Rwandan Genocide

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The Rwandan Genocide wis the 1994 mass murther o an estimatit 800,000 fowk. Ower the course o approximately 100 days frae the assassination o Juvénal Habyarimana on Aprile 6 throu mid-Julie, at least 800,000 fowk wur killed, accordin tae a Human Rights Watch estimate.[1] Ither estimates o the daith toll hae ranged atween 500,000 an 1,000,000,[2] or as muckle as 20% o the kintra's tot population. It wis the culmination, lairgely influenced bi the Belgian colonization which favored the Tutsi minority group acause o thair mair "European" appearance, o langstandin ethnic competeetion an tensions atween the minority Tutsi, who haed controlled pouer for centuries, an the majority Hutu fowks, who haed come tae pouer in the rebellion o 1959-1962 an owerthrown the Tutsi monarchy.[3]

In 1990, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a rebel group componed maistly o Tutsi refugees, invadit northren Rwanda frae Uganda in an attempt tae defeat the Hutu-led govrenment. Thay began the Rwandan Civil War, focht atween the Hutu regime, wi support frae Francophone naitions o Africae an Fraunce,[4][5] an the RPF, wi support frae Ugandae. This exacerbatit ethnic tensions in the kintra. In response, mony Hutu gravitatit toward the Hutu Power ideology.

As an ideology, Hutu Power assertit that the Tutsi intendit tae enslave the Hutu an must be resistit at aw costs. Continuing ethnic strife resultit in the rebels' displacin lairge nummers o Hutu in the north, plus periodic localized Hutu killins o Tutsi in the sooth. Internaitional pressure on the Hutu-led govrenment o Juvénal Habyarimana resultit in a cease-fire in 1993. He wis able tae begin implementation o the Arusha Accords.

The assassination o Habyarimana in Aprile 1994 set aff a violent reaction, resultin in the Hutus' conductin mass killins o Tutsis an pro-peace Hutus. Primarily responsible wur twa Hutu militias associatit wi poleetical pairties: the Interahamwe an the Impuzamugambi. The Hutu Power group kent as the Akazu directit the genocide. It wis the end o the peace agreement meant tae end the war. The Tutsi RPF restairtit thair offensive, eventually defeatin the govrenment airmy an seizing control o the kintra.

References[eedit | eedit soorce]

  1. Des Forges, Alison (1999). Leave No One to Tell the Story: Genocide in Rwanda. Human Rights Watch. ISBN 1-56432-171-1. Retrieved 12 Januar 2007.
  2. See, e.g., Rwanda: How the genocide happened, BBC, April 1, 2004, which gives an estimate of 800,000, and OAU sets inquiry into Rwanda genocide, Africa Recovery, Vol. 12 1#1 (August 1998), page 4, which estimates the number at between 500,000 and 1,000,000. Seven out of every 10 Tutsis were killed.
  3. René Lemarchand, "Disconnecting the Threads: Rwanda and the Holocaust Reconsidered", Idea Journal, Vol. 7, No. 1, Mar 29, 2002, accessed Sep 14, 2010
  4. Wallis, Andrew. Silent accomplice, 2006, pp. 38–41
  5. Walter, Barbara F. and Snyder, Jack L. Civil Wars, Insecurity, and Intervention, 1999, p.135