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.
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
I think do it’s horrible that the United States government would not use the word genocide, in order to justify their decision to not take action. But I don’t even think using the word or not using the word is the real problem. I think the real problem is they knew killing was happening in mass numbers. No matter what you call it, genocide or not, something should be done about that. I also think Clinton was an idiot for saying he wasn’t aware of the extent of murder until he went to Rwanda. I think that was probably his biggest mistake, and that he should have went from the beginning and saw the destruction for himself.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that they didn't use the word genocide was what made it possible for them not to help. If they had admitted to the mass murders that where happening in Rwanda to being a genocide then they would have to be moved, mainly by the public, but the UN as well, to give aide to the genocide, so in a way the two problems go hand in hand. But you are right, even without all the technical terminology it is still sick and disgraceful of Clinton, and the rest of the United States government to do.
ReplyDeleteThis kind of problem also occurred in the Bosnian genocide. It wasn't that they wouldn't refer to it as a genocide, but that the US knew what was happening and waited a year to do something about it. I think that in Rwanda's case it was more extreme, because something as big as Rwanda shouldn't need to be debated about as a genocide in my eyes.
ReplyDeleteIm amazed how we could be such cowards. Not just us, actually, but the rest of the word as well. I think that we refrained from using the wrod "genocide" so that it would seem more like our ignorance was justified. However, there is no justification in making not even the weakest of attempts. We, as soon as we got the chance of getting our hands dirty, chickened out and allowed horrible things to happen. I just can't accept this from america.
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