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Al Jazeera - Witness Rwanda
Al Jazeera - Witness Rwanda Witness brings world issues into focus with courageous, human stories and provocative debate..... Witness presenter, Rageh Omaar says: "It's hugely exciting to be part of a channel which promises to revolutionise global news and current affairs. Witness will be what its title implies - a programme of first-hand account. No academics, no commentators unless they are themselves witnesses." Witness runs as a half-hour documentary each week-day and as a longer format 'special' at the weekend. A plane crash in Rwanda on 6th April 1994 led to the most rapid genocide in recorded history. The killing began that night and was almost over six weeks later. Some 800,000 people were murdered, mostly with spears, knives and machetes. Two weeks into the slaughter the US, supported by Britain, pushed the UN security council to reduce the peacekeeping force in Rwanda to just 270 men, despite the pleas of its commander, who insisted that a UN military presence could make a difference.
h hindsight it is obvious that the world's political leaders and opinion-formers failed Rwanda in 1994. Bill Clinton, then US president, and Madeleine Albright, his representative at the UN, later secretary of state, have recognised this and expressed regret for their part in withdrawing the UN force from Rwanda as the genocide started. Despite being accused of wilful neglect of their obligations under the genocide convention, their British equivalents, John Major, the prime minister, Douglas Hurd, foreign secretary, and Lynda Chalker, the minister responsible for Africa, have been less forthright. No one resigned and nobody's career was even blighted by Rwanda. Kofi Annan, then head of peacekeeping at the UN, who dealt with...
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Rwanda - Do scars ever fade? |
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Africa -
Rwanda
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 Map Rwanda
Rwanda's Struggle to Recover from Genocide
By Gerard Prunier
One of the 20th century's worst atrocities - the brutal slaughter of approximately
800,000 people in the East African nation of Rwanda in 1994 - still demands an
accounting.
Three years after the genocide ended, the International Criminal Tribunal for
Rwanda (ICTR), created by the United Nations (UN), has yet to bring a war
criminal to justice. In contrast, the UN's International Criminal Tribunal for
the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), established in 1993 to try war crimes committed
during the civil war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, has proceeded relatively
smoothly. The ICTY reached its first conviction in May 1997. The ICTR's lack of
progress has led many Rwandans to believe that the outside world is more
concerned about âethnic cleansingâ in Europe than about mass atrocities in east
central Africa.
On April 6, 1994, Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana was shot down by unknown
assailants as his plane approached the Rwandan capital of Kigali. Habyarimana's
death triggered a chain of events in which neighbor turned on neighbor and
friend upon friend. Murders occurred within families as ethnic Hutu killed their
ethnic Tutsi relatives. Many Hutu priests refused asylum to Tutsi fugitives, and
some Hutu schoolteachers actually murdered their Tutsi students. Although the
violence appeared spontaneous, it was in fact planned. Many reports in Western
news media inaccurately described what was happening as a tribal conflict. The
true causes lay elsewhere.
Roots of the Conflict
The conflict between the Hutu and Tutsi in east central Africa was not new. Nor
was it the product of ancient tribal hatreds as was so often reported. The Hutu
and Tutsi are not tribes. A tribe is a distinct community with its own language,
customs, territory, and religion. Hutu and Tutsi in the nations of Rwanda and
Burundi share the same territory, speak the same languages (Kinyarwanda in
Rwanda, Kirundi in Burundi), share the same customs, practice the same religion,
and frequently intermarry. The real difference between the majority Hutu (who
make up between 80 and 85 percent of the population in Rwanda and Burundi) and
the minority Tutsi (between 12 and 15 percent in both countries) is
sociopolitical.
The aboriginal inhabitants of the area now known as Rwanda were the Twa.
Rwanda's Hutu migrated to the region later and were well established by the time
the Tutsi arrived in the 1400s. This early precolonial society was hierarchical,
with Tutsi serving as the ruling aristocracy. Their status was linked to the
ownership of cattle, a symbol of social distinction in many East African
societies.
Hutus were not allowed to own cattle unless the cattle were given to them by a
Tutsi overlord. The granting of cattle, a ceremonial process called ubuhake in
Kinyarwanda, was an essential link between Tutsi social patrons and their Hutu
clients. For example, Hutu soldiers who served their Tutsi masters well in war
were often rewarded with cattle.
Wars in the region were frequent, but they did not pit Tutsi against Hutu.
Rather, they were civil conflicts between high lineage Tutsis who were supported
by their Hutu retainers in a system similar to that of medieval Europe. Or they
were wars between the kingdom of Rwanda and the neighboring kingdoms of Iweju,
Mpororo, Nkore, or Buha, which today are part of Uganda and Tanzania.
Rwanda was first colonized by Germany (from 1894 to 1916) and then by Belgium (from
1916 to 1962). Belgium occupied the region during World War I (1914-1918) and
ruled under a mandate from the League of Nations and later the UN. Both Germany
and Belgium chose to exercise their rule through Rwanda's existing social system
of Tutsi aristocrats and Hutu clients. However, their reasons for doing so
created tensions between these groups and helped lay the groundwork for Rwanda's
later conflicts.
Using physical characteristics as a guideâthe Tutsi were generally tall, thin,
and more "European" in their appearance than the shorter, stockier Hutuâthe
colonizers decided that the Tutsi and the Hutu were two different races.
According to the racial theories of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the
Tutsi, with their more âEuropeanâ appearance, were deemed the âmaster raceâ and
received preferential treatment. By 1930 Belgium's Rwandan auxiliaries were
almost entirely Tutsi, a status that earned them the durable hatred of the Hutu.
After World War II (1939-1945) many African colonies began moving toward
independence. Favored in everything, including education, Rwanda's Tutsi were
more keenly aware of the trend toward independence and sought independence from
Belgium. In a desperate bid to stave off this demand, the Belgians began
supporting the Hutu against the Tutsi, touching off a violent struggle. The
fighting began in 1959 and eventually led to independence under a Hutu-dominated
government in 1962.
Although the number of people killed and exiled between 1959 and 1962 was tiny
compared to 1994, the events of those years caused a great deal of damage to the
relationship between Hutu and Tutsi. About 15,000 Tutsis were killed between
1959 and 1962 and about 120,000 fled Rwanda to escape persecution by the new
Hutu-led government. Many fled to Burundi, where Tutsi dominated the new
independent government, but also to Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
and Tanzania. Some traveled as far as Europe and the United States.
Hutu Takeover
In the name of social and historical justice, the new Hutu-dominated government
in Rwanda enacted unabashedly anti-Tutsi policies in an effort to avenge years
of Tutsi domination. Using ethnically based quotas, the government's âHutu
Powerâ ideology, a mix of ethnic and social theories whose common theme was Hutu
superiority, limited what jobs and social positions could be held by Tutsis.
Those Tutsi who stayed behind became second-class citizens, while those who fled
abroad were not allowed to return.
The Hutu-led government restricted economic opportunities available to Tutsis.
Most Rwandans sought to earn a living by farming, but land was scarce owing to
Rwanda's small size, about 26,000 sq km (10,000 sq mi). This scarcity was made
worse by a post-independence population growth of about 3 percent annually.
Tutsis who attempted to purchase land were often blocked by government
restrictions, and those whose land had been confiscated between 1959 and 1962
were unable to win it back. Tutsis also faced discrimination in other fields.
Government jobs, for example, were reserved for Hutus. As a result, many Tutsis
went into business for themselves or worked for international organizations.
Despite these abuses, the Rwandan government's resolutely pro-Western stance
during the Cold War ensured that it retained solid foreign support. Many Western
governments, especially those of Belgium, the Federal Republic of Germany,
France, and Switzerland, were involved in economic aid and political support for
the Hutu-led government. Tutsi exiles abroad attempted to voice their concerns
and complaints, but they were largely ignored.
The situation changed drastically with the outbreak of civil war in Uganda in
1981. Guerrilla leader (now president) Yoweri Museveni belonged to the Nyankole
tribe from western Uganda. Museveni's social group within the Nyankole, the
Himas, occupied the same social position as had the Tutsis prior to Rwandan
independence. The government of former Ugandan president Milton Obote considered
the Himas and the Tutsis to be natural allies and, emphasizing this association,
depicted Museveni as a foreigner in an attempt to discredit him.
Caught in the midst of this propaganda and targeted as rebel allies, the Rwandan
Tutsi refugees in western Uganda were soon engulfed in an antiguerrilla
repression and joined Museveni's fighters in order to survive. As members of
Museveni's army, the Tutsi refugees gained military experience and acquired
weapons. When Museveni finally won the war and seized power in 1986, the Rwandan
Tutsi refugees became part of the regular Ugandan army.
From their new position of power the Tutsi refugees began plotting their return
to Rwanda. It was a country that many of them did not know, since most had fled
Rwanda in their early childhood or had been born abroad. Over the next four
years they created an underground organization called the Rwandan Patriotic
Front (RPF) and prepared to invade Rwanda. In October 1990 they attacked.
The war lasted until August 1993 when Habyarimana finally accepted a
power-sharing agreement with the RPF in a treaty signed in Arusha, Tanzania. But
Hutu extremists in his government did not accept the peace agreement. Some of
these extremists, who were high-level government officials and military
personnel, had begun devising their own solution to the âTutsi problemâ as early
as 1992. Habyarimana's controversial decision to make peace with the RPF won
others over to their side, including opposition leaders. Many of those involved
in planning the 1994 genocide saw themselves as patriots, defending their
country against outside aggression. Moderate Hutus who supported peace with the
RPF also became their targets.
In April 1994 Habyarimana's plane was shot down as he was returning from an
international conference in Dar es Salaam, the capital of Tanzania. His death
marked the start of the genocide.
Genocide
The killings in Rwanda shattered the post-World War II illusion that the world
would no longer stand idly by while genocide was openly occurring. Unlike the
genocide of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia that took the lives of nearly two
million people in the 1970s while Cambodia was rigidly closed to the outside
world, the atrocities in Rwanda were recorded on nightly television reports. The
1948 International Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of
Genocide was shamelessly violated. Several countries, including the United
States, carefully refrained from referring to what went on as a âgenocide.â The
1948 convention would have obliged them to take action if they had.
The UN also failed to respond, unable to overcome the conflicting concerns of
its members. The UN had a force of about 1500 peacekeepers in Rwanda at the time
the massacres began, stationed there as part of the 1993 Arusha agreement. These
troops did not attempt to halt the genocide because UN members were concerned
about becoming enmeshed in the conflict. In fact on April 21, 1994, just as some
of the most violent massacres were taking place, the UN Security Council voted
to reduce the number of UN peacekeepers in Rwanda.
France was in the worst position of all. The French government had provided
military support to the Hutu-led government throughout its war with the RPF.
France believed that the Tutsi exilesâsome of whom had learned English during
their years in Ugandaâwere bent on destroying French influence in Rwanda with
the support of the United Kingdom and the United States. This bizarre view had
very little to do with reality. The majority of the exiles spoke little or no
English, and they certainly did not take orders from the United Kingdom or the
United States. Nevertheless, this belief led French officials to maintain
contacts with the genocidal regime and tolerate the worst acts of violence
perpetrated by their former clients.
Because of the chaotic nature of the genocide, the total number of people killed
has never been systematically assessed, but most experts believe the total was
around 800,000 people. This includes about 750,000 Tutsis and approximately
50,000 politically moderate Hutus who did not support the genocide. Many of
these killings were carried out by club- and machete-wielding mobs, and their
victims often died horribly. Only about 130,000 Tutsis survived the massacres.
In addition to the organized slaughter, there were also thousands of rapes and
beatings, and untold psychological damage was done to those who witnessed but
escaped the killings. Over 100,000 houses were torn down. Businesses were looted,
and other property destroyed. Many of the country's most important citizens were
killed or forced to flee, including its most experienced government workers,
judges, lawyers, physicians, and many other professionals. These losses continue
to haunt Rwanda today in the form of a poor economy, an overwhelmingly
backlogged judicial system, and an inexperienced government.
The killings also triggered a new round of fighting between the government and
the RPF, which sought to stop the slaughter by ousting the Hutu-led government.
As the RPF advanced, its forces killed an estimated 50,000 Hutus considered
responsible for the massacres. The Hutu-led government attempted to use these
killings to convince the Hutu population that the RPF, which came to power in
July 1994, was planning a counter-genocide and that all Hutus should flee the
country.
The ousted Hutu government was partially successful. By August 1994 more than
two million Hutus (about 30 percent of Rwanda's Hutu population) had fled to
Tanzania and what was then Zaire (now renamed the Democratic Republic of the
Congo). Many of those responsible for planning and executing the genocide
accompanied the refugees, hiding among the mass of innocents. Under the
influence of these extremists, the UN-supported refugee camps became hotbeds of
subversion and terrorism aimed at the new RPF-led government.
The Refugee Crisis
At first the RPF takeover appeared to improve political conditions in Rwanda.
The new government was balanced between RPF representatives and Hutus who had
opposed Habyarimana's ethnic dictatorship. The new government seemed poised to
begin the arduous task of reconstruction and reconciliation. But the
power-sharing arrangement did not last.
From bases in the teeming refugee camps of eastern Zaire, the ousted Hutu army
was purchasing weapons with money taken from the national treasury and
conducting cross-border raids. Despite Rwanda's calls for the camps to be shut
down, international attention was focused more on caring for the refugees than
sorting out the guilty from among their ranks. The few attempts that were made
to shut down the camps met with resistance from the refugees, who had been told
by the extremists that they would face retribution in Rwanda.
Meanwhile, as the UN-sponsored war crimes tribunal was struggling to get off the
ground, many of the genocide's masterminds were openly living abroad. Exiled
government officials denied that the genocide had even taken place, insisting
instead that their victims had died in battle.
These circumstances led to a radicalization of the Rwandan government. The
military began to demand an increased role in the political process, and RPF
hardliners moved to consolidate their control over the government. Government
reshuffles in August 1995 and March 1997 resulted in the removal from power or
demotion of many Hutu politicians, especially those with independent political
support. These politicians were replaced with Hutus who owed their prominence to
the RPF. Even Tutsis tended to be chosen more on the basis of their support for
the RPF than any other quality. As a result, the government grew increasingly
authoritarian and militarized.
This trend was reinforced by the sudden crisis that developed in late 1996 in
what was then Zaire. Most of the Hutu refugee camps in Zaire were located in the
two eastern provinces of Sud-Kivu and Nord-Kivu, just across the border from
Rwanda. The presence of so many anti-Tutsi elements in eastern Zaire intensified
existing tensions between the Zairian government of Mobutu Sese Seko and Zaire's
ethnic Tutsi population. In the fall of 1996, the Banyamulenge (a
Kinyarwanda-speaking group of Zairian Tutsis) rebelled against Zaire's efforts
to force them out of the country. Rwanda began providing military support to the
rebels. While assisting the Banyamulenge, the Rwandans also moved to close down
the refugee camps. Amid the chaos in Zaire, the Tanzanian government forced Hutu
refugees who had fled to Tanzania in 1994 to return home.
By December 1996 several hundred thousand refugees had crossed back into Rwanda.
The remainder, including many of those responsible for the genocide, fled into
the Zairian jungle. They were driven westward by the advancing rebels, who by
then were comprised of several movements in addition to the Banyamulenge and
were known as the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of the Congo
(AFDL). Many of the refugees died during their trek across Zaire, and the UN has
found evidence that some were killed by the AFDL. Under the command of veteran
revolutionary Laurent Désiré Kabila, the AFDL overthrew Mobutu in May 1997.
Rebuilding a Nation
With the majority of the refugees back within Rwanda's borders and the remainder
on the run, the threat of cross-border raids had been eliminated. However, the
new situation posed fresh challenges.
The Zairian crisis and the return of the refugees strengthened Rwanda's armed
forces at the expense of its civilian government. The army's association with
Kabila's victorious AFDL brought economic opportunitiesâincluding gold mining
and loggingâthat have gained it a measure of financial independence from
Rwanda's central government. Nevertheless, the military still consumes about
half of Rwanda's annual budget. In addition, the army was given responsibility
for maintaining internal security, a role that led to the de facto transfer of
police authority from civilians to the military.
The returning Hutu were largely alienated and did not recognize the legitimacy
of the new government. Some returnees found that their homes had been destroyed
or occupied by Tutsis. Many were accused of participating in the genocide and
arrested. More than 100,000 people are awaiting trial in Rwanda for
genocide-related crimes, but it may be years before Rwanda's barely functioning
judicial system manages to resolve these cases. These prisoners live in
unsanitary, overcrowded conditionsâin some cases with less than 1 sq m (about 1
sq yd) of floor space per detainee. Over the past three years about 5000
prisoners have died as a result of these conditions.
Rwanda's Tutsis also faced problems. RPF colonels of Ugandan origin have come to
dominate the government, leading to tensions between the newly arrived Tutsis
and those who survived the genocide. Economic troubles have surfaced. The
750,000 Tutsis who had been slaughtered during the genocide were mostly
peasants, but those who returned from exile were urbanized and uninterested in
farming. Rwanda's urban economy is still recovering from the effects of the
civil war and genocide, and although no precise figures for unemployment in
Rwanda are available, many of these former exilesâand many Hutus as wellâare
either underemployed or unemployed.
Rwanda's economy remains badly damaged, with little hope of a quick recovery.
There are several reasons for this, including the lack of roads, bridges, and
telephone lines. Education is also suffering due to a shortage of schools,
educational materials, and teachers, many of whom died in the genocide. Foreign
countries and international agencies have pledged funds to aid Rwanda's
recovery, but much of this aid has failed to materialize. Much of the aid money
that is distributed disappears into the pockets of corrupt officials.
The country remains split along an ethnic divide, with most of the Tutsis living
in towns and most of the Hutus dependent on subsistence agriculture. Because
they distrust the Tutsi-led government, many Hutus are reluctant to support
government economic plans. Demand for land is great, but as a result of
widespread deforestationâdue to the need for fuel and new landâprecious topsoil
is being lost to erosion.
It Could Happen Again
The problems that led to Rwanda's 1994 crisisâoverpopulation, economic
backwardness, ethnic tensionsâare far from being resolved. Politically, the
Tutsi-led government appears bent upon repeating its predecessors' mistakes by
repressing its rivals and jealously guarding its power. In neighboring Burundi a
similar repression has led to the formation of Hutu rebel movements and resulted
in a long-term civil conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands of people.
The perceived indifference of the international community has contributed to a
hardening of positions on both sides. However, some efforts have been made to
change that perception. On July 18, 1997, officials from the ICTR, assisted by
Kenyan authorities, arrested seven genocide suspects in Nairobi, the capital of
Kenya. Among those arrested was Jean Kambanda, who briefly served as the prime
minister of Rwanda during the 1994 genocide and was accused of helping inflame
the violence. The arrests brought the total number of genocide suspects held by
the ICTR to 19 out of 21 indicted. By comparison the ICTY has indicted 78 people
and has 10 suspected war criminals in custody. Two men charged with war crimes
have been convicted.
Nevertheless, many Tutsis are increasingly convinced that the only way to ensure
their survival is to repress the Hutus. Many Hutus believe they have been
proclaimed guilty by association and that no one cares about their sufferings
under the current Tutsi-led government. Extremists on both sides retain the
belief that the only solution is the annihilation of the other. These groups are
preparing for a future struggle, one that could include another wave of mass
slaughter.
About the author: Gerard Prunier is a senior researcher at the Centre National
de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in Paris, France. He has lived and worked in
many eastern and central African countries and is the author of The Rwanda
Crisis: History of a Genocide (1997).
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