On 13 December 1993, a prominent Rwandan human rights organization publicly declared that the ongoing violence against the Tutsi population was part of a “Machiavellian plan” orchestrated by civil and military authorities.
Key Details:
- Allegations:
- The group accused the Rwandan government, under President Juvénal Habyarimana, of actively organizing and facilitating violence against the Tutsi population.
- It claimed the attacks were not isolated incidents but rather a deliberate and systematic campaign of extermination.
- Call to Action:
- The organization urged President Habyarimana to take immediate action to halt the killings.
- It emphasized the urgency of ending the campaign of violence, which was destabilizing the country and undermining the peace process initiated through the Arusha Accords.
- Context:
- This statement came against the backdrop of increasing ethnic violence and rising tensions between Hutu and Tutsi communities.
- Extremist groups, including the Interahamwe militia, were becoming more active, and inflammatory rhetoric was spreading through media outlets like Kangura and Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM).
- The Arusha Peace Agreement, signed earlier in August 1993, aimed to end the civil war between the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) and the Rwandan government but faced resistance from extremist factions.
- Significance:
- The human rights group’s warning highlighted the government’s complicity in the violence and foreshadowed the genocide that would erupt in April 1994.
- Despite such warnings, the international community largely failed to intervene to prevent the atrocities.
This statement serves as a critical reminder of the escalating tensions and missed opportunities to prevent the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, during which over 1 million lives were lost.