Timeline of Rwandan History and the Genocide

Murambi Genocide Memorial Site

Background Info • Rwanda is a small country in central Africa, about the size of

the state of Maryland

• Rwanda is populated by two major ethnic groups, the Hutus and the Tutsis– Hutus make up approximately 85% of the population– Tutsis make up approximately 14% of the population

1918 - 1926The Treaty of Versailles - after WWI, the treaty

created Rwanda controlled by Belgium. The Belgians put the Tutsis in control of the country.

Belgians introduce ethnic identity cards for Hutus and Tutsis

1957

• Party for the Emancipation of the Hutus (PARMEHUTU) is formed

1959

Hutus rebel against Belgians and Tutsis. Tutsis flee.

1961-1990’s• Periodic persecution of

Tutsis– Tutsis only allowed

small percentage of available employment

– Isolated episodes of violence

– Purges of Tutsi from universities

– As a result many Tutsis flee to the nearby country of Burundi but they hope to return to Rwanda one day.

1986 • Exiled Tutsis form the Rwandan Patriotic Front, a Tutsi resistance organization fighting against oppression of Tutsis in Rwanda

1990 - 1993• Hutus form the Interhamwe, civilians armed and

trained to fight against RPF and Tutsis• RPF continues to randomly invade and fight in

Rwanda.

1992-1995• “Ethnic Cleansing” in Bosnia

– Christian troops led by Slobodan Milosevic terrorized Muslim citizens of the former country of Yugoslavia. There was systematic massive slaughter of Muslim men and Muslim women were held in concentration camps and repeatedly tortured and raped to extinguish the possibility of procreation of Muslim children.

– The US failed to respond for a number of years and then eventually worked with the UN to complete airstrikes and deploy peackeeping troops to end ethnic cleansing.

October 3-4, 1993• US Army Rangers were on a peacekeeping mission in the

African country of Somalia. • On Oct. 3 they were asked to capture a local warlord. The

mission was supposed to take about 90 minutes. Instead it lasted 17 hours, 18 soldiers were killed and 84 others were wounded. The dead American soldiers were desecrated and dragged through the streets of Mogadishu. Videos of this were run on international news. This battle became the topic of the movie Black Hawk Down. It was the bloodiest battle the US had fought since the Vietnam War.

• It led many Americans to wonder about the necessity of “peacekeeping missions.”

August 1993• Rwandan

President and the RPF sign a cease fire agreement that stops violence and allows many Tutsi refugees to return to Rwanda. – This angers many

Hutu power leaders

April 6, 1994

• Habyarimina, the President of Rwanda and Ntaryamira, the President of Burundi are both killed when their plane is shot down near Kigali airport in Rwanda.

• Hutus begin killing Tutsis that night

September 1993-March 1994• Radical Hutu radio begins promoting attacks

on Tutsis.

Translation for the political cartoon below:"What does it say?""Someone's killed Habyaramina."Radio: We demand that our Hutu brothers do not let these crimes go unpunished. Raise yourselves, our brothers. Raise yourselves and work! Affute your tools and raise your clubs! It's time to eradiate the cancer race. Look for them everywhere..."

April 7, 1994

• Rwandan Armed Forces and the Interhamwe create road blocks and conduct house to house checks killing all Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

• UN forces stand by and watch the slaughter, they are forbidden to intervene even to save lives.

April-June 1994

• Hutus continue hunting and killing Tutsis all over the country of Rwanda. Most killing occur by hand with the use of machetes. In 100 days between 800,000 and 1,000,000 people wer slaughtered in Rwanda.

June to July 1994

• Massacres slow and finally cease in mid-July as the UN sends French troops into Rwanda to create “safe zones” and the Rwandan Patriotic Front invades and conquers major parts of Rwanda including the capital, Kigali.