Case Study: Rwandan Genocide
- Daiana Ashlyayeva
- Nov 14, 2019
- 9 min read
Updated: Jun 3, 2020
The world history is tainted with countless conflicts and the use of violence in an attempt to achieve power. Conflict is a topical issue in the current society and it can be denoted as the clash of power against power in striving to become manifest. It is the process of powers meeting and balancing out, whether it is through peaceful social terms or through the use of violence. Rwandan Genocide in 1994 was one of the most prominent examples of such conflict that turned into the mass slaughter of 800000 people. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the causes of conflicts to develop preventative measures. In this essay I will outline some facts and analyse the reasons for the genocide.
Rwanda is a small country located in the centre of Africa. It borders with Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Its main exports are tea and coffee. According to the 1991 national census the total population was 7.7 million with 90% of the population in the Hutu ethnic group, 9% Tutsi and 1% Twa. The origin of two ethnic groups Hutu and Tutsi were from their ancestors that raised cattle. People with most cattle were called “Tutsi” and everyone else “Hutu”. At that time, a person could easily change labels through marriage or cattle acquisition. All three groups speak Kinyarwanda which is a Bantu language, practice the same religions and is considered to share a common culture. Before colonial times, crowded living conditions led to harmonious peaceful life and they maintained a balanced social system.
It wasn’t until Europeans that came to colonize the area that the labels took on a racial role.Germans were first to colonize Rwanda in 1894, which favoured the Tutsi because they had more European characteristics. Therefore, putting them in roles of responsibility that enabled them to have more power and privileges, like better job and educational opportunities. Meanwhile, Hutus were neglected and their hatred grew as they had to live in poverty. Moreover, the classification of ethnicities was further increased by Belgian colonists after World War 1, which created a stereotype of Tutsi’s superiority. All Rwandans had to have identity cards labelling them with their ethnic group (symbolisation). However, afterwards, facing a revolution instigated by Hutu and Rwanda being granted independence in 1962, Belgium switched the status of the 2 groups. With the Hutus holding the power, Tutsis were treated badly. In addition, Cohen has highlighted that “colonial experience” and classification of ethnicities was a contributor to genocide as it “destabilized what was a historic symbiotic relationship between Hutu and Tutsi ethnic populations”(Cohen 2012). Therefore, suggesting that colonialists may have pre-established prejudice against Hutu’s and Tutsi’s, which over time created animosity between the ethnicgroups and allowed the growth of violent attitudes. One can interpret that the destruction of a balanced social system was due to the fact that the ethnic groups were in an environment that forced them to compete for power and superiority.
On August 3, 1993 when President Habyarimana, a Hutu, signed the Arusha Accords, it upset Hutu extremists as it meant the weakening of their hold on Rwanda and allowance for Tutsis to participate in the government. After the plane crash, Hutus put the blame for the President’s death on the Tutsi. Therefore, on April 6, 1994, Hutus began the slaughter of the Tutsis that lasted 100 days. Rwandan Genocide left approximately 800,000 Tutsis and Hutu sympathizers dead and around 500000 women systematically raped to cause emotional pain, health problems and/or a Hutu offspring.Moreover, Paul Kagame was a leader of Rwandan Patriotic Front, who defeated Hutu extremist forces to end the genocide. The Rwandan Genocide caused the spill over of ethnic tensions and violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo as a result of Hutu refugee unrest. By the end of the genocide, RPF and Tutsi led militia came to power in 1994. Consequently, causing 2 million Hutus flee to Congo to avoid potential Tutsi retribution and to attack Rwanda from there. In response, Paul Kagame sent troops to Congo in 1996 to battle the Hutu forces. Meanwhile, the world was powerless in that situation. For one, the UN Security Council withdrew from the peacekeeping operation in 1994. However, as the genocide progressed, they sent a more powerful force, in the forms of 5000 troops to Rwanda, but they arrived too late as the genocide was already over and so failing their “responsibility to protect”.
Some of the prevailingelements and major causesfor the conflict identified by Michael Brown are:structural factors,political factors, economic/social factors and cultural/perceptual factors. The ethnic tensions existed in Rwanda for centuries, growing even more extreme as time passed, these were further emphasised by demographics, migration patterns, media and more.Both ethnic groups either feared the loss of power or strived to attain it, hence creating the tension. Therefore, death of the President Habyarimana was a spark to start the conflict and violence.
Firstly, the totalitarian political regime in Rwanda was a contributor to the genocide. Since the President Habyarimana was a Hutu, scapegoating and discrimination against the Tusi’s was common. According to Michael Brown, the discriminatory political institutionslike the authoritarian Rwanda are likely to generate considerable discriminate resentment against certain group, in this case Tutsi’s. For example, Tutsis were forbidden to participate in the government. Therefore, angering them and causing the RPF (Rwandan Patriotic Front) - a military group consisting of Tutsi exiles, to blame the government for failing to address the Tutsi refugees. Additionally, they demanded the end of social discrimination. As a result, one can see how the oppressing and discriminative government could have led to internal conflict. Moreover, ethnic conflicts are often provoked by elites during times of turmoil. For one, Hutu extremist group took advantage of political instability during President Habyarimana’s death and used scapegoating and manipulating tactics in their favour to attract Hutu attention to start the genocide. Furthermore, intergroup politics between Hutu’s and Tutsi’s meant that prospects for violence were greater because both ethnic groups had ambitions to achieve power.
As another factor, economic problems might have contributed to societal frustrations and tensionsbetween the ethnic groups due to the fact that Rwanda is a small overpopulated country which has high rates of unemployment and a resource competition, especially for land. Moreover, after Rwanda’s newly gained independence, the foreign aid started to slow down and the population grew. Its main export’s (coffee) price dropped, contributing to economic decline, which consequently resulted in growing tension. Prunier believed that population density and lack of resources contributed to the “feeling that there were too many people on too little land, and that with a reduction in their numbers, there would be more for the survivors” (1995). Additionally, inferring from Michael Brown - Rwanda has a Discriminatory economic system, which causes unequal economic opportunities for the two ethnic groups. Likewise, as a result of colonialism, Hutu government culturally and economically discriminated against the Tutsi minority which created a gap in standards of living and an unequal access to resources, which could potentially lead on to conflict. Olaifa and Danjibo state that “Power is necessary cause for war on genocide” and therefore highlight the importance of Hutu’s domination in “when the elite has absolute power, war or genocide follows as a common process” (2013). One can see that the strained economy and overpopulation caused the resource competition between Hutu’s and Tutsi’s, while the discriminatory economic system worsened the situation. The tension increased between the two ethnic groups as each of them tried to increase their own earnings, while first the Hutu’s, then the Tutsi’s were in disadvantage. (Hutus blamed the Tutsi population for increasing political, social, and economic problems in the country. Due to the fact that Tutsis used an exploitative business practice, which did not offer any reciprocal benefits to the Hutu in the form of natural resources. No laws were enforced that restricted corrupt practice.)
Thirdly, the demographics of Rwanda could have contributed to the genocide. Weakening of states can be a consequence of external factors. During colonial times countries were artificially separated into regions without regard of ethnic identity, which meant that the ethnic communities were dispersed across different countries and were forced to live within other groups. The co-existence with other ethnic groups often leads to conflict as there is a new, discriminative distribution of power which can be seen in the Rwandan Genocide. As suggested by Michael Brown “when states are weak, individual groups within these states feel compelled to provide for their own defense”. Therefore, allowing them to react more violently and the ethnic groups to be either more assertiveor more vulnerable. In this case, Tutsi ethnic minorities are more likely to be more prone to conflict with highly intermingled Hutu’s.
Moreover, migration could potentially be the foundation of the conflict and the ethnic relationship between Hutus and Tutsis. Rwanda is a small country with a big agricultural industry, so the resources had to be shared. Hutus occupied the Central Rwanda whose pastoralism was larger than in the East. On the other hand, the Eastern Rwanda was surrounded with an abundance of natural resources which over time caused cattle overpopulation. As a result, some people living in the East migrated to the West to find more space for their herds. Furthermore, the overall migrating pattern caused two different groups of people to fight for the same land resources in the same ecological environment.Cohen supports this point by stating that “the genocide was the inevitable result of a long history of ethnic tension in an overpopulated, impoverished nation”(2012). So one could date back the conflict to this time.
Finally, the media played a huge role in the genocide by acting as an anti-Tutsi propaganda that polarized and dehumanized them. According to Mueller (2000) “the whole concept of ‘ethnic warfare’ is misguided. In fact, violence is waged by small groups of combatants” like Hutu extremists that could have used the influence of propaganda to prepare the population for the persecution of Tutsi ethnic group. Meanwhile the behavior of the “general population” is described as “manipulated, confused, and indifferent” which connotes the easiness with which they could have been persuaded or misled into following the leaders and acting violently. For example, “Kangura” newspaper was controlled by Hutu extremists that dehumanized and segregated the Tutsi. By drawing extreme ethnic distinctions, it made acts of violence against them seem tolerable. Moreover, RTLM (Radio Télévison des Milles Collines) broadcasts took an active role in the slaughter ordering the Hutus to take action against Tutsi.The media manipulated the general Hutu population to kill the Tutsi by instilling the fear in them and arguing that anyone who opposed the Hutu Power Movement was a traitor and would therefore, be killed.
There is more than meets the eye, one cannot see the complexity of the Rwandan genocide at first sight. All conflicts are not simply the product of one problem but rather the multiple factors affecting it. Many explain the causes of conflicts through the “conventional wisdom is that the conflicts are driven by ancient hatreds” (Brown 1996, 3) and that the hostility experienced between two ethnic groups were based on history. Alternatively, looking from the primordialist view of Rwandan Genocide, is that the cause of violence between Hutu’s and Tutsi’s was the difference in kinship and beliefs of the two ethnic groups. However, the reason for the genocide was not simply due to the ethnic tensions but rather the combination of demographics, political and economic factors. The intervention of the European countries and its consequential discrimination of one particular group in Rwanda caused a fertile land for ethnic tensions and conflict. Additionally, the totalitarian political regime could have further suppressed the Tutsis and not given them equal rights and opportunities. The hatred between the two ethnic groups kept growing overtime. Carney (2012) argues that “contextual politics is far more determinative” even if there is a “tendency to assume that ethnic groups are locked into primordial and ontological struggles. Politics–matters more than ethnicity.” Although, both of the ethnic groups were nationalistic and raced to power in an attempt to become more superior, they were made to become that way, as without the colonizers putting one ethnic group above the other in the first place, there would not be any conflicts regarding ethnicity. Furthermore, the overpopulation and bad economy pre-established the conflict and allowed both ethnic groups to easily turn against another as Rwanda is a small country and is forced to share resources. However, on the other hand, the migrating pattern of two groups could have been the beginning of the ethnic tension as there was a rivalry for resources to increase their groups economy.
In conclusion I think that a lot of factors contribute to conflicts, in this case Rwandan genocide, as they are more complex than it can appear at first. Therefore, one should thoroughly study all aspects of the conflict. It is important to analyse the reasons for the genocide as one can learn from previous mistakes so that they can be applied to prevent or avoid other conflicts that are as big a scale as the Rwandan genocide. It is evident that there are always consequences to one’s action so people should cautiously approach each subject This knowledge could be applied to many other different conflicts around the world. In my opinion, the ultimate reason for all conflicts is the combination of all factors as race to power including the possession of more resources.
Bibliography
Brown, Michael E. 1996. The inernational Dimensions of Internal Conflict.
Cohen, Herman J. 2012. Rwanda: FiftyYears of Ethnic Conflict on Steroids. American Foreign PolicyInterests.
Weiss, Thomas G. & Hubert, Don. 2001. The Responsibility to Protect
Prunier, Gerard 1995. The Roots of Ethnic Conflict in Africa: From Grievance to Violence
Olaifa, Temitope Abimbola & Danjibo, Nathaniel Dominic. 2013. The 1994 Rwandan Conflict: Genocide or War?
Mueller, John. 2000.The Banality of “Ethnic War”
Carney, J. J. 2012.Beyond Tribialism – Hutu-Tutsi Question andCatholic Rhetoric in Colonial Rwanda
https://www.everyculuture.com/No-Sa/Rwanda.html
https://www.rwandanstories.org
https://www.jstor.org
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