First let us recall the definition of genocide. The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 9, 1948. The Convention entered into force on January 12, 1951.
Article II of the Convention states “In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
(a) Killing members of the group;
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about physical destruction in whole or in part;
(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group
(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group (Human Rights Volume I (Second Part) Universal Instruments United Nations 2002).
The targeted killing or genocide of moderate Hutu and Tutsi that took place in Rwanda in 1994 shocked the world. There is ‘guilt of omission’ to act. The international community did nothing to prevent the genocide when sufficient advance warning had been made available (Mary Robinson A Voice for Human Rights 2006: 222).
Understandably – and without pausing to reflect on the extenuating historical circumstances, the immediate trigger or the real genocidaires and who abetted them – the entire international community descended on Hutu people (whether they participated directly or indirectly, opposed or even protected the targeted groups), dubbed them barbaric, bad people or dangerous wild beasts that should be hunted down and killed. Hutus were massacred inside Rwanda and with satellite surveillance were chased in the DRC forest, murdered and buried in mass graves (Debra Liang-Fenton 2004: 41 & Robert B. Edgerton 2002:229).
The RPF government took full advantage of this sense of guilt, forced apologies and pushed the international community to remove arms embargo, pass generous resolutions, admit Rwanda into the Commonwealth club without meeting the requirements according to experts report, obtain sophisticated military training, equipment, advisers and defenders, remove moderate officials from government, strengthen the hand of hardliners, assassinate dissenters and jail others, prevent people from mentioning their ethnic identity, ban strong opposition parties, force Hutu into subsistence economy and birth control practices (as reported by Hutu) in order to keep them down permanently and pave the way for genocide of Hutu hence the term of ‘double genocide’.
In order to pin down Hutu permanently, the government has even decided that only Tutsi were targeted for genocide and not Hutu moderates. In an interview with New York Times reporter Josh Kron, published on April 28, 2010 the Foreign Minister and Government Spokesperson for Rwanda, Louise Mushikiwabo stated “… the reality is that the genocide was committed by the Hutu against the Tutsi, and the reality is also true that some Hutu were victims of the genocide, not because they were targeted, but because they did not want to go along with the plan [of genocide]”. The government also uses as appropriate the term genocide to all Hutu whether or not they participated in the genocide or were even born after 1994, implying that Hutu have no rights in Rwanda!
To repeat, Rwanda government has so far benefited from the “genocide guilt credit” to commit atrocities with impunity. At the UN in New York the Security Council and General Assembly members are constrained to criticize Rwanda because of a feeling of guilt. And the Rwanda government knows it and is perhaps encouraged to take advantage of it and settle scores while it lasts. The UN Secretary-General once expressed fear that Tutsi invasion of eastern DRC was aimed at revenge (Gerard Prunier Africa’s World War 2009: 57, 117, 293 & Stephen Kinser A Thousand Hills 2008:335).
With passage of time new evidence that RPF/A and Rwanda government have been committing genocide at least since 1993 against the Hutu is becoming available including earlier reports that had been suppressed. Also media distortions and manipulations are being corrected thus giving readers a balanced basis to arrive at informed conclusions.
The International Forum for Truth and Justice in the Great Lakes Region, among other organizations, is involved in a lawsuit charging massive crimes against humanity and acts of genocide committed by the RPF government of Rwanda (Peter Phillips Censored 2007, 2006:54).
For illustrative purposes, here are a few cases and sources for further reading as and when necessary.
- In early September 1994 Robert Gersony prepared and delivered a comprehensive report of RPA (Rwanda Patriotic Army) massacres (of Hutu) to the RPF government of Rwanda and United Nations representatives in Kigali. Afraid of the impact of revelations in the report, it was suppressed by the UN Secretary General (Debra Liang-Fenton Implementing U.S. Human Rights Policy 2004: 39-40).
- In April 1995 internally displaced persons (IDP) camp at Kibeho that accommodated about 150,000 Hutu was attacked by RPA and massacred them (Gerard Prunier. Africa’s World War 2009:40). There were too many foreign witnesses for RPF government to deny the genocide (Debra Liang-Fenton 2004:40). In its manifesto the Resistance Forces for Democracy (RDF) claimed that Paul Kagame, the leader of RPA and other Tutsi ministers had planned the massacre at Kibeho (IDP) in April 1995 and recommended that those involved should be brought before an international criminal court (NewAfrican May 1996:17).
- The attacks on Rwanda in 1995 and 1996 by former FAR (former Rwanda army) caused disproportionate violent bouts of Rwanda army (RPA) repression targeting Hutu peasants (Current History Africa May 1997: 196).
- On April 22, 2010 Lusoke Willy sent a detailed message to Ugandans-at-Heart in which he disclosed the locations of Hutu mass graves in Rwanda ([email protected]).
- Professors Allan Stam and Christian Davenport of University of Michigan and University of Notre Dame respectively reported that “the vast majority of people who died in the 1994 Rwanda Genocide were Hutus. Prof. Stam presented his findings at the University of Michigan in 2009 in a speech titled “Coming to a New Understanding of the 1994 Rwanda Genocide” (Ann Garrison. Rwanda Genocide: Some Inconvenient Truths. Blackstarnews.com April 11, 2010).
- Several countries have adopted laws allowing judges to investigate human rights abuses anywhere in the world. In 2008, a judge in Spain issued a stunning indictment of 40 Rwandan officials, including the military chief of staff, General James Kabarebe, for atrocities they allegedly committed after the RPF seized power in 1994. Although President Kagame is immune from prosecution because he is a sitting head of state, the judge ruled there was damning evidence against him (Stephen Kinser 2008: 334).
- In 1996, with Western support, the Rwandan army crossed the border into eastern DRC and forced hundreds of thousands of Hutu refugees back into Rwanda. Those who refused to return were dubbed genocidaires that qualified to be hunted down and killed. Despite protests from the UNHCR and numerous NGOs, the Rwandan army with some Western backing massacred whole groups of unarmed Hutus (Richard Dowden Africa 2009:249-50).
- Oxfam, a British NGO claimed that up to 1,000,000 (Hutu) people in eastern DRC were dying from starvation and disease. The press added its voice by calling the situation “Catastrophe! Disaster! Apocalypse!” The UN Secretary-General also described the situation as “genocide by starvation” (Martin Meredith. The Fate of Africa 2005:533-4).
- In 1998 a UN Commission visited DRC to investigate reports of mass graves of thousands of Hutu that had been massacred by Kabila Tutsi-led rebel army (Robert B. Edgerton 2002:229).
- During hearings of AU mission to DRC in January/February 2010 reports of intentional massacre of Hutu from Rwanda and DRC were reported as Rwanda army chased Hutu rebels indistinguishable from civilians.
- The idea behind these examples is to give the public information about Hutu genocide committed in Rwanda and DRC by Tutsi, information that was not available before or was suppressed. For the sake of justice the law should apply to all perpetrators of this double genocide.
- Those suspected of genocide against Tutsi and Hutu must be tried in an international criminal court. The time for guilt by omission is over. Western governments that cherish strict observance of human rights and justice for all must act now to save their credibility. There is sufficient evidence to take on genocide committed by Tutsi against Hutu in Rwanda and DRC.