The Legacy of 100 Days: The Rwandan Genocide
The Legacy of 100 Days: The Rwandan Genocide
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  • Context
    • Hutu vs. Tutsi
    • Build Up
  • The Rwandan Genocide
    • Killings
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    • The Media and the Rwandan Genocide
    • Resolution
  • Analysis
    • Effects
    • Leadership
    • Legacy
  • Research Materials
    • Annotated Bibliography
    • Process Paper
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timeline
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Red text indicates most important events.
1894   Germany colonizes Rwanda.


1918   The Belgians assume control of Rwanda.


1926   Belgians introduce a system of ethnic identity cards differentiating Hutus from Tutsis.


1957   PARMEHUTU (Party for the Emancipation of the Hutus) is formed while Rwanda is still under Belgian rule.


1959   Hutus rebel against the Belgian colonial power and the Tutsi elite; 150,000 Tutsis flee to Burundi.


1961-62   Belgians withdraw. Rwanda and Burundi become two separate and independent countries.


1963   Further massacre of Tutsis. Again more refugees leave the country. It is estimated that by the mid-1960s half of the Tutsi population is living outside Rwanda.


1967   Renewed massacres of Tutsis.


1973   Purge of Tutsis from universities. Fresh outbreak of killings, again directed at Tutsi community. Tutsis are restricted to nine percent of available jobs.


1975   Hutus from the president's home area of northern Rwanda are given overwhelming preference in public service and military jobs. This pattern of exclusion of the Tutsis continues throughout the '70s and '80s.


1989   Coffee prices collapse, causing severe economic hardship in Rwanda.


1990/91   The Rwandan army begins to train and arm civilian militias known as Interahamwe. Throughout this period thousands of Tutsis are killed in separate massacres around the country. 


Oct. 1990   RPF guerrillas invade Rwanda from Uganda. After fierce fighting in which French and Zairean troops are called in to assist the government, a cease-fire is signed on March 29, 1991.


February 1993   RPF launches a fresh offensive and the guerillas reach the outskirts of Kigali. French forces are again called in to help the government side. Fighting continues for several months.


August 1993    Following months of negotiations, Habyarimana and the RPF sign a peace accord that allows for the return of refugees and a coalition Hutu-RPF government. 2,500 U.N. troops are deployed in Kigali to oversee the implementation of the accord.


September 1993-March 1994   President Habyarimana stalls on setting up of power-sharing government. Training of militias intensifies. Extremist radio station, Radio Mille Collines, begins broadcasting exhortations to attack the Tutsis. Human rights groups warn the international community of impending calamity.


April 6, 1994   President Habyarimana and the president of Burundi, Cyprien Ntaryamira, are killed when Habyarimana's plane is shot down near Kigali Airport. That night the killing begins.


April 7, 1994   The Rwandan Armed Forces (FAR) and the Interahamwe set up roadblocks and go from house to house killing Tutsis and moderate Hutu politicians. Thousands die on the first day. U.N. forces stand by while the slaughter goes on. They are forbidden to intervene, as this would breach their "monitoring" mandate.


April 21, 1994   The U.N. cuts its forces from 2,500 to 250. The prime minister is killed and the Belgians are disarmed, tortured, and shot and hacked to death. They had been told not to resist violently by the U.N. force commander, as this would have breached their mandate.


April 30, 1994   The U.N. Security Council spends eight hours discussing the Rwandan crisis. The resolution condemning the killing omits the word "genocide." Had the term been used, the U.N. would have been legally obliged to act to "prevent and punish" the perpetrators. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of refugees flee into Tanzania, Burundi and Zaire. In one day 250,000 Rwandans, mainly Hutus fleeing the advance of the RPF, cross the border into Tanzania.


May 17, 1994   The U.N. agrees to send 6,800 troops and policemen to Rwanda with powers to defend civilians. A Security Council resolution says "acts of genocide may have been committed." 


June 22, 1994   With still no sign of U.N. deployment, the Security Council authorizes the deployment of French forces in South-West Rwanda. They create a "safe area" in territory controlled by the government. Killings of Tutsis continue in the safe area, although some are protected by the French. The United States government eventually uses the word "genocide."


July 1994   The RPF captures Kigali. The Hutu government flees to Zaire, followed by a tide of refugees. The French end their mission and are replaced by Ethiopian U.N. troops. The Rwandan Genocide is resolved.

November 8, 1994   International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda is established.

Timeline from PBS.
 

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