Rwanda Genocide By: Ryan Kreber and Luke Bartolomei

Causes of the genocide  Tensions between the majority Hutus and the Tusis  The Belgian colonial rule, which rewarded Tutsis with a western education, and denied political and economic power to the Hutus  Rwandan independence, when the were discriminated against and went into exile in Uganda in 1963  Civil War, when the Tutsis returned to Rwanda in 1990, ending in a cease fire by Hutu president  President Habyariman, a hutu, was shot shot down and the Hutus blamed the Tutsi

Timeline of the genocide  1959 – Hutus overthrown and kill Tutsi king  Tusi become refugees in Uganda  1962 – Hutus form their own government and make independence for Rwanda  – Hutu militia murder 10,000 Tutsi  1965 – Tusi army murders Huti

Timeline continued  1989 – hundreds of thousands of Rwandan farmers loose money when coffee prices plummet  1990 – Tusi come back to Rwanda  Rwanda Patriotic Front begins civil war with Hutu Rwandan army  1992 – army begins murder campaign against hutus  1994 – Rwandan presidents plane is shot down and tusi are blamed signaling the beginning of the Rwandan genocide  1994 – genocide ends (lasted 100 days, April – June)

People and sides  Rwanda had a population of seven million composed of three different groups  Hutu  Tutsi  Twa  Elite Hutu extremists blamed the Tutsi for Rwanda’s recent social, economic, and political problems

People/sides continued  Tutsi civilians were accused of supporting a Tutsi dominant rebel group known as The Rwanda Patriotic Front  Hutu president, Habyarimana, used propaganda to force people to look down upon the minority Tusi’s  Years ago the Tusti had an oppressive rule over the Hutu and Twa which caused more anger to the now minority Tusi’s

End result  Between April and June of 1994, 800,000 Rwandans were killed  75% of Tutsi population was murdered  Due to the genocide Rwanda population is only 20% male  Children were out of school and Rwanda’s economic system was collapsed  International Criminal for Tribunal Rwanda was created to bring criminals to justice from the genocide

Pledge Awareness and Prevent future genocides  A genocide is deliberate killing of a large group of people, usually a particular ethnic group  In the past 150 years, tens of millions of men, women and children have lost their lives in genocide or mass atrocities. Millions have been tortured, raped or forced from their home.  2 reasons why genocide still occurs:  The world has not developed the international institutions needed to predict and prevent it.  The worlds leaders do not have the political will power to stop it.

Pledge Awareness and Prevent future genocides Cont.  They can be stopped by:  Sound the Alarm and Demand Action- People must speak up and demand that government leaders make the right choices to prevent and stop atrocities.  Stop the Enablers. Perpetrators of genocide and mass atrocities cannot succeed without the support of other governments and corporations. People must follow the money and apply public pressure to shame and stop companies and governments that finance mass violence.  Make human rights and genocide prevention core values in U.S. foreign policy.

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