcome certain underlying issues in the
Rwandan society. It is therefore argued that fundamental social issues such as poverty must be
dealt with to ensure a sustainable reconciliation in Rwanda.