The Rwandan genocide began on April 7th of 1994 and lasted for only a total of 100 days, ending in July, and was one of the heaviest moments in modern human history. It was sparked by an airplane crash on April 6th of 1994 which was carrying Ruwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana and Burundian President Cyprien Ntaryamira. The violence was an organized campaign against the Tutsi and Hutu civilians across the country. In just a matter of hours the Hutu rebels took over the capital and the streets of Kigali. The killings continued until the “Hutu Power” movement’s defeat.
The extremist Hutus strategy turned into an extermination campaign against the Ruwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). The RPF fought back as the violence grew more extreme creating …show more content…
Rwandan independence from Belgium would follow in 1961, marking the establishment of a Hutu-led Rwandan government. The Tutsis remaining in Rwanda, mostly due to intermarriage or other family ties, would be discriminated against as racially “lesser” citizens by the new Hutu government. The RPF (Rwandan Patriotic Front) was formed in 1985 as a political group of Tutsi nationalist exiles who demanded the right to return to their homeland as citizens and an end to social discrimination against the Tutsi in Rwanda. The RPF rebels invaded Rwanda from neighboring Uganda in October of 1990, re-igniting Tutsi hatred throughout Rwanda. It was this act of Tutsi aggression, coupled with decades of discrimination and fear for a loss of power, that paved the way to genocide. Killed alongside the Tutsi people were those native Rwandan Hutu, who sympathized with their Tutsi neighbors and resisted by defending, hiding, or providing aid to their Tutsi neighbors. Moderate Hutus, many of whom refused to take action against their Tutsi neighbors, were also victimized in the genocide.
Unlike previous genocides of the 20th century, the Rwandan genocide happened before the eyes of the national media. There were many journalists, radio broadcasters, and TV news reporters who covered the events live from
The extremist Hutus strategy turned into an extermination campaign against the Ruwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). The RPF fought back as the violence grew more extreme creating …show more content…
Rwandan independence from Belgium would follow in 1961, marking the establishment of a Hutu-led Rwandan government. The Tutsis remaining in Rwanda, mostly due to intermarriage or other family ties, would be discriminated against as racially “lesser” citizens by the new Hutu government. The RPF (Rwandan Patriotic Front) was formed in 1985 as a political group of Tutsi nationalist exiles who demanded the right to return to their homeland as citizens and an end to social discrimination against the Tutsi in Rwanda. The RPF rebels invaded Rwanda from neighboring Uganda in October of 1990, re-igniting Tutsi hatred throughout Rwanda. It was this act of Tutsi aggression, coupled with decades of discrimination and fear for a loss of power, that paved the way to genocide. Killed alongside the Tutsi people were those native Rwandan Hutu, who sympathized with their Tutsi neighbors and resisted by defending, hiding, or providing aid to their Tutsi neighbors. Moderate Hutus, many of whom refused to take action against their Tutsi neighbors, were also victimized in the genocide.
Unlike previous genocides of the 20th century, the Rwandan genocide happened before the eyes of the national media. There were many journalists, radio broadcasters, and TV news reporters who covered the events live from