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How did Habyarimana take power in 1973 and what did he do once he had it?
- Habs took power from Kayibanda in a coup on the 5th of July.
Once in power he:
- outlawed political activity
- one party state
- reduced levels of indiscriminate violence against the Tutsi (surprisingly)
- slightly better economy
what caused the economy to drop/fail in 1980
big drop in coffee prices
who were the RPF? what did they do in October 1990
In october 1990, Rwigyema led a force of over 4,000rebels from Uganda into Rwanda under the banner of theRwandan Patriotic Front(RPF) . Their goals were to reunite Tutsi refugees with their homeland and repel Hutu rule. Their attack failed and Kagame takes charge ordering a tactical retreat.
Why did the inital RPF invasion fail
- the Rwandan army was helped by French and Zaire forces.
- leader Rwigyema is killed on day 3 of the attack
Describe the growth of Hutu Power movement. How did they publish propaganda?
anti-tutsi hardliners (including agathe habinyamara) started to push a political agenda (they didn’t want to sacrifice political control) - they operated as factions within political parties - mainly made up of an elite who then spread a message of Tutsi hate across the country through radio (RTLMC) and magazines (Kangura). In 1992 the Coalition for the Defence of the Republic(CDR) became a political party that represented Hutu Power. This became very popular. Several radical youth militia groups emerged, attached to the Power wings of the parties; these included theInterahamwe, which was attached to the ruling party,and the CDR’sImpuzamugambi. They were trained and armed by the army, sometimes in conjunction with the French. The youth militia began actively carry out massacres across the country. Officially this was a programme of “civil defense” against the RPF but preparation for genocide had begun. In Oct 1993 the burundi Hutu president was killed by a radical Tutsi movement - used as a Propaganda.
who took power after Habinyarama was killed in 1994?
a crisis committee headed by Théoneste Bagosora. they refused to recognise the authority of Agathe Uwilingiyimanawho was legally next in the line of political succession - she was too moderate. the group controls the Presidential Guard (elite unit of the army) and takes de facto control of the country.
who was the main figure behind the genocide
Théoneste Bagosora as head of the crisis comitee and de facto leader of the country. He led a group of Hutu power/ Akazu radicals, who used Propaganda to call the population to arms.
when did the UN become aware of the genocide
before it happened - 11 Jan 1994 - the genocide fax - by Dallaire (commander of UNAMIR). the UN did not act on this information.
