Genocide in Rwanda and Burondi Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Genocide in Rwanda and Burondi - Assignment Example What is genocide? The term Genocide according to history books was unknown prior to 1994. It is a word formed by a Polish-Jewish lawyer describing the Nazi policies of systematic murder and the destruction of European Jews. It comes from the Greek word geno that means a race or tribe, and cide, a Latin word that means to kill. Accordingly, in coming up with this word, he thought of â€Å"a coordinated plan or action to destruct the foundations of the life of a national group, or annihilating the groups themselves†. He appealed this to the United Nations; thereafter, the United Nations considered â€Å"genocide† as an international crime. It is then defined by the UN as† â€Å"referring to violent crimes committed against groups with the intent to destroy the existence of the group. (US Holocaust Memorial Museum Updated 11 May 2012). Genocide, as an international crime includes any of the following action: acts committed with 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 its 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. The crime of Genocide in Rwanda Politics and ambition started it all. The first conviction of Genocide was given in 1988 by the International Criminal Court for Rwanda to Jean-Paul Akayesu, a local President of Democratic Republican Movement. He was found guilty of charges against humanity for acts he made while being a mayor. Akayesu was sentenced to a life imprisonment. On this date too rape became an addendum to the list of genocide crimes. (US Holocaust Memorial Museum) Akayesu was the town Mayor of Taba from 1993 to 1994. Initially, he led the town peacefully, fostering the local economy, had control of the police, and a well respected man until a group of oppositionists started the turmoil. At first he was hesitant to join but was compelled to because he was afraid of opposition, and was also scared to lose his position. Since then, he was one among those who instigated violence, incited the people to join mass killings and turned the former quiet place into a scene of violence, rape, torture, and murder (US Holocaust Memorial Museum). Rwanda in 1994 has a population of seven million composed of three ethnic groups: the Hutus (85%), Tutsi, (14%) and Twa (1%). The United Human Rights Council reported that the Hutus extremists’ political group kept on blaming the Tutsi group for various reasons including: â€Å"the country’s increasing social, economic, and political pressures. Tutsi civilians were also accused of supporting a Tutsi-dominated rebel group, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). Through the use of propaganda and constant political maneuvering, Habyarimana, who was the president at the time, and his group increased divisions between Hutu and Tutsi by the end of 1992. The Hutu remembered past years of oppressive Tutsi rule, and many of them not only resented but also feared the minority.† But why should the Hutus have resentments to a minority group like Tutsi? First let us begin with the description of the past of the two warring tribes. Roseber, Jennifer,