What were some of the reasons for the Rwanda genocide of 1994?

Question

Well, basically i want to know what the reasons for the Rwanda genocide were. If anyone knows what happened then please help me out! Your generosity will be rewarded with the best answer being chosen at the end giving you some points :)

I am not sure but i think that the Tutsi tribe oppressed the Hutu tribe and eventually the Hutu rebelled. However Im not sure so please help.

Answer 1

The Tutsi and the Hutus had always a rivalry but this was exacerbated by their coloniser Belgium and to a lesser extent Germany. The Belgians saw the Tutsis as a "superior people" and so gave them favourable treatment over the Hutu majority. Many Tutsis formed a sort of African aristocracy in the colony. The better jobs and education provided for Tutsi fostered resentment among the Hutus which sparked riots and rebellions in 1959. Many Tutsis were killed and many fled to neighbouring countries. The puppet monarchy of Rwanda which had a Tutsi king was overthrown. Rwanda was decolonised in 1962 and the majority Hutus took power. Playing on the resentment built up over the years, the Hutu government would routinely use the Tutsis as scapegoats and this wasespecially true for the economic crisis that occurred prior to the genocide.

The Hutu government also prevented the Tutsis who had fled in 1959 from returning to their homeland. This Tutsi dispora formed a militia, the Rwanda Patriotic Front based in neighboring Uganda, to fight for their right to return. President Habyarimana used the threat of the RPF as a pretext to harass Tutsis as potential collaborators. The popular magazine Kangura played up this threat as well as producing more anti-Tutsi racist propaganda. The radio station Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines, though nominally independent was materially supported by the government, also spewed sensationalist popaganda that help create a charged racist atmosphere.

All that was needed was a trigger. That came when the Hutu president of Rwanda, Juvénal Habyarimana, was assasinated when his private jet was shot down. Hutus blamed the RPF and this led to a wave of reprisals by Hutus troops and paramilitaries. This soon gathered pace and became the Rwandan genocide.

Answer 2

When Rwanda gained independence from the Dutch, most the the ruling class was composed of members of the Tutsi tribe. There has been a century's old rivalry between the two tribes and the Tutsi habitually favored themselves in the making of statutes and regulations. Eventually the Hutu got fed up with their treatment and rebelled. The rebellion got carried away and turned into a horrible, horrible war. Injustice begat injustice in this case. A good movie to see about this is "Sometime in April". I don't recall if it was an HBO or Showtime movie, but it was very moving and did describe this war very well. I'm sorry the U.S. did nothing to help the victims of this atrocity.

Answer 3

If you have the time, there is a movie that was made in 2004 called Hotel Rwanda (starring Don Cheadle). It is a true story of a hotel manager named Paul Rusesabagina (a Hutu)who opened his doors of the hotel to house thousands of Tutsi refugees during the conflict. The movie shows exactly what happened and who started it.

You can find this film at your local movie rental, or even your library. It is two hours long, but it will provide everything you need. I used it to complete a book report in college.

Answer 4

~If you were really interested, you would simply search Rwanda and go from there. Since you didn't do that, I won't do it for you. Should you actually get ambitious, I recommend you read up on Paul Kagame and what the US did for him and his crew. It might give you a little insight into why folks around the globe don't like America. Those people DO read.