Join our e-mail list Rwanda: A Brief History of the Country By 1994, Rwanda’s population stood at more than 7 million people comprising three ethnic groups: the Hutu (who made up roughly 85% of the population), the Tutsi (14%) and the Twa (1%). Prior to the colonial era, Tutsis generally occupied the higher strata in the social system and the Hutus the lower. However, social mobility was possible, a Hutu who acquired a large number of cattle or other wealth could be assimilated into the Tutsi group and impoverished Tutsi would be regarded as Hutu. A clan system also functioned, with the Tutsi clan known as the Nyinginya being the most powerful. Throughout the 1800s, the Nyingiya expanded their influence by conquest and by offering protection in return for tribute. Ethnic Conflict Begins The former colonial power, Germany, lost possession of Rwanda during the First World War and the territory was then placed under Belgian administration. In the late 1950’s during the great wave of decolonization, tensions increased in Rwanda.

The Hutu political movement, which stood to gain from majority rule, was gaining momentum while segments of the Tutsi establishment resisted democratization and the loss of their acquired privileges. In November 1959, a violent incident sparked a Hutu uprising in which hundreds of Tutsi were killed and thousands displaced and forced to flee to neighboring countries. This marked the start of the so- called ‘Hutu Peasant Revolution’ or ‘social revolution’ lasting from 1959 to 1961, which signified the end of Tutsi domination and the sharpening of ethnic tensions. By 1962, when Rwanda gained independence, 120,000 people, primarily Tutsis, had taken refuge in neighboring states to escape the violence which had accompanied the gradual coming into power of the Hutu community. A new cycle of ethnic conflict and violence continued after independence. Tutsi refugees in Tanzania and Zaire seeking to regain their former positions in Rwanda began organizing and staging attacks on Hutu targets and the Hutu government.

Ten such attacks occurred between 1962 and 1967, each leading to retaliatory killings of large numbers of Tutsi civilians in Rwanda and creating new waves of refugees. By the end of the 1980s some 480,000 Rwandans had become refugees, primarily in Burundi, Uganda, Zaire and Tanzania. They continued to call for the fulfillment of their international legal right to return to Rwanda, however, Juvenal Habyarimana, then president of Rwanda, took the position that population pressures were already too great, and economic opportunities too few to accommodate large numbers of Tutsi refugees. The Civil War In 1988, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) was founded in Kampala, Uganda as a political and military movement with the stated aims of securing repatriation of Rwandans in exile and reforming of the Rwandan government, including political power sharing. The RPF was composed mainly of Tutsi exiles in Uganda, many of whom had served in President Yoweri Museveni’s National Resistance Army, which had overthrown the previous Ugandan government in 1986.

While the ranks of the RPF did include some Hutus, the majority, particularly those in leadership positions, were Tutsi refugees. On 1 October 1990, the RPF launched a major attack on Rwanda from Uganda with a force of 7,000 fighters. Because of the RPF attacks which displaced thousands and a policy of deliberately targeted propaganda by the government, all Tutsis inside the country were labeled accomplices of the RPF and Hutu members of the opposition parties were labeled as traitors. Media, particularly radio, continued to spread unfounded rumours, which exacerbated ethnic problems. In August 1993, through the peacemaking efforts of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and the governments in the region, the signing of the Arusha peace agreements appeared to have brought an end to the conflict between the then Hutu dominated government and the opposition Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). In October 1993, the Security Council established the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) with a mandate encompassing peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance and general support for the peace process.

From the outset, however, the will to achieve and sustain peace was subverted by some of the Rwandan political parties participating in the Agreement. With the ensuing delays in its implementation, violations of human rights became more widespread and the security situation deteriorated. Later, evidence demonstrated irrefutably that extremist elements of the Hutu majority while talking peace were in fact planning a campaign to exterminate Tutsis and moderate Hutus. The Genocide On 6 April 1994, the deaths of the Presidents of Burundi and Rwanda in a plane crash caused by a rocket attack, ignited several weeks of intense and systematic massacres. The killings - as many as 1 million people are estimated to have perished - shocked the international community and were clearly acts of genocide. An estimated 150,000 to 250,000 women were also raped. Members of the presidential guard started killing Tutsi civilians in a section of Kigali near the airport. Less than half an hour after the plane crash, roadblocks manned by Hutu militiamen often assisted by gendarmerie (paramilitary police) or military personnel were set up to identify Tutsis.

On 7 April, Radio Television Libres Des Mille Collines (RTLM) aired a broadcast attributing the plane crash to the RPF and a contingent of UN soldiers, as well as incitements to eliminate the "Tutsi cockroach". Later that day the Prime Minister, Agathe Uwilingiyimana and 10 Belgian peacekeepers assigned to protect her were brutally murdered by Rwandan government soldiers in an attack on her home. Other moderate Hutu leaders were similarly assassinated. After the massacre of its troops, Belgium withdrew the rest of its force. On 21 April, after other countries asked to withdraw troops, the UNAMIR force reduced from an initial 2,165 to 270. If the absence of a resolute commitment to reconciliation by some of the Rwandan parties was one problem, the tragedy was compounded by the faltering response of the international community. The capacity of the United Nations to reduce human suffering in Rwanda was severely constrained by the unwillingness of Member States to respond to the changed circumstances in Rwanda by strengthening UNAMIR’s mandate and contributing additional troops. On June 22, the Security Council authorized French-led forces to mount a humanitarian mission.

The mission, called Operation Turquoise, saved hundreds of civilians in South West Rwanda, but is also said to have allowed soldiers, officials and militiamen involved in the genocide to flee Rwanda through the areas under their control. In other areas, killings continued until 4 July 1994 when the RPF took military control of the entire territory of Rwanda. The Aftermath of the Genocide Government officials, soldiers and militia who had participated in the genocide fled to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), then known as Zaire, taking with them 1.4 million civilians, most of them Hutu who had been told that the RPF would kill them. Thousands died of water-borne diseases. The camps were also used by former Rwandan government soldiers to re-arm and stage invasions into Rwanda. The attacks were one of the factors leading to the war between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo that took place in 1996. Former Rwandan forces continue to operate in the DRC alongside Congolese militia and other armed groups. They continue to target civilian populations and cause deaths, injury and harm. The Rwandan government began the long-awaited genocide trials at the end of 1996.

The delay was due to the fact that the country had lost most of its judicial personnel, not to mention the destruction to courts, jails and other infrastructure. By 2000, there were over 100,000 genocide suspects awaiting trial. In 2001, the government began implementing a participatory justice system, known as Gacaca, (pronounced GA-CHA-CHA) in order to address the enormous backlog of cases. Communities elected judges to hear the trials of genocide suspects accused of all crimes except planning of genocide or rape. The defendants in Gacaca courts have been released provisionally awaiting trial. The releases have caused a lot of unhappiness among survivors who see it as a form of amnesty. Rwanda continues to use the national court system to try those involved in planning genocide or rape under normal penal law. These courts do not offer provisional release for genocide defendants. The Gacaca courts give lower sentences if the person is repentant and seeks reconciliation with the community. These courts are intended to help the community participate in the process of justice and reconciliation for the country.

At the international level, the Security Council on 8 November 1994 set up the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, currently based in Arusha, Tanzania. Investigations began in May 1995. The first suspects were brought to the court in May 1996 and the first case began in January 1997. The UN Tribunal has jurisdiction over all violations of international human rights that happened in Rwanda between January and December 1994. It has the capacity to prosecute high-level members of the government and armed forces that may have fled the country and would otherwise have gone unpunished. The court has since convicted the Prime Minister during the genocide Jean Kambanda, to life in prison. It was also the first international court to convict a suspect for rape as a crime against humanity and a crime of genocide. The court also tried three media owners accused of using their respective media to incite ethnic hatred and genocide. By April 2007, it had handed down twenty-seven judgments involving thirty-three accused.

Timeline of Events in Rwanda and Burundi Timeline of Events in Rwanda and Burundi COLONIAL PERIOD 1890s: Germany claimed Ruanda and Urundi (Burundi) 1919: Germany lost Ruanda-Urundi to Belgium under the League of Nations mandate system. Both Germany and Belgium ruled through the traditional system of Tutsi nobles, headed by the Mwami.

1950s/late: Belgium created local government to prepare Rwandans and Burundians for self-government 1950s: (Burundi) Tutsi prince Louis Rwangazore founded a multi-ethnic party, the Union for National Progress (UPRONA) 1959: (Rwanda) The Tutsi Mwami died and riots broke out with the Hutu majority fighting against the Tutsi aristocracy 1961: (Rwanda) Before the violence had entirely died away, the first pre-independence elections were held and won by the Hutu Emancipation Movement, known as PARMEHUTU INDEPENDENCE 1962: (Rwanda) Rwanda and Burundi became independent from Belgium as separate countries, even though both were ethnically and cultural united. Burundi's first government was controlled by Tutsi while the first Rwandan government was Hutu.

1962: (Burundi) Prince Rwagazore was assassinated, but his party UPRONA led the first independence government with King Mwambutsa IV's collaboration 1962-1963: From bases in western Uganda, Tutsi refugees called the Inyenzi launched attacks into Rwanda. 1963-1964: (Rwanda) More violence caused 10s-100,000s of Tutsi to flee to Burundi, Uganda and Tanzania. Thei numbers grew to 200,000-1,000,000, and they failed to integrate into their new countries. The Rwanda government refused to allow them to return. 1965: (Burundi) Multi-ethnic government broke down during the first elections after Hutu politicians won control of both houses of parliament. King Mwambutsa abolished the legislature before it could meet and the (Hutu-dominated) army revolted. The army coup was crushed by Tutsi officers led by Michel Micombero. King Mwambutsa IV fled the country and his son Ntare V assumed power.

Micombero dismissed Ntare and authorized reprisals that resulted in about 5,000 Hutu deaths. Micombero set up a "Government of Public Safety" modeled after the French revolutionary government that included extraordinary police powers for a strong, centralized government. 1969: (Burundi) There was a major purge of Hutu elite. 1972: (Burundi) Uganda's Idi Amin assisted Micombero to arrest Ntare V (who later died while in custody in Burundi). Citing riots that killed 2000 top Tutsi officials, Micombero declared martial law. Educated Hutu were targeted and between 80,000 and 500,000 died, while more than 100,000 Hutu fled to neighboring countries and did not return. Meanwhile, France, China and Libya increased their military aid to the Burundi government, and a report by the International Commission of Jurists and the International Leaugue of the Rights of Man identified systematic human rights abuses by the government against Hutu citizens.

1973: (Rwanda) General Juvenal Habyarimana seized power in a military coup. He was a northern Hutu. 1974: (Burundi) Micombero revised the constitution to create a one-party state under UPRONA. 1975: (Burundi) Although the UN Commission on Human Rights opened prosecution against Burundi officials for human rights violations against Hutu citizens, the case later was dropped. 1975: (Rwanda) Habyarimana declared a one-party state under the MRND as a way to overcome ethnic divisions. A system of quotas was devised to limit Tutsi participation in civil service jobs 1975/07/18: (Rwanda) France signed its first "Technical Military Assistance Agreement (TMAA) with Rwanda. 1976: (Burundi) Micombero was overthrown by a military coup led by Colonel Jean-Baptiste Bagaza, but power remained in the hands of a Tutsi elite composed of army, civil servants and UPRONA. 1985: (Burundi) Bagaza widened repression against opponents of the government to include the Catholic Church.

1987: (Burundi) Bagaza was overthrown by Pierre Buyoyo in another military coup. 1987: (Rwanda) coffee prices collapsed, crushing the Rwandan economy 1988: (Burundi) There was more ethnic violence in Burundi when the army killed 5-25,000 Hutu in reprisal for Hutu murders of several Tutsi in the north. Roughly 60,000 Hutu fled to Rwanda and another 100,000 became homeless in Burundi. 1989: (Rwanda) Coffee prices declined another 50%, and since coffee in Rwanda was produced by many small-scale family production units, the effects spread throughout the economy. World Bank reforms called for austerity measures that further reduced family purchasing power. 1990s/early: (Rwanda) Drought hit several regions of Rwanda. since depressed coffee prices had cut earnings for several years, some people were unable to buy food and several hundreds died.

1990/10/01: (Rwanda) A civil war began when the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front, composed mainly of people who fled in 1959-1960 and their descendants, invaded from Uganda. Many Rwandans saw this as an attempt to reimpose the colonial-era government. France increased its military support to the Rwandan government. More than 700,000 people were made homeless and the government increased its repressive measures in order to stifle opposition. 1991: (Burundi) The Revolutionary Party for the Liberation of the Hutu People (PALIPEHUTU) launched further attacks, starting a new round of violence. 1991/late: (Burundi) Buyoyo increased Hutu participation in government. Although Hutus dominate ministerial posts, final power rested with the the all-Tutsi Military Committee of National Salavation. 1992/03: (Rwanda) Habiyarimana formed a multiparty government headed by prime minister Dismas Nsengiyaremye. 1992: (Burundi) A new constitution opened the way for multi-party elections.

1993: (Burundi) Scheduled elections failed to occur when more large-scale violence broke out. About 175,000 refugees fled from Burundi into Rwanda. 1993/08/04: (Rwanda) Second invasion of Rwanda from Uganda by Rwandan Patriotic Front troops. 1993/08/04: (Rwanda) The Arusha Peace Accord was signed but never implemented due to opposition from hard-line members of Habyarimana's government. 1993/10/05: (Rwanda) The United Nations authorized a peacekeeping force (UNAMIR) to monitor the Arusha Peace Accord process. 1994/04/06: (Rwanda) A French Mystere-Falcon aircraft was shot down, killing Presidents Juvenal Habyarimana of Rwanda and Cyprien Ntaryamira of Burundi. A UN investigation based on Belgian sources blamed the shooting on the Rwandan presidential guard, who immediately spread out through Kigali to hunt down pro-democracy politicians.

Among the dead were democratic politicians and Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana, a Hutu and one of the first African women vice-presidents. Food aid distribution to 700,000 refugees in the north ceased. 1994/04/07: (Rwanda) Violence broke out and made headlines in the West. Armed gangs of thugs were responsible for atrocious killings of minority Tutsis including many women and children. 1994/04/08: (Rwanda) The Rwandan Patriotic Front (Tutsi rebel movement based in Uganda) launched an offensive against the Rwandan capital of Kigali. Government forces launched counter-operations that targeted Tutsis. 190 French soldiers landed and secured the Kigali Airport without notifying the UN. Theodore Sindikubwabo declared himself president of an interim Rwandan "Hutu Power" government. 1994/04/09: (Rwanda) 400 more French troops arrived in Kigali.

1994/04/12: (Rwanda) The RPF ordered the remaining French and Belgians to get out of Kigali. 1994/04/14: (Rwanda) The French completed the evacuation of 1,361 people including 450 French nationals and 178 Rwandan officials or their families. 1994/04/21: (Rwanda) Ignoring widespread violence, the UN Security Council voted to reduce its force in Rwanda (UNAMIR) from 2,500 to 270 soldiers. 1994/05: (Rwanda) US President Clinton issued Presidential Decision Directive (PDD 25) which required a clear statement of American interests, the approval of Congress, availability of funds, a specific date for withdrawal, and an agreed-upon command and control structure the requirement for the commitment of American military resources overseas. 1994/05/16: (Rwanda) The UN Security Council voted to expand its force in Rwanda UNAMIR to 5,500 troops.

1994/07/18: (Rwanda) The RPF declared a unilateral ceasefire, but by then more than 800,000 were dead and many more were refugees. 1994/06/14: (Rwanda) French President Mitterand announced a new effort in Rwanda called Operation Turquoise. 1994/06/20: (Rwanda) The French agreed to ship a military force to Rwanda via Goma and Bukavu (Zaire) and the border post at Cyangungu at the southern end of Lake Kivu. 1994/07/03: (Rwanda) Kigali fell to RPF forces. 1994/07/10: (Rwanda) Ruhengiri fell to RPF forces. 1994/07/13: (Rwanda/Congo) Gisenyi fell to RPF forces. In the next four days, an unprecedented 1.2 million people crossed the border into Zaire where UN staff (UNHCR) had made preparations for only about 50,000 refugees.

1994/07/19: (Rwanda) The new RPF government was sworn into office in Kigali. 1994/07/end: Cholera broke out in the refugee camps along Zaire's Lake Kivu shoreline. 1994/08/02: (Rwanda) The new prime minister Faustin Twagiramungu announced plans to prosecute up to 30,000 people for the genocide. 1994/08/21: (Rwanda) Operation Turquoise ended and French troops left. 1994/08/28: (Rwanda) The first Canadian troops arrived in Kigali. 1994/11/03: (Congo) Security was so bad in the refugee camps in eastern Zaire that fifteen NGO workers announced their intent to withdraw. Other NGOs did the same. 1995/01/10: (Congo) The UN Secretary General authorized the UNHCR to use a Zairean security forces with international advisors in refugee camps.

The first hundred Zairean troops were drawn from the Presidential Guard, and by the end of April, the force numbered 1,513. 1995/01/23-27: (Rwanda) The OAU Secretary-General reported that the PRF government was largely abiding by the Arusha Accord. 1995/02: (Burundi) First OAU meeting in Bujumbura to address Rwandan refugee problem. 1995/09/09: (Burundi) Second OAU meeting in Bujumbura to address Rwandan refugee problem. 1996/10: (Congo) The Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo begins the Zaire civil war. 1997/03: (Congo) The fall of Kisangani. 1997/05/17: (Congo) The fall of Kinchasa. Rwanda Fact Sheet June 20, 2016 More information about Rwanda is available on the Rwanda Page and from other Department of State publications and other sources listed at the end of this fact sheet.

U.S.-RWANDA RELATIONS The United States established diplomatic relations with Rwanda in 1962, following its independence from a Belgian-administered trusteeship. From 1990 to 1994, the country saw civil war and genocide. The United States seeks to help Rwanda meet the needs of its population, including increased social cohesion in a peaceful, democratic, and inclusive Rwanda that provides good governance and an economically enabling environment. The United States supports Rwandan efforts to increase democratic participation, enhance respect for civil and political rights, and improve the quality and outcomes of health care and basic education. Rwanda is one of the world’s poorest countries, but it has made progress in developing national and local government institutions, economic development, maintaining security, promoting reconciliation, achieving Millennium Development Goals, and strengthening the justice system. U.S.

Assistance to Rwanda The United States assists Rwanda in providing basic health services for the populace; expanding economic opportunities in rural areas, particularly through a strengthened agricultural production and food security program; protecting and promoting the country’s unique biodiversity; strengthening democracy engagement between civil society and government; expanding access to electricity; and improving the foundational educational system and skills (literacy, numeracy, and workforce readiness) that prepare Rwandan youth for a modern service-based economy. These goals are carried out through various presidential initiatives: Feed the Future; Global Climate Change; Power Africa; Trade Africa; and the Global Health Initiative, including the President’s Malaria Initiative and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). U.S. assistance in Rwanda also supports regional economic integration to spur business development, entrepreneurship, and increased employment opportunities. Bilateral Economic Relations Rwanda is eligible for preferential trade benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act. The United States and Rwanda have a trade and investment framework agreement (signed in 2006) and a bilateral investment treaty (signed in 2011). The United States also has signed trade and investment framework agreements with the East African Community and with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa.

Rwanda is a member of both regional organizations. U.S. business interests in Rwanda have been modest, with private U.S. investment in tea, coffee, energy, mining, water treatment, banking, franchising, and small holdings in services and manufacturing. U.S. exports to Rwanda include aircraft, pharmaceutical products, machinery, optic and medical instruments, and agricultural products. U.S. imports from Rwanda include coffee, basketwork, tungsten ore, and apparel and accessories. Rwanda's Membership in International Organizations Rwanda and the United States belong to a number of the same international organizations, including the United Nations, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, World Trade Organization, and World Intellectual Property Organization. Rwanda is also a member of a number of regional organizations, including the African Union, East African Community (EAC), and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). Bilateral Representation The U.S. Ambassador to Rwanda is Erica J. Barks-Ruggles ; other principal embassy officials are listed in the Department's Key Officers List . Rwanda maintains an embassy in the United States at 1875 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 (tel.

202-232-2882). More information about Rwanda is available from the Department of State and other sources, some of which are listed here: HISTORY OF RWANDA HISTORY OF RWANDA Enjoy the Famous Daily Ruanda-Urundi: 1887-1914 The highlands of Rwanda and Burundi, east of Lake Kivu, are the last part of Africa to be reached by Europeans in the colonial expansion of the late 19th century. Before that time local tradition tells of many centuries during which the Tutsi, a tall cattle-rearing people probably from the upper reaches of the Nile, infiltrate the area and win dominance over the Hutu, already in residence and living by agriculture. Historical records begin with the reign of Rwabugiri, who comes to the throne in 1860 and eventually controls a region almost as large as the present Rwanda. His realm is organized on a feudal basis, with the Tutsi as the aristocracy and the Hutu as their vassals.

When first described by Europeans - and in particular by Speke , who encounters them east of Rwanda on his exploration to Lake Victoria - it is assumed that the distinction between Tutsi and Hutu is entirely racial. But this simple classification is blurred by intermarriage and by the custom of allowing people to become honorary members of the other group. A more valid description of the Tutsi-Hutu divide is by class and occupation. The Tutsi are the upper class and are mostly herdsmen. The Hutu are the lower class and for the most part live by farming. The first European to enter Rwanda is a German, Count von Götzen, who visits the court of Rwabugiri in 1894. The next year the king dies. With Rwanda in turmoil over the succession, the Germans move in (in 1897, from Tanzania) to claim the region for the Kaiser. At the same time they claim Burundi, a separate kingdom to the south. The entire area is treated as one colony, to be known as Ruanda-Urundi. German rule in this most inaccessible of colonies is indirect, achieved mainly by placing agents at the courts of the various local rulers.

So the German influence is not yet extensive when the region is taken abruptly from their hands after the outbreak of the European war in 1914. A Belgian colony: 1914-1962 When Germany invades Belgium, at the start of World War I, the Belgians retaliate in a smaller way in central Africa. Belgian troops move east from the Belgian Congo to occupy (in 1916) Ruanda-Urundi. After the war the League of Nations confirms the existing state of affairs, granting Belgium in 1924 a mandate to administer the colony. From 1925 Ruanda-Urundi is linked with the neighbouring Belgian Congo , but colonial rule takes a very different form in the two territories. The administration of the Congo is centred in Brussels, but in Ruanda-Urundi it is left in the hands of the Tutsi aristocracy. Indeed the Belgians, observing the distinction between Tutsi and Hutu, make it the very basis of their colonial system. The Hutu are subject to the forced labour which disfigures many European colonies in Africa, but here it is the Tutsi who supervise them at their tasks.

From 1933 everyone in Ruanda-Urundi is issued with a racial identity card, defining them as Hutu (85%) or Tutsi (14%). The remaining 1% are the Twa, the remnants of the original Pygmies indigenous in this area. This Belgian attitude, setting in stone the distinction between the two groups and favouring one of them, prepares the ground for future violence (in earlier times racially based massacres have never occurred between Hutu and Tutsi). The predictable occasion for its outbreak is the rush towards independence in the late 1950s. The problem is more immediately evident in Ruanda than in Urundi. In 1957 Hutu leaders in Ruanda publish a Hutu Manifesto, preparing their supporters for a future political conflict to be conducted entirely on ethnic lines. In 1959 the first outbreak of violence is sparked off when a group of Tutsi political activists in Gitirama beat up a Hutu rival, Dominique Mbonyumutwa (he survives the attack but the rumour of his death spreads rapidly in Hutu circles and is still believed today).

The resulting nationwide campaign of Hutu violence against Tutsis becomes known as 'the wind of destruction'. Over the coming months many Tutsis flee from Ruanda, including the 25-year-old hereditary ruler, the Mwami. In elections in 1960 Hutu politicians score an overwhelming victory. Grégoire Kayibanda, one of the authors of the Hutu Manifesto, leads a provisional government for the interim period to independence. In Urundi the Tutsi monarchy proves at first more resilient, both in holding on to the reins of power and in attempting a resolution of the Tutsi-Hutu conflict. When elections are held in 1961, they bring a landslide victory for a joint Hutu and Tutsi party. It is led by the popular Prince Rwagasore, the eldest son of the Mwami. He is assassinated a few months later, before independence has been formally achieved. But this disaster does not yet tip Urundi into ethnic violence. Independence: from1962 The two parts of Ruanda-Urundi become independent in July 1962.

There is pressure from the UN to federate as a single nation, but both opt to go their separate ways. Ruanda, in which ethnic violence has continued during 1960 and 1961, becomes a republic (automatically, since the young ruler has fled and has been formally deposed in his absence). The spelling of the name is changed to Rwanda. Urundi, by contrast, becomes independent as a constitutional monarchy - but again with a change of name, to Burundi. The first presidential election in Rwanda is won by Grégoire Kayibanda, the leader of the interim provisional government. The name of his party, the Parti du Mouvement de l'Emancipation du Peuple Hutu (Party for Hutu Emancipation), makes all too plain what is to be the central plank of government policy. In the spirit of Kayibanda's movement, 'cockroaches' becomes the favourite slang name for Tutsis. The killing of cockroaches is soon an all-too familiar feature of Rwandan life, in a frenzy whipped up by the government at any time of crisis - particularly whenever Rwandan exiles, most of them Tutsi, attempt invasions from across the borders.

In December 1963 several hundred Tutsi guerrillas enter southern Rwanda from Burundi. They advance to within twelve miles of the capital, Kigali, before they are eliminated by the Rwandan army. This event prompts the government to declare a state of emergency, emphasizing the need to 'clear the bush' of subversive elements. Within days some 14,000 Tutsis are massacred in the southern province of Gikongoro, in a coordinated campaign described by Bertrand Russell as 'the most horrible and systematic massacre' since the Holocaust. It will prove minor compared to what Hutu Power achieves in the 1990s. In the interim there is a coup within the Hutu regime. In 1973 Kayibanda is removed from power by a group of army officers who replace him with a major general, Juvénal Habyarimana. Habyarimana remains in power for twenty-one years, running a conventional self-serving military dictatorship (with enthusiastic support from several western countries, in particular France). But his Hutu ethnic policy creates an increasing problem on Rwanda's frontiers. Over the borders there are a vast number of mainly Tutsi refugees.

As time passes they are increasingly unwelcome in their host countries. Efforts are made to send them home. But Rwanda rejects them. In 1986 Habyarimana states as a matter of policy that there will be no right of return for Rwandan refugees. In the following year Rwandan exiles form the group which soon transforms the situation - the RPF or Rwandan Patriotic Front, committed to armed struggle against Habyarimana's regime. The nucleus of the RPF is Tutsi officers serving in the Ugandan army. On a prearranged date, 1 October 1990, they desert from the army with their equipment and move south over the border into Rwanda. It is a minor invasion which eventually, against all the odds, puts an end to Habyarimana's regime. But it also provokes one of the century's most appalling acts of genocide. The prelude to genocide: 1990-1994 President Habyarimina is able to repel the initial RPF invasion of northeastern Rwanda, in October 1990, largely thanks to French paratroops sent for the purpose by President Mitterand.

But the event provides the pretext for a new wave of Tutsi persecution within Rwanda. The country's most fervently racist newspaper publishes in December the Hutu Ten Commandments. This is a litany of hatred, attributing dishonesty and treachery not only to all Tutsis but also to any Hutu who befriends them. The eighth commandment, quoted at the time more often than any other, is: 'Hutus must stop having mercy on the Tutsis.' In 1991 a name is coined for this new level of ethnic triumphalism - Hutu Power. To ensure the effectiveness of Hutu Power, Habiyarimina's government begins to recruit Hutu youth militias. These become known as the Interahamwe, meaning 'those who attack together'. In public these violent young men roar around on motorbikes, like any gang of hooligangs, and hold drunken rallies under portraits of President Habiyarimina. In private they gather together to perfect the skills of wielding machetes, setting fire to houses, and drawing up lists of local Tutsis and Hutu sympathizers.

In this mood ethnic violence increases steadily, and is often ratchetted up a sudden notch - as when, in March 1992, Radio Rwanda spreads a deliberately false rumour that a Tutsi plot to massacre Hutus has been discovered. By 1992 President Habyarimana is himself beginning to disappoint his extremist supporters. Having failed to suppress the guerrillas of the RPF, and under international pressure to come to terms with them, he begins to negotiate. The news that he has agreed a ceasefire, in August 1992, provokes a new wave of attacks on Tutsis. Over the next year the peace process continues, alienating the president ever further from the thugs of Hutu Power. In August 1993, after talks at Arusha in Tanzania, Habyarimana signs a peace treaty with the RPF, officially bringing the war to an end. But the terms of the treaty go much further than that. In what becomes known as the Arusha Accords, Habiyarimana accepts the right of return for all Rwanda's refugees, the merging of the RPF with the national army, and a transitional period leading up to elections and a democratic government.

During this period power will reside with a provisional government in which, most startling of all, the RPF will be represented. And UN forces will be invited into Rwanda to secure this process. These concessions seem outrageous to the Interahamwe and their political masters. On 6 April 1994 a rocket, almost certainly fired by Hutu extremists, brings down a plane. In it are two presidents - Habyarimana, and the head of state of neighbouring Burundi . Genocide: 1994 The assassination of the president, even if secretly contrived by extremist Hutus, is the immediate pretext for the orgy of Hutu extremism whipped up over the following weeks. Radio broadcasts urge people to do their duty and seek out the Tutsis and Tutsi-sympathizers living among them in their streets or villages. Eliminate the cockroaches is the message. On April 29 the state radio announces that May 5 is to be the 'cleanup' day by which the capital, Kigali, must be cleansed of Tutsis.

One notorious broadcast even suggests a necessary precaution in the interests of thoroughness; unborn children should be ripped from the wombs of dead Tutsi women who are pregnant. In this atmosphere the Interahamwe and a large proportion of the ordinary Hutu population of Rwanda go to work with a frenzy probably unparalleled in human history. Between April and July some 800,000 Rwandans are slaughtered. And this is without the modern aids of mass destruction. The characteristic tool in Rwanda's genocide is the everyday machete, used more normally in agriculture. The UN forces, though by now present, are powerless to intervene. The terror of 1994 is followed by another human disaster, as some two million refugees flee to Zaire, Burundi and Tanzania. But these are for the most part Hutus rather than Tutsis. And they are trying to escape from the RPF, who resume their military campaign the day after the assassination of the president. After genocide: 1994-1999 In the chaos of mid-1994 the RPF, capable of putting into the field an extremely well disciplined guerrilla force, makes rapid progress against the Rwandan army.

By July RPF troops are in Kigali, and a provisional government is formed. By the end of August almost the entire country is under control. Though largely led by Tutsis, the RPF has been from the start committed to racial equality. This is achieved in the first cabinet, whose members reflect the numerical balance in the country. Sixteen of its members are Hutus, six are Tutsis. But if the RPF government can rid itself of racism, this ideal proves very much harder to achieve in the nation (though an important first step is abolishing the ethnic identity cards , in use since colonial times). The immediate problem is the refugee camps just over the border in Zaire . There are some 1.1 million Rwandans in these camps, most of them Hutus. But these are not normal camps. They are extensions of Hutu Power in exile. Among the ordinary refugees are members of the Interahamwe - the killers responsible for the genocide - who have fled over the borders to avoid the advancing RPF. Once in the camps they establish brutal control (and in their local excursions profoundly affect the politics of Zaire). Everyone agrees that they need to be identified and separated from the other refugees.

But neither Zaire nor any international force is willing to undertake this task. The problem delays the return of the refugees to Rwanda, where the RPF government is otherwise eager to receive them. When the refugees do finally begin to stream back, late in 1996, some of the thugs of the Interahamwe are still among them. But the more notorious killers, unable to return, stay in Zaire - where they arm and train for violent sorties across the border. For the rest of the 1990s the Hutu-Tutsi problem continues to sap Rwanda's strength. The oceans of spilt blood demand vengeance. But how can justice cope with such crimes and so many unidentified criminals? An attempt is made. The prisons gradually fill with suspects awaiting trial, as many as 130,000 of them by the end of the decade. But a fair judgement of each case poses an insoluble problem. Even the return of innocent refugees brings its own difficulties. Those who fled in 1994 come home reasonably quickly. They are familiar with present-day Rwanda.

But the new hope offered by the RPF brings back many whose lives and expectations have been shaped by decades in other places - even the ' fifty-niners ' who fled from the very first manifestation of Hutu intolerance. Such long-absent citizens can be hard to accomodate. Worst of all, though, is the threat still posed by the Interahamwe. Armed incursions across the border lead to permanent infiltration, particularly in the northwest of the country. At times in 1998 few districts can be considered safe outside the capital, Kigali. To the advocates of Hutu Power this is seen as a war of liberation, similar to the one fought by the RPF in the early 1990s. But it ensures that the virus of ethnic hatred flourishes still in Rwanda. Sudden appalling acts of violence against Tutsis and retaliation against Hutus disfigure the late 1990s, just as before in Rwanda's short history of independence. The scale is less, but the pattern is alarmingly familiar. East Africa Living Encyclopedia Rwanda Rwanda -- History Pre-Colonial History Twa, Hutu and Tutsi are the three peoples who inhabit Rwanda.

The Twa, who number less than 1% percent of the population and are pygmies. They preferred living in the forests where they lived by hunting and gathering. The Twa gave way when the Hutu arrived in the region and moved deeper into the forests. The origins of the Hutu is unclear probably arriving in what is present day Rwanda and Burundi from the 5th to the 11th century. The were small-scale agriculturists whose social structure was based on the clan. Kings, or Bahinza, ruled over limited clan groups. The Hutu believed that the Bahinza could cause rain, protect crops from insects and cattle from decease. The Bahinza derived their power and status from this belief. The Tutsi first migrated into the area around the 14th century. It was probably not one large, sudden invasion but a slow process that was mostly peaceful. The Tutsi used their ownership of cattle, advanced combat skills to achieve economic, political, and social control over the Hutu. Eventually, land ownership was taken away from the Hutu and became the property of the Tutsi king, or Mwami.

Over time, Hutu-Tutsi relations took the form of a client-patron contract called the ubuhake. At first, the agreement meant that Hutu could use Tutsi cattle in exchange for personal and military service. Over time ubuhake became a feudal-type class system through which land and cattle, and therefore power, were in the hands of the Tutsi minority. The Hutu indentured themselves to a Tutsi lord giving him agricultural products and personal service in exchange for the use of land and cattle. At the apex of the class system was the Tutsi king, the Mwami. The Mwami was considered to be of divine origin. A myth tells of three children born in heaven fell to earth by accident, and one of these children, Kigwa, founded the most powerful Tutsi clan. The Mwami trace their lineage to this divine founder. In the middle of the 16th century, Mwami Mibambwe I Mutabazi was able to centralize the monarchy and reduced the power of neighboring chiefs. Early in the 19th century, Mwami Kigeri IV established the borders that were in place when the Germans arrived in 1894.

European Exploration and Annexation Several European explorers came close to Rwanda in the 19th century, but none penetrated into Rwanda. Sir Richard Burton and John Hanning Speke in 1855 passed close to Rwanda in their search for the source of the Nile. Henry Morton Stanley, in 1876, also came into this region but did not go into Rwanda. The 1885 Conference of Berlin declared the area that later became Rwanda and Burundi would be under German influence and control. It was 9 years after this conference that the first European traveled into Rwanda. This was the German Count von Götzen who later became the governor of German East Africa. Rwanda and Burundi were located at the juncture of three empires and became the object of a diplomatic fight for possession. The Belgians and Leopold II, the Germans, and the British wanted possession of the territory. However, by 1910, and agreement handed control of Rwanda and Burundi to the Germans. German Colonial Rule The Germans ruled indirectly through the political structure created by the Mwami. The Germans also conducted military operations against Hutu chiefs in the North that had not come under the Mwami's control.

In the 1920s and 1930s the Germans ordered extensive coffee planting; they began to collect tax in cash, not in agricultural products in order to force the plantation of coffee. At his time the first missionaries also arrived in Rwanda. The White Fathers established missions and schools as early as 1903. During World War I, the Belgians gained control of Rwanda and Burundi. After the war, on August 23, 1923,the League of Nations mandated Rwanda and Burundi under Belgian supervision. The Belgian Administration Under Belgian administration, the power of the Mwami was curtailed. They modified the ubuhake system and eliminated the paying of tribute. With the formation of the United Nations the Belgian mandate changed. The Belgians retained trusteeship but were required to integrate the Rwandans into the political process. This lead to limited political representation in the government. In 1952, Belgian implemented the Ten-Year Development Plan, a series of broad socioeconomic reforms in order to promote political progress and social stability; however, this program subsequently granted the Tutsi minority political, economic and social domination over the Hutu majority.

In 1959, after seven years of escalating civil unrest between the Hutu and Tutsi, the Belgian administrators declared a state of emergency and called in ground forces and paratroopers from the Congo to restore order. In the same year, administrators called for the new election of communal councils in hopes of diffusing the imbalance of Tutsi power. With the support of the UN General Assembly, the Trusteeship Council recommended that the future success of the region depended on the formation of a single united Rwandan-Burundi State. Following the premature election of 1960, Belgian authorities granted de facto recognition to the republican Rwandan State in order to avoid more social unrest. Belgium, according to the UN General Assembly, was still accountable for fulfilling their Trusteeship agreement and was asked to supervise elections to ensure the establishment of stabile transitional governments in both Burundi and Rwanda. However in April of 1962, both countries decided that a political union was impossible due to the unresolvable long-standing historical antagonism between their two republics.On June 27, 1962, the General Assembly voted to terminate the Belgian Trusteeship Agreement, and days later Rwanda attained independence.

Post-Independence: In 1962 Rwanda became independent, with Gregoire Kayibanda, leader of PARMEHUTU, as president. A new constitution was ratified. Soon after, in 1963, the Tutsi invaded Rwanda but were repelled. In retaliation, over 12,000 Tutsis were massacred by the Hutu, while countless Tutsis fled the country. The following year, the economic union of Rwanda and Burundi was terminated; Rwanda introduced its own national unit of currency, the Rwanda franc. In, 1969 Kayibanda was reelected to a second four-year term. Kayibanda's presidency came to an end in 1973 when he was overthrown in a bloodless coup led by Major General Juvenal Habyarimana. The constitution of 1962 was partially suspended, and the National Assembly dissolved. At the Bujumbura Conference of 1974, Zaire, Burundi and Rwanda agreed to cooperative action in defense and in economic affairs.

In 1975, Habyarimana launched Le Movement Revolutionaire National pour le Development (MRND) as the nation's sole political party and he was, in single-party legislative balloting, reelected president in 1983 and 1988. The Civil War began in 1990 when between 5,000 and 10,000 rebel Tutsi invaded Rwanda from neighboring Uganda; Habyarimana and the rebels agreed to a cease-fire on March 29, 1991. On June 6, 1991, the president signed a new Constitution legalizing opposition parties. The MRND changes its name to the Mouvement Républicain National pour la Démocratie et le Développement (MRNDD). In October Dr. Sylvestre Nsanzimana, the former deputy Secretary-General of the OAU, was appointed to the new post of prime minister. On November 7, seven parties were legalized. On December 30, the new Parti Démocrate Chrétien (PDC) joined the MRNDD in a coalition government formed by Dr.

Nsanzimana. The leading opposition parties, MDR, PSD, LP and PSR, refused to participate in talks concerning their cooperation in the coalition unless a prime minister was elected from a party other than the MRNDD. On February 11, 1992President Habyarimana began new talks with the newly legalized opposition parties, now numbering 12, on forming a multiparty government. In March the MDR, PL, and PSD reached an agreement with the president on forming "a transitional government," on entering into debate on the issue of the National Conference, on general elections, on the refugee problem, and on opening talks with the RDF. The government signed an agreement at Arusha on July 14 and a cease-fire to begin on July 31. On September 18, a joint document was signed at Arusha on a political settlement that including power sharing among the parties. Agreement on presidential power in the proposed transition period was reached on October 12. With several political matters unsettled, a partial protocol was signed on October 31, providing for an executive cabinet headed by a prime minister and a president with reduced powers.

After a three-day meeting of the ministers of the Interior and Justice of Rwanda and Burundi, the two sides agreed on November 24 on several measures including the control of refugee activities, actions against arms trafficking, the completion of border demarcation and appealed to the media for restraint. Even though, in 1993, the government and the RPF sign an agreement on power sharing at Arusha on January 10, ethnic violence broke out in February, resulting in hundreds of deaths among both Hutus and Tutsis. With Tanzania's mediation, the government and the RPF agreed to a new cease-fire beginning March 9; the accord further stipulated the departure of foreign troops from Rwanda and their replacement by a UN-OAU force. A UN Security Council resolution reached in June established the Uganda-Rwanda Observer Mission (UNOMUR). The Rwandan government and the RPF signed a new peace agreement on August 4 at Arusha. Hopes for peace were soon disappointed, as obstacles to peace arose. Opposition to the deal grew among the Hutu majority, initially led by the CDR, which refused to participate in the proposed interim assembly.

The CDR set up a broadcasting station, Radio/TV Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM), which denounced the Arusha agreement. The UN Security Council voted on October 5 to establish a new force for Rwanda in accordance with the Arusha agreement. When President Juvenal Habyarimana and the President of Burundi were killed on their return to Kigali from Dar es Salaam in 1994, ethnic violence erupted again with a vengeance. Allegedly, their aircraft was shot down from the ground, by persons still unknown. A short time after the crash, organized murders began in Kigali, mostly of Hutu opponents of the MRNDD and CDR, but included many Tutsis as well. The government fled to Gitarama and the RPF approached the capital. Thousands were killed in Kigali by April. The killing of Tutsis then spread to other parts of Rwanda and continued unabated for weeks. The Rwandan government forces were no match for the RPF and were forced steadily to retreat.

In mid-June, the French government announced that 2,500 French troops would be sent into Rwanda to set up a `safe zone' in the south-west, with the goal of preventing further deaths. The Security Council approved the French intervention, called Operation Turquoise, on June 22. French forces first landedin Zaire, then crossed into Rwanda and set up the `safe area' on the south-western Zaire border. By this time it was estimated that half a million people had been killed in a period of only a few weeks On July 4, the RPA completed the capture of Kigali and also took Butare, Ruhengeri, and Gisenyi. Except for the French-occupied zone, the RPF now controled all of Rwanda, and France promised to hand over the zone to UN forces. On July 17, the RPF announced that one of its leaders, Pasteur Bizimungu, a Hutu, had been chosen to be President of Rwanda. The next day, the RPF declared that the war was over.

Though the fallen regime continued to maintain that it was still Rwanda's rightful government and pledged to renew the war, a measure of stability was gained when other countries quickly recognized the new government. On November 25, a new Transitional National Assembly of 70 representatives was inaugurated in Kigali in accordance with the Arusha accord. The MRNDD was excluded, its seats distributed among other parties. Early in December, a panel of three African jurists, Atsu Koffi Amega of Togo, Haby Dieng of Guinea, and Salifou Fomba of Mali, presented a study of the murder of Tutsis to the UN. It concluded that "[o]verwhelming evidence points to the fact that the extermination of Tutsi by the Hutu was planned months in advance.

The massacres were carried out mainly by Hutus in a determined, planned, systematic and methodical manner, and were inspired by ethnic hatred." It also argued that there were "serious reasons to conclude that Tutsis also carried out massacres, summary executions, violations of international humanitarian law and crimes against humanity with regard to Hutus." Early in1995, on January 7, President Bizimungu met with the presidents of Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia, and the Prime Minister of Zaire to discuss Rwanda's domestic difficulties and the problem of refugees. On January 11 there was an attack on the RPA by the army of the former government. In March about 2.5 million Hutu refugees remained in Zaire, Burundi, and Tanzania, either from reluctance or inability to return. New refugees were still leaving Rwanda to join them. Hutu refugees were unwilling to return to Rwanda even when thousands left Burundi camps in late March, for fear that they would be attacked by Tutsis in Burundi, where an internal crisis had arisen in which Tutsi extremists were thought to be closely allied to the RPF leadership in Kigali.

On February 22, the UN Security Council decided that the International Tribunal for Rwanda should convene at Arusha; it called on governments throughout the world to arrest suspects. Later, the OAU Committee for Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution met at Tunis on April 20-21 and called for the rapid institution of a tribunal. Within Rwanda, judicial proceedings began; a massive number of arrests, as high as 23,000, quickly clogged an inadequate legal and penal system. Many detainees died in custody from illness and overcrowding, at rates as high as 300 per week. In April 1995, a new Rwandan political organization, the Rassemblement pour le Retour de la Democrate au Rwanda (RRD, was inaugurated at Bukavu in Zaire, claiming to represent the Hutu refugees. It maintained that it was distinct from the MRNDD, but its leadership was kept secret. In December, the International Tribunal on Rwanda made its first formal indictments for genocide, charging eight unnamed local officials in Kibuye with the crime. Genocide trials began in Rwanda in December 1996.

By June 31, 1997, 142 cases had been tried. Eight defendants were acquitted and 61 sentenced to death. International human rights organizations denounced the trials as unfair, mainly on grounds that most defendants did not have access to adequate legal representation and had been unable to cross-examine witnesses. In late 1996, the Alliance des Forces Democrates pour la Liberation du Congo-Zaire (AFDL) led by Laurent Kabila broke up the main Rwandan refugee camps in Zaire. In May 1997, Kabila assumed power in Zaire, changing the country's name to the Democratic Republic of Congo. At the end of the year, RPA and Angolan troops remained in Rwanda. Independence - History - Rwanda - Africa home :: Africa :: Rwanda :: History :: Independence History, Independence At the insistence of the United Nations trusteeship council, Belgium granted Rwanda independence on July 1, 1962, with Gregoire Kayibanda, leader of the Parmehutu (now renamed the Democratic Republican Movement; MDR), as president. The MDR won the elections in 1965 and 1969.

In 1963 some exiled Tutsi returned to Rwanda as a rebel army. Although unsuccessful, the takeover attempt prompted a large-scale massacre of Tutsi by the Hutu, followed by periodic ethnic violence. At the same time thousands of Hutu victimized in Burundi took refuge in Rwanda. In July 1973 the defense minister, General Juvenal Habyarimana, led a bloodless coup that ousted Kayibanda. Habyarimana, a Hutu from the north, charged that Kayibanda favored southern Hutu and was trying to monopolize power. Both parliament and the MDR were suspended after the coup. Political activities resumed in 1975 with the formation of a new ruling party called the National Revolutionary Movement for Development (NRMD). In 1978 a new constitution was approved, and President Habyarimana was confirmed in office for another five years. After thwarting a coup attempt in 1980, he was reelected without opposition in 1983 and again in 1988.

In 1990, Belgium and several Central African nations sent troops to Rwanda to oppose an uprising by the Tutsi-backed Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a movement of Tutsi refugees and moderate Hutu, invading from Uganda. A new constitution authorizing the establishment of a multiparty democracy became law in 1991, and a prime minister was appointed to organize a transitional government in preparation for multiparty elections in 1995. [ad >] Are you lazy student? The smallest wireless audio headset will help you out! 6mm diameter (0.24 inch) - it hides inside ear completely and has no wires. Go to to read about it. [< ad] GENOCIDE - RWANDA RWANDA BOSNIA before the genocide Rwanda has been called 'a tropical Switzerland in the heart of Africa'. It's about a third the size of Belgium, who administered it from 1919 under a League of Nations mandate (by which it ceased to be part of German East Africa) until independence in 1962. Visitors think it's a beautiful country. ('Beautiful?' said one Rwandan.

'After the things that have happened here?') Most of the Rwandan population belong to the Hutu ethnic group, traditionally crop-growers. For many centuries Rwanda attracted Tutsis - traditionally herdsmen - from northern Africa. For 600 years the two groups shared the business of farming, essential for survival, between them. They have also shared their language, their culture, and their nationality. There have been many intermarriages. Because of the nature of their historical pastoral or agricultural roles, Tutsis tended to be landowners and Hutus the people who worked the land; and this division of labour perpetuated a population balance in which Hutus naturally outnumbered Tutsis. A wedge was driven between them when the European colonists moved in. It was the practice of colonial administrators to select a group to be privileged and educated 'intermediaries' between governor and governed. The Belgians chose the Tutsis: landowners, tall, and to European eyes the more aristocratic in appearance. This thoughtless introduction of class consciousness unsettled the stability of Rwandan society. Some Tutsis began to behave like aristocrats, and the Hutu to feel treated like peasants. An alien political divide was born.

European colonial powers also introduced modern weapons and modern methods of waging war. Missionaries, too, came from Europe, bringing a new political twist: the church taught the Hutu to see themselves as oppressed, and so helped to inspire revolution. With the European example before them, and European backing behind them, it was armed resistance that the Hutus chose. In 1956 their rebellion began (it would cost over 100,000 lives). By 1959 they had seized power and were stripping Tutsi communities of their lands. Many Tutsis retreated to exile in neighbouring countries, where they formed the Front Patriotique Rwandais, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), trained their soldiers, and waited. After their first delight in gaining power - and, in 1962, independence for Rwanda - a politically inexperienced Hutu government began to face internal conflicts as well. Tensions grew between communities and provincial factions. Tutsi resistance was continually nurtured by repressive measures against them (in 1973, for example, they were excluded from secondary schools and the university). In 1990 RPF rebels seized the moment and attacked: civil war began.

A ceasefire was achieved in 1993, followed by UN-backed efforts to negotiate a new multi-party constitution; but Hutu leaders and extremists fiercely opposed any Tutsi involvement in government. On April 6 1994 the plane carrying Rwanda's president was shot down, almost certainly the work of an extremist. This was the trigger needed for the Hutus' planned 'Final Solution' to go into operation. The Tutsis were accused of killing the president, and Hutu civilians were told, by radio and word of mouth, that it was their duty to wipe the Tutsis out. First, though, moderate Hutus who weren't anti-Tutsi should be killed. So should Tutsi wives or husbands. Genocide began. .

Question: From which country did Rwanda obtain independence in 1962?
Answer: Belgium