Analysis: America's Action

As an American Citizen, I am disappointed in America's actions to the genocide. We, the United States of America, had knowledge before the genocide even begun, and during the mass killings, of the genocide, but still refused to take part in it. We could have easily saved millions of millions of lives but not even letting it begin, but did we? No. We sat back and watched it happen right before eyes, and refused to even admit to the public what was truly happening. If anything I can say I am embarrassed that our government, who we hold so much pride in, would be so cruel.

Analysis: Remembering

Growing up in the United States we often discuss the Jewish holocaust, and how brutal of a genocide that was. We have museums and countless memorials devoted to the Jews who where victimized in World War II, but even after the genocide America has turned a blind eye to the the many killed in the Rwandan genocide and we continue to not remember them enough and show everyone enough respect.

Analysis: Killing

When you look at how many dead during a genocide it is easy to think about how horrible that is. But It's not often that we consider how bad the killing itself is, and the murders. I believe that the real shame isn't in how many dead but seeing that much of how evil raw human nature is, and how quickly millions and millions of men, who have both good and evil in them, can so quickly turn evil and kill so many so brutally. When you see men doing such horrid actions, it's hard to even see them as men with anything but evil in them.

The End

The Rwanda genocide lasted  from the 7th of April to the 16th of July in 1994. The genocide ended once the Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF), whose leader was  Paul Kagame, took control of the government of Rwanda. The seized the capital of Rwanda, Kigal, and many of the remaining Hutus fled Rwanda. Most of these Hutus have returned to their homeland, but some do remain in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). A coalational government has been formed in Rwanda and a presidential election was held in 2003, this being the first post-war presidential elections in Rwanda. 95.1% of the vote in the national election went to Paul Kagame, and as election goes, he became president. Even though Kagame is a Tutsi he as ensured unity in Rwanda by making sure the government was not only made up of Tutsis. Ministers derived from all three social and ethnic groups of Rwanda. The government didn't just look past the genocide. The government of Rwanda has been working to return more than two million refugees home. Many people are being arrested because of the crimes they committed during the genocide and prosecutions of these criminals are still being held today, under the gacaca, or the traditional village court system. Prisons are over populated and some perpetrators of the genocide are being released due to this. This is threatening the Tutsi survivor community. Even though the current Rwandan government prohibits any form of discrimination by ethnicity, race or religion, it is still a standing issue and many don't feel comfortable about this.

  Paul Kagame, Rwanda's current President

http://www.hmd.org.uk/news/item/end-of-rwandan-genocide

Other Countries Envolvment

Many countries turned a blind eye to the genocide that was going on right in front of them, including America, and simply let the thousands and thousands innocent people who where being brutally murdered be murdered. France, Belgium, and the United States and at the United Nations where well aware of the mass murders before they even had occurred but failed to take action in preventing them. Clinton, the United States' president of the time and his administration refused to admit to what was going on in Rwanda was infact a genocide, and refused to even use the word, therefore they, as well as other countries, could justify themselves in not aiding the innocent lives of Rwanda. President Clinton and his cabent had obtained documents that informed them of the genocide and they chose to use the term genocide within 16 days of the begining of the murders, but because they had already decided in the United States of America lack of involvement in it, refused to use the term in public. They claimed that they did not fully understand the scale and speed that these killings where occurring.

President Clinton publicly discussing Rwanda during the "genocide."

America and most other countries refused to acknowledge the genocide while it was happening and because of this Rwanda did not receive international assistance, instead all but one American who was in Rwanda fled the country and left the Tutsis to defend for themselves. The Belgians are the ones who gave the Tutsis the higher power in the system and created the social differences between the two ethnic groups, by allowing them to collect taxes and administering the justice system, and the Beligians had been very harsh rulers when the had Rwanda colonized. On July first of 1962 the Beligans granted Rwanda freedom. The violence begun then. Where from 10,000 to 100,000 Tutsis where killed, which shows that this genocide was not the first case between the Hutus and Tutsis of brutal and unjust murder.

http://www.globalissues.org/article/429/rwanda


http://www.unitedhumanrights.org/genocide/genocide_in_rwanda.htm

Mass Murder

Within hours of the plane being shot down murder had begun. The first murders where military officials, politicians, and businessmen, but quickly everyone joined in. Radio propaganda helped form an unofficial militia group called Interahamwe, which at is strongest had 30,000 members. Solidiers and police officials gave incentives to Hutu citizens, such as money and food, to kill their neighbor Tutsis. The Hutus wished to destryoy the entire Tutsi population. 800,000 men, women, and children where brutally murded in Rwanda, for simply being a Tutsi. Many of these murders where graphic and not quick and painless, mainly being done with blunt objects and blows to the head.  The day after the murder of Habyarimana the RPF once again began assulting the government forces of Rwanda. Rwanda's government collasped after, in July, the RPF captured Kigali, and deckared a ceasefire.

Victims of the genocide are pictured above.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/1288230.stm

How the Rwanda genocide begun

Rwanda had been in a lot of conflict before the genocide even begin. Rwanda is split into two ethnic groups, the Tutsis and the Hutus. Both ethnic groups actually have a lot in common, they speak the same language, live together and have the same traditions, but the Tutsis tend to be taller and thinner, then the Hutus who say that their origins are from Ethiopia. In 1916 the Belgians colonized Rwanda and gave identity cards to the residents of Rwanda classifying people by their ethnicity; they also broke them apart by considering the Tutsis superior to the Hutus. The Tutsis where giving better jobs and educational opportunities then the Hutus. The Hutus eventually got very tired of this treatment and started riots in 1959, killing more then 20,000 Tutsis. In 1962 Belgian granted Rwanda independence. Over time the Tutsis kept on taking the blame for every little crisis that occurred. The economy decreased and the current president, Juvenal Habyarimana, began losing popularity. While this was happening Tutsi refugees in Uganda, who where supported by some moderate Hutsis, were forming the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), led by Mr Kagame. Their main goal was to overthrow Habyarimana and feel safe to return to their homeland. After a few attacks and lots of negotiation, In August of 1993 Habyarimana and the RPF signed a peace accord that did little good to stop the conflict. In April of 1994 Habyariman's plane had been shot down, we still don't know who did this, and this begun the mass genocide in Rwanda.

 Habyarimana, Rwanda's president pre-genocide