1. The Rwandan Genocide
1994

2. History of the Conflict
In the fifteenth century the Tutsis were the rulers of most of today's Rwanda
Put in place by the Belgians to rule
Tutsis were a minority of the population, mostly herders
Majority Hutus were mostly croppers
When kings distributed the land, they gave it the to Tutsis who charged Hutus to live and work on the land

3. Evolution of Titles Originally an ethnic distinction
Everyone who wasn’t Tutsi is labeled Hutu
Became an economic status
Gaining wealth meant losing “Hutuness”
When the Belgians gained the land as part of the Treaty of Versailles in 1918, they used the distinction to “divide and rule”
Issued passcards to Rwandans
Gave preferential treatment to
Tutsis (“with the long nose”)
Hutu’s had “blunt nose”

4. Beginning of a Social Revolution
Hutus begin to form a a nationalist party (Parmahutu) to fight for their rights in 1959
Began killings of Tutsi (20,000 the first year)
200,000 Tutsi refugees flee border and from the Rwanda Patriotic Front
Rwanda gains its independence from Belgium in 1961

5. What we have so far… Tutsi minority is ruling
Hutus have formed groups to fight against the injustice
Tutsi refugees have formed groups in other countries

6. The Rwandan Civil War Conflict lasting from 1990-1993+
Between the government of
President Habyarimana (Hutu)
and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic
Front (Tutsi group in other country)
Tutsis were trying to take back the power in Rwanda
Peace agreements were signed, but Habyarimana (Hutu President) doesn’t cede power to any other political party
Habyarimana

7. The Action of… two extremist Hutu militias The Interahamwe
"those who stand together" or "those who work together" or "those who fight together”
A Hutu paramilitary organization
Backed by the Hutu Government
Impuzamugambi
"Those who have the same goal" or "Those who have a single goal"
Hutu militia

8. The Catalyst
On April 6, 1994,the airplane carrying Rwandan President Habyarimana and the Hutu president of Burundi was shot down as it prepared to land in Kigali
Both presidents died when the plane crashed.
Responsibility for the attack is disputed, with both the RPF and Hutu extremists being blamed
In spite of disagreements about the identities of its perpetrators, the attack on the plane is to many observers the catalyst for the genocide

9. The Beginnings of Genocide
National radio urged people to stay in their homes
the government-funded station RTLM
broadcast vitriolic attacks against
Tutsis and Hutu moderates
Hundreds of roadblocks were set up by the militia around the country
Lieutenant-General Dallaire of the UN Peacekeeping Force and UNAMIR, escorting Tutsis in Kigali, were unable to do anything as Hutus kept escalating the violence and even started targeting the peacekeepers themselves

10. The Killings
Killed in their villages or in towns, often by their neighbors and fellow villagers
Militia members typically murdered their victims by hacking them with machetes, although some army units used rifles
The victims were often hiding in churches and school buildings, where Hutu gangs massacred them
Ordinary citizens were called on by local officials and government-sponsored radio to kill their neighbors and those who refused to kill were often killed themselves
Everyone killed so they weren’t killed themselves:
Mayors
Priests
EVERYONE

11. Number Killed Unlike Nazis they didn’t keep record
The RPF government has stated that 1,071,000 were killed, 10% of which were Hutu (determined in February 2008)
Gourevitch agrees with an estimate of one million
United Nations lists the toll as 800,000
African Rights estimates the number as "around 750,000,"
Human Rights Watch states that it was "at least 500,000

13. Issues Post-Genocide
Approximately two million Hutu refugees, most of whom were participants in the genocide and with anticipation of Tutsi retaliation, fled from Rwanda, to Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Thousands of them died in epidemics of diseases common to the squalor of refugee camps, such as cholera and dysentery
These are the refugee camps that were aided by the UN and the US
The refugees have fueled wars in Uganda, Burundi, and the DRC

14. Questions Still Exist Why didn’t the US do anything?
Why didn’t the UN listen to Daillaire?
How could people kill their neighbors?
How many actually died?
How can we prevent this from happening again?