Main Cause of the Rwanda Genocide
Before we talk about the Main Cause of the Rwanda Genocide, let’s get some information about the country. Rwanda is a small landlocked country found in East-Central Africa, often known as Africa’s Netherlands due to the renowned beauty of its various hills. The country is bordered by Uganda, Burundi, the Democratic republic of Congo and Tanzania. The Hutu people are mainly crop growers, while the Tutsi were cattle keepers. The Tutsi ruled the majority Hutus for several years.
The Rwandan genocide first sparked off in 1994 when the Rwandan president was killed on a plane by an unknown missile. His Excellency Juvenal Habyarimana died and the government army and the presidential guard started to kill the Hutus and the Tutsis in the surrounding communities after an hour of the president’s death.
The main reason for the killing of the president was that the president was a Hutu and there was segregation in the government when Rwanda gained independence, the Hutu people didn’t want any Tutsi to work in the government this led to the assassination of the president and this led to the killing of the Tutsi people by the Hutu seeking revenge; they were identified using their national identity cards that showed their tribes.
The main cause of the Rwandan genocide was the hatred between the two Rwandan tribes, the Hutus and the Tutsis, we can look at some of the other causes of the genocide below. The Rwandese patriotic front started up a civil war, taking advantage of the country’s confusion at the time the presidential guards were killing people. This was a group of refugees that fled into the country after the president was killed. The Hutu people were determined to wipe out every living Tutsi in the face of Rwanda through massive murders. Before the killing of the president, the Rwandan Hutu army had fought with the Ugandan-based Tutsi rebels between 1990-1993. They later began to plan for a way of wiping out the entire Tutsi, saying they were the main problem in Rwanda by organizing and training paramilitary groups.
One of the main causes of the Rwandan genocide is the Belgian colonial rule that denied political power and education to the Hutu. The Tutsi people were labelled as superior to the Hutu people by their colonialists; the German and Belgian colonialists used the Tutsi monarchs and chiefs to dominate Rwanda. There was a political movement led by the Hutu against the Tutsi in 1959 that led to massive killings and the downfall of King Kigri V; this led to the exile of many Tutsis in the neighboring countries. The land was divided by King Charles between two groups, which the Tutsi received badly.
By the late 1960s, the Hutu government had already created the anti-Tutsi programs during one of the Tutsi unsuccessful attacks, over 9000 Tutsi civilians were attacked in 1963. Juvenal’s regime refused refugees to return to the country, claiming that the country was already overcrowded and had no space. The discrimination became institutionalized as a man in the Rwandan army wasn’t allowed to marry any Tutsi woman. The Rwandan genocide began in Kigali; the search for the Tutsi began with other opposition members, roadblocks were set up in Kigali and there were cruel attacks against the Tutsi all over the country.
Radio stations in Rwanda broadcasted their hit lists and directed the killers where they could find the Tutsis. One of the causes of the hatred between the Hutu and Tutsi is the Tutsi king, who was known as Mwami, whom the Tutsi believed to be semi-divine, who was allotted many herds of cattle and vast areas of land, plus taxes being paid to Mwami by both the Tutsi and Hutu.
Though Rwanda has got a very dark history, it’s now a very peaceful country and safe to visit. In fact, it has been labelled as the Netherlands of Africa due to the many beautiful hills spread all over the country. tourists can visit the country and come across dark spots of the Rwandan genocide and learn more. They can also visit the spectacular volcanic massif, where you can discover a lot about the gem of Africa.
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