The Rwandan Genocide Of April 1994: The 100 Day Unslaught.

LATEST UPDATE: The Rwandan Genocide Of April 1994: The 100 Day Unslaught.



Today the memorial for the people who lost their lives in the 100 days of slaughter in Rwanda begins....here is a summary of the event.



What Was the Rwanda Genocide Beginning on April 6, 1994, Hutus began

slaughtering the Tutsis in the African country of

Rwanda. As the brutal killings continued, the world

stood idly by and just watched the slaughter.

Lasting 100 days, the Rwanda genocide left approximately 800,000 Tutsis and Hutu

sympathizers dead. Who Are the Hutu and Tutsi? The Hutu and Tutsi are two peoples who share a

common past. When Rwanda was first settled, the

people who lived there raised cattle. Soon, the

people who owned the most cattle were called

"Tutsi" and everyone else was called "Hutu." At this

time, a person could easily change categories through marriage or cattle acquisition. It wasn't until Europeans came to colonize the area

that the terms "Tutsi" and "Hutu" took on a racial

role. The Germans were the first to colonize

Rwanda in 1894. They looked at the Rwandan

people and thought the Tutsi had more European

characteristics, such as lighter skin and a taller build. Thus they put Tutsis in roles of responsibility. When the Germans lost their colonies following World War I, the Belgians took control over Rwanda. In 1933, the Belgians solidified the

categories of "Tutsi" and "Hutu" by mandating that

every person was to have an identity card that

labeled them either Tutsi, Hutu, or Twa. (Twa are a

very small group of hunter-gatherers who also live

in Rwanda.) Although the Tutsi constituted only about ten

percent of Rwanda's population and the Hutu

nearly 90 percent, the Belgians gave the Tutsi all

the leadership positions. This upset the Hutu. When Rwanda struggled for independence from

Belgium, the Belgians switched the status of the

two groups. Facing a revolution instigated by the

Hutu, the Belgians let the Hutus, who constituted

the majority of Rwanda's population, be in charge

of the new government. This upset the Tutsi. The animosity between the two groups continued

for decades. The Event That Sparked the Genocide At 8:30 p.m. on April 6, 1994, President Juvénal

Habyarimana of Rwanda was returning from a

summit in Tanzania when a surface-to-air missile

shot his plane out of the sky over Rwanda's capital

city of Kigali. All on board were killed in the crash. Since 1973, President Habyarimana, a Hutu, had

run a totalitarian regime in Rwanda, which had

excluded all Tutsis from participating. That

changed on August 3, 1993 when Habyarimana

signed the Arusha Accords, which weakened the

Hutu hold on Rwanda and allowed Tutsis to participate in the government. This greatly upset

Hutu extremists. Although it has never been determined who was

truly responsible for the assassination, Hutu

extremists profited the most from Habyarimana's

death. Within 24 hours after the crash, Hutu

extremists had taken over the government, blamed

the Tutsis for the assassination, and begun the slaughter. 100 Days of Slaughter The killings began in Rwanda's capital city of Kigali.

The Interahamwe ("those who strike as one", an

anti-Tutsi youth organization established by Hutu

extremists, set up road blocks. They checked

identification cards and killed all who were Tutsi.

Most of the killing was done with machetes, clubs, or knives. Over the next few days and weeks, road

blocks were set up around Rwanda. On April 7, Hutu extremists began purging the

government of their political opponents, which

meant both Tutsis and Hutu moderates were killed.

This included the prime minister. When ten Belgian

U.N. peacekeepers tried to protect the prime

minister, they too were killed. This caused Belgium to start withdrawing its troops from Rwanda. Over the next several days and weeks, the violence

spread. Since the government had the names and

addresses of nearly all Tutsis living in Rwanda

(remember, each Rwandan had an identity card

that labeled them Tutsi, Hutu, or Twa) the killers

could go door to door, slaughtering the Tutsis. Men, women, and children were murdered. Since

bullets were expensive, most Tutsis were killed by

hand weapons, often machetes or clubs. Many

were often tortured before being killed. Some of

the victims were given the option of paying for a

bullet so that they'd have a quicker death. Also during the violence, thousands of Tutsi

women were Molested. Some were Molested and then

killed, others were kept as sex slaves for weeks.

Some Tutsi women and girls were also tortured

before being killed, such as having their bosoms cut

off or had sharp objects shoved up their womanliness. Slaughter Inside Churches, Hospitals, and

Schools Thousands of Tutsis tried to escape the slaughter

by hiding in churches, hospitals, schools, and

government offices. These places, which historically

have been places of refuge, were turned into places

of mass murder during the Rwanda Genocide. One of the worst massacres of the Rwanda

genocide took place on April 15-16, 1994 at the

Nyarubuye Roman Catholic Church, located about

60 miles east of Kigali. Here, the mayor of the town,

a Hutu, encouraged Tutsis to seek sanctuary inside

the church by assuring them they would be safe there. Then the mayor betrayed them to the Hutu

extremists. The killing began with grenades and guns, but

soon changed to machetes and clubs. Killing by

hand was tiresome, so the killers took shifts. It took

two days to kill the thousands of Tutsi who were

inside. Similar massacres took place around Rwanda, with

many of the worst ones occurring between April 11

and the beginning of May. Corpses To further degrade the Tutsi, Hutu extremists

would not allow the Tutsi dead to be buried. Their

bodies were left where they were slaughtered,

exposed to the elements, eaten by rats and dogs. Many Tutsi bodies were thrown into rivers, lakes,

and streams in order to send the Tutsis "back to

Ethiopia" - a reference to the myth that the Tutsi

were foreigners and originally came from Ethiopia. Media Played a Huge Role in the Genocide For years, the Kangura newspaper, controlled by

Hutu extremists, had been spouting hate. As early

as December 1990, the paper published "The Ten

Commandments for the Hutu." The commandments

declared that any Hutu who married a Tutsi was a

traitor. Also, any Hutu who did business with a Tutsi was a traitor. The commandments also insisted that

all strategic positions and the entire military must be

Hutu. In order to isolate the Tutsis even further, the

commandments also told the Hutu to stand by

other Hutu and to stop pitying the Tutsi. When RTLM (Radio Télévison des Milles Collines)

began broadcasting on July 8, 1993, it also spread

hate. However, this time it was packaged to appeal

to the masses by offering popular music and

broadcasts conducted in a very informal,

conversational tones. Once the killings started, RTLM went beyond just

espousing hate; they took an active role in the

slaughter. The RTLM called for the Tutsi to "cut

down the tall trees," a code phrase which meant for

the Hutu to start killing the Tutsi. During broadcasts,

RTLM often used the term inyenzi ("cockroach" when referring to Tutsis and then told Hutu to

"crush the cockroaches." Many RTLM broadcasts announced names of

specific individuals who should be killed; RTLM

even included information about where to find

them, such as home and work addresses or known

hangouts. Once these individuals had been killed,

RTLM then announced their murders over the radio. The RTLM was used to incite the average Hutu to

kill. However, if a Hutu refused to participate in the

slaughter, then members of the Interahamwe

would give them a choice -- either kill or be killed. The World Stood By and Just Watched Following World War II and the Holocaust, the United Nations adopted a resolution on December

9, 1948, which stated that "The Contracting Parties

confirm that genocide, whether committed in time

of peace or in time of war, is a crime under

international law which they undertake to prevent

and to punish." Clearly, the massacres in Rwanda constituted

genocide, so why didn't the world step in to stop it? There has been a lot of research on this exact

question. Some people have said that since Hutu

moderates were killed in the early stages then

some countries believed the conflict to be more of a

civil war rather than a genocide. Other research has

shown that the world powers realized it was a genocide but that they didn't want to pay for the

needed supplies and personnel to stop it. No matter what the reason, the world should have

stepped in. They should have stopped the

slaughter. The Rwanda Genocide Ends The Rwanda Genocide ended only when the RPF

took over the country. The RPF (Rwandan Patriotic

Front) were a trained military group consisting of

Tutsis who had been exiled in earlier years, many

of whom lived in Uganda. The RPF were able to enter Rwanda and slowly take

over the country. In mid July 1994, when the RPF

had full control, did the genocide stop.



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