History of Rwanda

This article relates to the history of the Rwanda .

Time précoloniale

At the time of the Colonization, the European ethnologists and white Pères of the Catholic church contributed to diffuse a history of Rwanda which today is largely called into question. The first inhabitants would have been Pygmy S, certainly of the ancestors of the current Twa.

The first signs of human presence in Rwanda go back to 1000 years front J. - C. archeologists discovered the traces of a civilization controlling iron and the pottery. The white ethnologists and fathers affirm that this population came from current the Democratic republic of Congo. It is at this time which they consider that very first the Tutsi (originating in North) and Hutu (originating in the West) arrived in current Rwanda.

It is about the 10th century that Rwanda starts to transform itself into a true nation.

For the white fathers Rwanda was divided, until arrived of the first colonists, in three groups:

chiefs of ground, mainly of the Hutu;
chiefs of pastures, Tutsi;
chiefs of the armies, also of Tutsi.

This design ethnist is called today into question to the profit of the socio-professional design. The whole of the population shares the same language, the same religion and the same culture, criteria usually employed to define the ethnos group. The categories Hutu (farmers), Tutsi (stockbreeders), Twa (hunters gathering) were not fixed and it was frequent to pass from a class to the other according to the marriages or the richness. In Kinyarwanda, will kwituhura means at the same time to become tutsi and to grow rich .

Colonial time

The first Europeans who evoked Rwanda in their indirect accounts were Richard Francis Burton and John Hanning Speke, in the middle of the 19th century. This country is also evoked in 1885 at the time of the Conférence of Berlin by Henry Morton Stanley.

After short the 4 days incursion in 1892 of an Austrian explorer, in 1894 the German count Gustav Adolf von Götzen enters officially to Rwanda to the head of a troop of 620 soldiers. Rwanda is thus probably the last country discovered and colonized in Africa by Europeans.

In 1916, during the First World War, the Belgian drive out the Germans of the Rwanda and occupy in their turn the country. In 1919 the Treaty of Versailles allots the Rwanda to the Belgium, and in 1924 the Société of the Nations entrusts to the Belgium a mandate of supervision. The colonial government is based on the local authorities in place, Mwami Yuhi Musinga and the aristocracy tutsi.

In 1931, Yuhi Musinga, which refuses to be made baptize, is obliged to leave in exile in current the Democratic republic Congo. Belgium entrusts the capacity to his/her son Mwami Mutara Rudahigwa, converted with Catholicism. The ethnic Indentity card is instituted.

The catholic missions take more and more importance in the country. They take care of education on all the territory.

In 1956, Mutara Rudahigwa starts to assert the independence of the country near UNO.

It is also in the Fifties that the question of “the ethnos group”, became “racial” (for the genesis of this ideology to see Gobineau, Vacher of Lapouge) with the ideology and political propaganda diffused by the Church and the politicians.

Independence

The July 25th 1959, Mutara Rudahigwa dies under mysterious conditions. Kigeli V Ndahindurwa is then placed at the capacity by the advisers of Mutara Rudahigwa. With the support of the Church, the Hutu refuse this succession. They want to be integrated into the new government. Demonstrations degenerate into revolts after the assassination of an Hutu politician. The Tutsi being in minority, they are pursued and massacred, the country plunges then into full Civil war.

In 1960, the old government of Kigeli Ndahindurwa leaves the country for the Uganda, like more than 200 ' 000 Tutsi.

In January 1961, a referendum is organized, 80% of the voters decide for the installation of a République. In September of the same year, the Hutu political party Parmehutu, obtains 78% of the seats of the National Assembly of Rwanda. The October 26th, Gregoire Kayibanda becomes the first president of the Republic of Rwanda.

The Trusteeship Council of the United Nations insists that Belgium grants independence to Rwanda. It is made thing on July 1st 1962.

The first Republic Hutu

Events of December 1963

Tutsi exiled try to return on the Rwandan territory by the force in 1963: they fail. New massacres are made against Tutsi living in Rwanda.

Events of 1973

An ethnic purification campaign in teaching

Following a violent anti-tutsi campaign in educational establishments, in July 1973, Gregoire Kayibanda is relieved by its minister of defense, the general Juvénal Habyarimana. A new wave of Tutsi will take the way of the exile following these events.

The coup d'etat de Juvénal Habyarimana

Gregoire Kayibanda and most of its last government will die in prison, for lack of care.

The second Republic Hutu

Years of seduction

After his Coup d'etat, the general Juvénal Habyarimana seems more not to want to practice the ethnic policy of discrimination of Gregoire Kayibanda, preventing Tutsi from reaching positions of responsibility policy but applies a system of quotas all the same. Only 10% of the Tutsi will be allowed in the schools, the universities and employment and almost no Tutsi will reach a post of mayor or prefect. If some Tutsi succeeded to develop economically while knowing to take ascending on capacity, as Valens Kajeguhagwa (friendly of Pasteur Bizimungu which will become member of the Akasu ), others paid their success by undergoing arbitrary imprisonments and confiscation of their goods. Valens Kajeguhagwa will end up undergoing the same fate before fleeing to join the FPR with Pasteur Bizimungu in 1990.

In 1975, Juvénal Habyarimana founds its party, the national revolutionary Mouvement for the development (MRND). Into 1978, it changes the Constitution and makes adopt a mode with sole party.

In spite of its Dictatorship, Juvénal Habyarimana will succeed in alluring the Western democracies and making pass its country for “Switzerland of Africa”. The international assistance with the development will arrive. Even the journalists who developed criticisms most violent against him him were rather favorable in the years 1980. In 1998, Faustin Twarigamungu, opposing to the president Habyarimana, Prime Minister of 1994 to 1995

“recalled that, if the opposition had denounced the crimes of President Habyarimana, in particular the mysterious assassination of its predecessor and some of his ministers, if it had blamed it for its contestable way to control and in particular for the nepotism which prevailed in its entourage, if it had denounced the constitution of a regional army instead of a national army, the lack of a society project answering the aspirations of the citizens to living together and had regularly treated it of dictator, and even of tired dictator, never President Habyarimana had not been shown to be the enemy of Tutsis. One even said on the contrary whom the coup d'etat which it had made had supported them, and whom in any event, it had opened to them the private sector where they had become prosperous. ”

Collective work “Umuganda”, civic service imposed saturdays, is used to stimulate development actions. Many development projects, facilitated by twinnings with European local government agencies (Belgium, France, Germany, Swiss, etc) underline these good relationships between the Europe is the Rwanda.

The Churches are very active also in these projects. The pope will go to Rwanda very catholic in September 1990.

Under the pressure of the “international community”, in particular of the Speech of Baule of François Mitterrand the 20 June 1990, Juvénal Habyarimana gives up the 5 July 1990 the presidency of its sole party and decides to change the Constitution to give rise to a democracy by authorizing the creation of political parties.

The attack of exiled Tutsi the first October 1990

The tutsi and adverse Hutu exiled in Uganda found the patriotic Front Rwandan in 1987. The Rwandan patriotic Army, armed wing of the FPR, launch an attack from Uganda on the north of Rwanda on October 1st 1990, profiting from a broad support of the Ugandan army - the chief of the APR, Fred Rwigema is then the number two of the Ugandan army. President Habyarimana invites his allies to support it. The France sends troops the October 4th 1990 within the framework of the Opération Noroît. Belgian troops arrive the following day as well as Zairean troops. These last will be the only ones with being committed with the combat while Belgian troops and Frenchwomen will be satisfied to make safe the capital where are the large majority of the expatriates.

Democratization

France conditions the continuation of its military support to the democratization of the country. Combined with the weakening of the presidential party and the increasing opposition, that caused to accelerate the reform process started in July 1990. The June 10th 1991, an constitutional amendment legalizing the multi-party system between into force. The Republican Democratic movement is legitimated and about fifteen other parties will be founded in the months which follow. The functions of Head of the State and head of government are separated, a station of Prime Minister is created, the opponents are released from prison, the civils servant receive the right to strike.

Public demonstrations are carried out by the new parties of the opposition. One will see to a hundred and thousand demonstrators in the streets of Kigali in January 1992. Demonstrations will take place also in other cities. Demonstrations take place in the south of the country. The participants wish that FPR not be regarded as an enemy of outside. They ask a transition government to redistribute the capacity in the country and to continue true negotiations with FPR.

Massacres of Tutsi are made in Bugesera in the south-east of Rwanda. The hard ones of the mode create the Coalition of defense of the Republic (CDR), and at the same time a named militia “Impuzamugambi” ( those which work towards the same end ). The militia Interahamwe, which will assimilate the other militia during the genocide, are also created for this period by MRND, the party of the president.

But the Minister for State education, Agathe Uwilingiyimana, teaching of the south of Rwanda, will impose a police control of the good behavior of the examinations. Much less young people Hutu North (the area of the president) will be this year received there with the examinations. A commando will attack Agathe Uwilingiyimana. Thousands of Rwandan will face the threats armed with the Interahamwe in the street, gathering in a demonstration by solidarity with Agathe Uwilingiyimana at the end of the summer 1992.

In 1992, the opposition parties gain the elections. President Habyarimana gradually loses most of his capacities (in a rather comparable situation with that of the cohabitation in France), at the same time as it must deal with the hardening of his partisans more the extremists.

The new offensive of the FPR and agreements of Arusha

Starting from 1992, the negotiations of Arusha, led in Tanzania with the FPR and whose agreements are signed in August 1993, in the long term envisage the political integration and soldier of the various internal and external components of the Rwandan nation. These negotiations are delayed in particular by the great attack of the FPR, in February 1993, once again accompanied by massacres of civilians. According to the Minister for Defense James Gasana, the troops of the APR kill forty thousand people and cause the displacement of a million others, fleeing slaughters.

The French Army withdraws at the end of 1993, in accordance with the negotiations of Arusha, to let UNO deploy in Rwanda a mission of peace, the Minuar. According to lieutenant Ruzibiza, the unit Charlie Mobile of the armed wing of the FPR is devoted to a massacre in the night from November 29th to 30th 1993, in the commune of Mutura. To make accept a massacre of Hutu extremists, part of the victims are tutsis.

A detachment of six hundred soldiers of the FPR is authorized by the negotiations of Arusha to settle with NDT (Rwandan Parliament). With the stupor of the Minuar which feared the worst during this transfer, this detachment is acclaimed by crowd on her arrival with Kigali the 28 December 1993. This warm welcome is undoubtedly an echo of the demonstrations of 1992 in the streets of Kigali.

The implementation of these agreements is partially delayed by president Habyarimana, whose allies extremists of CDR (Coalition of Defense of the Republic) do not accept the terms. Madam Agathe Uwilingiyimana is selected like Prime Minister during the negotiations of Arusha, but under the terms of the agreements being would have replaced since several months by Faustin Twagiramungu.

The genocide

The April 6th 1994, the plane of president Habyarimana is cut down whereas it was on the point of landing in Kigali. Dissenting members of the government, from which the Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana, as well as opponents, are eliminated as of the following day and a temporary government is set up, with Jean Kambanda for Prime Minister. The genocide will last until the July 4th 1994. It will make 800.000 dead according to UNO and more than one million according to the Rwandan authorities.

See the series Genocide in Rwanda.

After the genocide

One period of “political transition”: 1994-2003

July 4th, 1994, the FPR takes the capital, Kigali, and constitutes on July 19th a government on the basis of the agreements of Arusha, first stage of the rebuilding of the Rwandan State. One political transitional period is issued.

The president of the Republic is an Hutu having joined the FPR, Pasteur Bizimungu. , Administrator businessman of bank, it occupied the position of president managing director of the state enterprise “Electro-gas” until the moment of his escape of Rwanda in 1990. The Prime Minister is also of Hutu origin, like several other ministers, of which that of justice. But “the strong man” of Rwanda is the general - major Paul Kagame, vice-president and Minister for defense, cofounder of the FPR, old exiled Tutsi in Uganda.

In 1995, the Prime Minister Faustin Twagiramungu resigns. In 1998 he will show the FPR to have massacred 250.000 people.

One of the acutest problems after the genocide is to return justice. Very quickly they are 130 000 supposed genocidary which is imprisoned. According to humanitarian associations like international Amnesty, the loads which weigh on the majority of these prisoners could not be checked, the courts being overflowed, and the rights of defense cannot be respected in this context. In certain cases of genocidary lawyers were accused to them-even. At the end of the genocide there remained only one small ten judges and the legal administration was completely destroyed. Many survivors live in the vicinity of the killers of their family. The question of the reconciliation is often proposed like political solution, very badly accepted by the survivors.

The International penal court for Rwanda is consisted UNO at the end of 1994 by resolution 955 of the Safety advice.

The genocidary forces which were folded up in Zaire, old FAR and militia Interahamwe, are devoted to violent infiltrations in the North-West of Rwanda. In 1996, Rwanda is combined with Uganda and the rebels of the East of Zaire. According to the opponents, the dissidents, the group of expert of UNO charged to study this question, academics, the Congolese former minister Honore Ngbada Nzambo, Pierre Péan and Stephen Smith, the sedentary argument is not that a pretext to control Is of Congo, where live the Banyamulenge, Congolese rwandophones, and whose part was a Rwandan province before the fixing of the borders, in 1896.

The military coalition conquers Zaire, ninety times larger than Rwanda, and reverses in 1997 its president, Mobutu Sese Seko (see the articles First war of Congo then Second war of Congo).

After the prolongation of the transitional period, several changes of Prime Ministers, the resignation of the president of the National Assembly, Pasteur Bizimungu resigns in 2000. Paul Kagame is elected president of the Republic by the National Assembly of transition.

In 2002, the Rwandan army leaves officially the Democratic republic of Congo, (ex-Zaire since 1997). However, at the beginning of 2003, the Rwandan troops invade again is DRC, and start to be evacuated only six months later, after the sending of blue helmets. June 1st, 2004, the troops Rwandan and their allies rwandophones occupy the town of Bukavu, in the south of the Kivu, but, as of on June 8th, the pressures of UNO force the troops to be withdrawn. The movement RDC-Gummed remainder armed and constant by Kigali.

In spite of the immense difficulties to rebuild the country which marked the transitional period, the pressure of the international community helping, the Rwandan capacity prepares a constitution and elections by the vote for all for 2003. Wrongly or rightly, the fear expressed by certain survivors tutsi to again see the capacity between the hands of presumedly close to genocidary is awaked. Intimidations of candidates and voters, so that they vote to be able it in place, are noticed.

In 2002, accused of corruption, the former president of the republic, Pasteur Bizimungu, is stopped and put in prison. It is shown to have constituted an unauthorized political party of opposition by the agreements of Arusha (which limited the parties to those which had signed them), of the financial embezzlements and to have published an article where it handles the concepts “Hutu/tutsi”. He is condemned to fifteen years of prison. Defense associations of the human rights, like Amnesty International, rather see in Mr. Bizimungu a “prisoner of opinion”, imprisoned for its opposition to president Kagame than for the officially called upon reasons. The MDR, signatory of the agreements of Arusha, shown to shelter in its center a genocidary ideological current, east dissolves by the deputies. An association of the human rights is also threatened for the same reasons.

It is in this climate of suspicion of “division” that are held the elections in 2003.

Elections of 2003

the constitution adopted by Referendum - May 26th 2003

Inspired by the principal Western constitutions, it leaves nevertheless a broad place to the specific problems of post-genocidary Rwanda, registering in particular in the constitution the refusal of the ethnism inherited colonialism and having led to the genocide. Opponents with the FPR, currents related to the old genocidary mode, and Western observers see a hypocrisy there aiming at reinforcing a political power having a weak base ethnic and wanting of this fact of forcing walk ves the appearance of a made up nation citizens removed from the ethnic concept. It creates also legal tools to support the place of the women in the political life (Article 185 and 187). According to Human Rights Watch, certain provisions of the Constitution of 2003 violent one “right of association, of free expression and political representation ensured by free elections”.

the presidential election with the Vote for all - August 25th 2003

Paul Kagame is elected president of the Republic against his principal opponent, Faustin Twagiramungu, of the dissolved MDR. The score from Paul Kagame, 95%, suggests a lack of freedom in the electoral process. Members of the support group with Faustin Twagiramungu were stopped the day before poll. Some underwent violences before being slackenings. The observers of the European Community emitted criticisms, regretting pressures exerted on the electorate, and noted frauds, but estimate that an important step towards the democracy was crossed. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch on the other hand expressed a great skepticism on the democratization of Rwanda.

legislative elections by the vote for all - October 2nd 2003

The deputies favorable to Paul Kagame obtain the majority of the seats.

49% of the deputies are women, as well as a very strong proportion of senators and ministers.

Period following the elections of 2003

Installation of the “gacaca”

Participation of Rwanda in the international life

Several elements show that Rwanda found after the genocide an opening on the international life. In addition to the particpation with the regional authorities, among these elements, Rwanda is recipient of the forces of the African Union which intervene with the Darfur and Donald Kaberuka, former minister for Rwandan finances, was elected President of the African Banque of development.

Release of Pasteur Bizimungu

The day before commemoration of April 7th, 2007, the former President of the Republic, Pasteur Bizimungu, was grâcié by President Paul Kagame. This imprisonment was highly disputed by of ONG. Pasteur Bizimungu had indeed symbolized a possible reconciliation between Tutsi and Hutu after the genocide. The elements retained for its imprisonment seemed light taking into consideration what appeared with the quasi totality of the nonRwandan observers like the obvious interest for Paul Kagame to thus draw aside his main competitor with the presidential elections of 2003.

Abolition of the capital punishment

The capital punishment was abolished in Rwanda on July 25th, 2007. This abolition was required by the International penal court for Rwanda so that, within the framework of its suspension of its activities, envisaged in its statutes in 2008 and 2010 for the Court of Appeal, it can transfer from the prisoners and the files from supposed genocidary to Rwanda.

Internal bonds

Populations of Africa of the big lakes
Belgium
Burundi
Gregoire Kayibanda
Rwanda - independence
Rwanda - the coup d'etat of 1973
Juvénal Habyarimana
Rwanda - agreements of Arusha
Agathe Uwilingiyimana
Colonel Bagosora
Jean Kambanda
Memorials of the genocide of Tutsi
Bisesero
Pasteur Bizimungu
Kibeho
First war of Congo
Second war of Congo
Benjamin Sehene

External bonds

the genocide in Rwanda (1994) Cliotexte.
white Fathers: Centenary of the Evangelization in Rwanda February 8th, 2000 in Save
Legal commission and constitutional of Rwanda

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