successes under colonialism. How colonialism greatly benefitted many Tutsis and put Hutus at a disadvantage will be discussed further on in the essay. The point remains clear: the Hutus and the Tutsis had become enemies, defining themselves against one another. Therefore, I believe, that the civil war, a short-term cause for the genocide of 1994, can be traced back to the influences of colonialism, where the distinction between ‘Hutu’ and ‘Tutsi’ had first become so significant. Another event linking the genocide and the chaos of the civil war is the infamous shooting of the plane that carried the Hutu President Juvenal Habyarimana on April 6, 1994. 4 Although there is uncertainty as to who can be held responsible for the assassination, Hutus retaliated in the mass killing of Tutsis, officially beginning the genocide. 5 This incident again serves to emphasise the extent of the suspicion and revulsion that had accumulated between Rwanda’s two largest tribal groups. Although, Hutu extremists killed not only Tutsis, but also moderate Hutus, it is nevertheless clear which distinction defined the side one found themselves on during the genocidal atrocities. This is the distinction of ethnic identity. Some further short-term causes, which will not be discussed in detail, but should be briefly addressed nevertheless, include factors which did not cause the outset of the genocide but contributed to its continuance and thus to the large scale that the atrocities took on. These include the role of foreign intervention, or lack thereof, a topic which has been discussed in much detail by a large number of scholars, such as British journalist Linda Melvern. 6 It includes the complex economic interaction between France and Rwanda, which ultimately meant that France was providing the military arms used in the genocide. 7 Additionally, the role of churches and their influence in accelerating the intensity of the genocide, has come to be a topic explored in great depth. 8 Taken from a demographic perspective, the issues of overpopulation and their role may also be considered. 9 We can thus see that there are a wide range of factors which can be argued to have contributed to the elongation and intensification of the mass killings witnessed in Rwanda in 1994. However, none of these suffice to explain the initial outbreak of the genocide. 4 Kuperman, ‘Provoking Genocide’, p. 78. 5 Van der Veen, What went wrong with Africa, pp. 169-170. 6 Linda Melvern, A People Betrayed: The Role of the West in Rwanda’s Genocide (London: Zed, 2000). 7 Isaac A. Kamola, ‘The Global Coffee Economy and the Production of Genocide in Rwanda, Third World Quarterly , 28.3 (2007), 571-592, p. 586. 8 Carol Rittner, John K. Roth, and Wendy Whitworth, Genocide in Rwanda: Complicity of the Churches? (Minnesota: Paragon House, 2004). 9 Van der Veen, What went wrong with Africa, p. 173.
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