Genocide
New York Times July 1994
Genocide in Rwanda has claimed almost 500,000 lives.
The tragedy ends in Rwanda today. If you are a new reader we will catch you up on the recent genocide that has taken the lives of almost 20% of the countries people. This has taken place the last hundred days or so. It started with the Rwandan Civil War which was fought between the Hutu regime and the Rwandan Patriotic Front. The Hutu Power claimed that the Tutsi people intended to enslave the Hutu people. This started periodic killings of the Tutsi people. In 1994, after the assassination of Habyarimana, things escalated very violently. Hutus began mass killings of the Tutsi people and even their own Hutu people that they considered traitors. Several members of the Hutu Power were also high up in the government, and the killings were backed by the government. In the end, with the peace agreement ended, the Rwandan Patriotic Front took the offensive and took down the opposing army. Unfortunately for the Tutsi peoples, the Hutu had a group of people on their side known as the Akazu. These people occupied high ranking places in the government office. This made it possible for the government to not only support but coordinate the genocide of the Tutsi people. The government was backing the genocide fully. Along with the support of the government, the Hutu also gained power over the communications (radio, news). They helped fuel the rage of the people and started propaganda against the Tutsi people. They continuously claimed that there was a great threat from the Tutsi people that could lead to war and even enslavement. With these broadcasts, it kept the Hutu in power to do what they felt they needed to do to be safe, even though the stories were false. This is a sign to all people that genocide is still possible if the wrong people are allowed to take charge of the government, media, and scare people into believing in false ideas. Like most genocides, people have been
Genocide in Rwanda has claimed almost 500,000 lives.
The tragedy ends in Rwanda today. If you are a new reader we will catch you up on the recent genocide that has taken the lives of almost 20% of the countries people. This has taken place the last hundred days or so. It started with the Rwandan Civil War which was fought between the Hutu regime and the Rwandan Patriotic Front. The Hutu Power claimed that the Tutsi people intended to enslave the Hutu people. This started periodic killings of the Tutsi people. In 1994, after the assassination of Habyarimana, things escalated very violently. Hutus began mass killings of the Tutsi people and even their own Hutu people that they considered traitors. Several members of the Hutu Power were also high up in the government, and the killings were backed by the government. In the end, with the peace agreement ended, the Rwandan Patriotic Front took the offensive and took down the opposing army. Unfortunately for the Tutsi peoples, the Hutu had a group of people on their side known as the Akazu. These people occupied high ranking places in the government office. This made it possible for the government to not only support but coordinate the genocide of the Tutsi people. The government was backing the genocide fully. Along with the support of the government, the Hutu also gained power over the communications (radio, news). They helped fuel the rage of the people and started propaganda against the Tutsi people. They continuously claimed that there was a great threat from the Tutsi people that could lead to war and even enslavement. With these broadcasts, it kept the Hutu in power to do what they felt they needed to do to be safe, even though the stories were false. This is a sign to all people that genocide is still possible if the wrong people are allowed to take charge of the government, media, and scare people into believing in false ideas. Like most genocides, people have been