Why Did the Genocide Happen?
Rwanda was governed by Belgium for 43 years (1918-1962). The Belgians favored the Tutsi minority over the Hutu majority. The Tutsi people were used by the Belgians to help govern the land and were also given special privileges (e.g. western-style education). The Hutus felt that this treatment was unfair and created Parmehutu (Party for the Emancipation of the Hutus) in 1957. Violence broke out in 1959 when the Hutus rebelled against the Belgians and Tutsi. The Hutu did not think twice about hurting the Tutsi. They felt that they had been abused by the Tutsi for many years prior to this so it was okay.
300,000 Tutsi fled to Burundi after this revolution. Hutus began to gain power when they won municipal elections in 1960. In 1962, the Belgians withdrew from both Burundi and Rwanda. There was a huge Hutu revolution which ended with the Tutsi monarchy in exile and a new Hutu President, Gregoire Kayibanda. The massacre of Tutsis began in 1963. By the mid-60s, half of the Tutsi population was living outside of Rwanda. Major General Juvenal Habyarimana was elected President in 1978, 1983, and 1988. In 9990, the RPF (Rwandese Patriotic Front) invaded from Uganda. The RPF was made up mostly of Tutsi refugees that had left the country. They attacked viciously.
Image Credit: https://www.mtholyoke.edu/~gallo22e/classweb/Website-World%20Politics/history.jpg
Image Credit: http://www.therwandan.com/ki/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2012/08/Habyarimana-1.jpg
Rhiannon Olivarez-Kidwell