Imperialism In Rwanda

Why do you think imperialist countries has chosen a particular group in the country they colonized and made them feel superior to others.In Rwanda , the imperialist nation believed that Tutsi were born to be a leader , so the Tutsi were put in power.How did tensions between the two ethnic groups after decolonization sparked the Rwandan Genocide?

Years before the genocide took place, Rwanda was colonized by Belgium .The Belgians divided Rwanda population into two groups , the Hutu ,the Tutsi and Twa in order to strengthen their control of Rwanda. As stated by the American University Washington College Of Law Center For Human Rights And Humanitarian Law:“The colonists created a strict system of racial classification. The size of the nose and
the color of the eyes were factors that determined whether a person was classified as Hutu or Tutsi.Both the Belgians and the Germans were influenced by racist ideas, thought that the Tutsi were a superior group”. The Tutsis were put into to power because the Tutsi were taller and more white looking like Europeans. According to ww.humanrights.gov.au definition of racial discrimination: “ Racial discrimination happens when a person is treated less favorably than another person in a similar situation because of their race, color, descent, national or ethnic origin or immigrant status.Racial discrimination also happens when there is a rule or policy that is the same for everyone but has an unfair effect on people of a particular race, color, descent, national or ethnic origin or immigrant status”. Belgium and Germany racially discriminated against the Hutus by denying economic and political power to the Hutus.Racial classifications brought tension between the two groups.The Tutsis were the minority and the Hutus were the majority of the population.

The Belgians presence in Rwanda played a huge role in paving the way for Rwandan Genocide .The Belgian allowed the Tutsis to rule, over the Hutu because Tutsis were more fit to rule and looks more like Europeans.The Belgians exploited the Tutsi and Hutu division .The Belgian lent military and political support to the Tutsi leaders who maintained the policies of their colonial ruler (Skok, Stephen n.d). Before colonization, the people of the region that became Rwanda lived together, the Belgian colonization put one group above the others.Discrimination and colonialism brought tensions between the two groups.By the 1950’s ,both Tutsis and Hutus began to feel resentment and began to resent colonial rule of the Belgians and began to seek for independence .The feared that colonial rule was coming to an end Because the Tutsis were aggressive and impatient in their pursuit of independence.The Belgians helped the Hutus overthrew the Tutsis government Because they felt that by favoring the Hutus would help them stay in power longer.

The assassination of Juvenal Habyarimana, a Hutu president of Rwanda ,sparked the Rwandan Genocide .according to Wikipedia the president flight was shot down by a rocket as it was about to land in Kigali,Rwanda .The Rwandan genocide was a genocide against the minority group, the Tutsis in 1994 .the Rwandan genocide was a mass slaughter of Tutsi group in Rwanda by the Hutus members.the Hutus ordinary rule was to wipe out the Tutsis .The genocide was planned by members Hutu officials to carry out a massive genocide of the Tutsi minority.“The President's plane crashed at 8.30 p.m.
Some 10 hours later, the killing of some Tutsi and of Hutu opposition members began. The actual genocide was launched soon thereafter” (IPEP,2000).The genocide was planned by members Hutu officials to carry out a massive genocide of the Tutsi minority.The genocide itself lasted for 100 days, resulted in nearly one million people dead.The people that were targeted were members of the Tutsi community and Hutus political opponents.

According to Wikipedia, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) was established by United Nation in 1994 after the Rwandan Genocide.The ICTR was set up to bring those responsible for the genocide to justice.The Rwandan genocide violated the international human right law by murdering , raping , kidnaping ,military of children, exterminating the Tutsi population.

The Rwandan genocide still has an effect on Rwanda today because Rwanda still recovering from the
genocide.The Tutsis and Hutus relationship has been reconciled.It is impossible for the people in Rwanda to forget about the Genocide after they are reunited and sharing powers equally.