| dc.description.abstract | The 1994 genocide civil war in Rwanda I was sparked by the shooting of Rwandese
President Juvenal Habyarimana's private plane causing his death and other entourages
aboard the plane, including the Burundian president Cyprien Ntarymira. 2 Hutu
extremists immediately accused the Rwandes Patriotic Front (RPF) of assassinating
President Habyarimana who was a Hutu. This resulted to a systematic and well organised
killing of the minority Tutsis and moderate Hutus by the militiamen of the ethnic Hutu
majority. The killings then spread throughout the countryside as Hutu militia, armed with
machetes, clubs, guns and grenades, began indiscriminately killing Tutsi civilians3 who
were referred to as 'cockroaches' and 'the enemy.' Subsequently, all individuals in
Rwanda carried identification cards specifying their ethnic background. The media
played a major role in spreading hate racist propaganda. For instance, radio broadcasts
from the station popularly known as Radio-Television Libre des Milles Collines, set-up
by two close associates of president Habayarimana came in handy. The station is said to
have broadcasted unceasing message of hate in the months leading up to the massacre. At
the height of the killings, one message reportedly sent over the airwaves was, "the grave
is only half full, who will help us fill it?,,4 Hutu soldiers, the presidential guard, and the
militias- interahamwe (those who attack) and the impuzamugambi (those with one aim)
began to hunt down and kill Tutsi civilians. Sufficient evidence exists to confirm that the
slaughter that ensued was not chaotic, uncontrolled violence but rather a planned and
organised campaign of genocide. 5 | en_US |
