Causes Of Rwanda Genocide

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The genocide in Rwanda that started on April 7th, 1994, was similar to the genocide of germans, or the holocaust. Over the span of one hundred days, there were as many as eight hundred thousand killed. Most were Tutsis, some were Hutus that did not support the genocide. This devastating occurrence could have and should have been prevented. Sadly it did not and it ended with death and unforgettable events. Rwanda is a small country in Africa, located in the eastern and central part of Africa. The people who lived there were called either Tutsis who made up fourteen percent of the population, the Hutus who is the vast majority who lived there with roughly eighty-five percent, and the Twa which only contained one percent of the population. There …show more content…
After Rwanda had independence the government had a struggle on the people in Rwanda. The Tutsis who felt like trouble was coming fled to Uganda or other neighboring countries to hide. There they formed the RPF or the Rwandan Patriotic Front. This was a small militia of Tutsis who wanted to go home and take control of Rwanda. Even with the hostility of the Hutus and the Tutsis had, the president Habyarimana began bringing peace but not harmony. In 1990, the RPF decided to fight their way back into Rwanda. With Habyarimana’s support began to falter, the Hutus who were trying to consolidate power rallied around the idea that the Tutsis were common enemies. Since they all had the mentality of hate, it did not help that the RTLM radio began playing messages of hate toward the Tutsis in 1993. The radio would broadcast to urge people to do their duty and seek out the Tutsis and Tutsi-sympathizers living among them in their streets or villages. Eliminate the cockroaches is the message. The radio was the only way to hear the news around Rwanda because there was no TVs or cell phones. Everyone would listen to the radio. When the president 's plane was shot down and he was killed in 1994, the radio would broadcast it was the Tutsis were the one to shoot it down. Till this day, nobody knows who actually shot down the plane of the president. Now with a reason to kill the Tutsis because they “killed” the president the killing of the Tutsis began the next day. April 7th, 1994. Before the president was shot down the Arusha Accord was signed letting the Tutsis return to Rwanda days before the killing had

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