To what extent (if any) can the legacies of colonial rule in Rwanda be held responsible for the eruption of widespread genocidal atrocities in Rwanda in 1994?
Elena Volz - PO-256
This essay will analyse the factors that contributed to the eruption of widespread genocidal atrocities in Rwanda in 1994. Firstly, some immediate and short-term causes will be discussed. Thereafter, the essay will look at longer-term factors that do not, on immediate inspection, seem to be linked to colonial rule. Finally, causes that can be linked to the German and, more importantly, the Belgian period of colonial power, will be analysed. The essay will argue that the fundamental underlying cause for the eventual eruption of genocide is related to the increasing identification amongst members of the Rwandan population as ‘Hutu’, ‘Tutsi’ or ‘Twa’. This identification with an ethnic group, as opposed to, for example, a geographical location, is largely attributable to colonial actions, as will be discussed below. Firstly, however, we will look at some short-term causes for the outbreak of genocidal killings at the start of April 1994. The civil war is an obvious source to turn to. The war was fought between the government of Rwanda, represented by the Rwandan armed forces, and the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), following the 1990 invasion of Rwanda from Uganda by the RPF. Alan J Kuperman argues that the genocide was a ‘retaliation by the state’s Hutu regime’ to this invasion. 1 Here, it is important to note that the RPF consisted mainly of Tutsis who had fled to neighbouring Uganda. 2 This flight was the result of Hutus driving Tutsis out of their roles of power in the 1960s, following independence. 3 This further increased tensions between the two tribes and thus justifies Kuperman’s statement. We can clearly see a cycle of revenge: The genocide was a result of the RPF invasion, the invasion a result of the Hutu takeover of power following decolonisation; the takeover of power, yet again, was revenge over the Tutsi 1 Alan J. Kuperman, ‘Provoking Genocide: A Revised History of the Rwandan Patriotic Front’, Journal of Genocide Research, 6.1 (2004), 61-84, p. 61. 2 Roel Van der Veen, What Went Wrong with Africa: A Contemporary History (Amsterdam: KIT Publishers, 2004), p. 97. 3 Ibid.
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