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
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