How Did The Htu Government Gain Power In Rwanda?

In the 1990's Rwanda was a nation that had already been plagued by civil unrest for over 30 years. The Hutu ethnic group made up the majority of the population in Rwanda and were ruled by an oppressive Tutsi government within the Belgian colony. After years of colonial rule a convergence of anti-colonial and anti-Tutsi groups emerged and, when Rwanda finally managed to gain independence in 1962, a Hutu led government was elected (Desforges, 1999). The complete reversal of ethnic dominance in the country disrupted the political system in Rwanda and political tensions were only heightened when Juvénal Habyarimana, a Hutu political leader, seized power in 1973. Unrest in the country continued to grow as a rebel group, the Tutsi-led RFP (Rwandan Patriotic Front), emerged to challenge the Hutu government (Desforges,1999).
The government, along with the majority of Hutu citizens, carried a lingering resentment and fear of the Tutsis. The Hutus turned to a strategy of ethnic division (Desforges, 1999) and believed that an ethnic cleansing would solidify Hutu authority in the country. The president worked to instill a deep-rooted hatred of the Tutsis throughout the nation and "played upon memories of past dominatination" (Desforges, 1999). In 1992 the political situation in Rwanda appeared to stabilize for a brief moment when the RPF and the Rwandan government signed a ceasefire along with a series of agreements that would be known as the Arusha Accords (Desforges, 1999). However, when President Habyarimana's plane was shot down in 1993, all structures of peace collapsed. Hutu leader General Bagosora seized power and initiated the first wave of slaughters of the Tutsi. In the first 13 weeks following the 7th of April 1994, over half a million people were