Genocide in Rwanda:

Presented By: Mr. SlezakWorld CulturesApril 22, 2023

Hutus versus Tutsis

Lesson Objectives…

Define genocide and its relevance to Rwanda.

Identify similarities and differences between Hutus and Tutsis living in Central Africa.

Determine the origin of Rwandan genocide.

Rwanda’s National Flag…

Rwandan Geography…

What is Genocide?

What is Genocide?

Genocide:The policy of

deliberately killing a nationality or ethnic group.

Background on Hutus…

Background on Hutus…

Hutu or Abahutu

Central African People

Reside in Rwanda, Burundi, and Refugees in DR Congo

Background on Hutus…

Roughly 11. 5 Million People

Speak Rwanda-Rundi and French

Primarily Christian

Background on Tutsis…

Background on Tutsis…

Tutsi or Abatutsi

Central African People

Reside in Rwanda, Burundi, and Refugees in Eastern DR of Congo

Background on Tutsis…

Roughly 2.5 Million People

Speak Rwanda-Rundi, French, and English

Primarily Christian

Origin of Conflict…

Origin of Conflict…

During the 1860s, the Tutsi were the aristocracy.

The Hutu were their servants while both tribes lived in Rwanda together under the rule of a Tutsi king.

After World War I the League of Nations (an early version of the United Nations) gave Belgium power to administer Rwanda.

Origin of Conflict…

The Belgians used the already existing Tutsi and Hutu differences and made these differences part of their colonial system.

The Hutu were used as forced labor for the colonial administration, and the Tutsi supervised them. In 1933, Rwandans were given an ethnic identity card showing if they were Hutu or Tutsi.

At that time, 85% were Hutu and 15% were Tutsi. This ID card and Belgium’s policy of favoring the Tutsi over the Hutu prepared Rwanda for future violence.

Origin of Conflict…

United Nations Involvement…

Arusha Accords:

Signed in Arusha, Tanzania on August 4, 1993, by the government of Rwanda and the (RPF), under mediation, to end a three-year Rwandan Civil War.

Organized by the United States, France, and the Organization of African Unity, the talks began on July 12, 1992, and lasted until June 24, 1993, with a final week-long meeting in Rwanda, July 19 to July 25, 1993.

Origin of Conflict…

In 1959, three years before independence from Belgium in 1962, the Hutus overthrew the ruling Tutsi king.

Over the next several years, thousands of Tutsis were killed. About 150,000 went into exile in neighboring countries.

The children of these Tutsi exiles later formed a rebel group, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), and began a civil war in 1990. This war, along with political and economic problems, made ethnic tensions worse and led to the April 1994 genocide shown in the film Hotel Rwanda.

Origin of Conflict… The assassination of Habyarimana in April 1994 set off a

violent reaction, during which Hutu groups conducted mass killings of Tutsis.

Hutu then in power killed an estimated 500,000–1,000,000 people, largely of Tutsi origin.

The RPF would later rearm and train themselves while residing in neighboring Uganda. One of their major military strategies learned and utilized was guerrilla warfare.

The Future of Rwanda…

Rwanda is dedicated to its population earning an average or typical middle-class income by 2020.

Genocide between warring tribes is over and Rwanda is dedicated to modernizing both socially and economically.

Tourism is now Rwanda’s main source of national income, which their mountain guerillas are a major attraction.

“Hotel Rwanda”