Burundi Genocide Rwanda
Rwanda (01/05)
The Rwandan economy is based on the largely rainfed agricultural production of small, semisubsistence, and increasingly fragmented farms. It has few natural resources to exploit and a small, uncompetitive industrial sector. While the production of coffee and tea is well-suited to the small farms, steep slopes, and cool climates of Rwanda, farm size continues to decrease, especially in view of government ownership of all land and the resettlement of displaced persons. Agribusiness accounts for 50% of Rwanda’s GDP and 70% of exports. Tea accounts for 60% of export earnings, followed by coffee and pyrethrum (whose extract is used in insect repellant). Mountain gorillas serve as a potentially important source of tourism revenue, but Rwanda’s tourism and hospitality sector requires further development. Rwanda is one of 20 member states of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and hoped to form a free trade area with Burundi in January 2004. Some 34% of Rwanda’s imports ... [Read More]
Burundi (06/05)
In 1991, Buyoya approved a constitution that provided for a president, multi-ethnic government, and a parliament. Burundi's first Hutu president, Melchior Ndadaye, of the Hutu-dominated FRODEBU Party, was elected in 1993. He was assassinated by factions of the Tutsi-dominated armed forces in October 1993. The country was then plunged into civil war, which killed tens of thousands of people and displaced hundreds of thousands by the time the FRODEBU government regained control and elected Cyprien Ntaryamira president in January 1994. Nonetheless, the security situation continued to deteriorate. In April 1994, President Ntayamira and Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana died in a plane crash. This act marked the beginning of the Rwandan genocide, while in Burundi, the death of Ntaryamira exacerbated the violence and unrest. Sylvestre Ntibantunganya was installed as president for a 4-year term on April 8, but the security situation further deteriorated. The influx of hundreds of thousand ... [Read More]
Rwanda
There were no reports of any action taken against local defense unit members responsible for killing civilians in 2000. Unlike in the previous year, there were no reports that rebel forces killed civilians in the country. b. Disappearance Unlike in the previous year, there were no reports of politically motivated disappearances within the country; however, there were numerous credible reports that RDF forces in the DRC seized and transferred to the country numerous Banyamulenge prisoners following the revolt of Banyamulenge Commander Masunzu against the RDF in late January. Several hundred RCD/Goma soldiers in the DRC suspected of sympathizing with the revolt reportedly were disarmed and sent to the country in May for forced "retraining." There was no further information on the soldiers; many suspected they were killed or remained in secret detention in military camps or prisons. T ... [Read More]
Travel to Rwanda and Sudan
Through his participation in the COMESA meeting in Kigali, Deputy Secretary Zoellick highlighted United States support for COMESA’s role in fostering regional political, economic, and security conditions. He discussed with COMESA and the leaders of its member states our work together to bring about a peaceful, unified Sudan and support the transition process in the Great Lakes. The Deputy Secretary met with Rwandan government officials and visited the Genocide Memorial in Kigali. COMESA member states are Angola, Burundi, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. COMESA nations’ total population is 385 million, and they have a combined gross domestic product of approximately $388 billion. ... [Read More]
US Dept of State - Women Can Be the Peacemakers of Africa
Not only did Rwanda's citizens choose a substantial number of women to help reshape their country in Parliament, but Rwanda's government also appointed women to several key positions in the post-genocide government, including the head of the Unity and Reconciliation Commission, Powley said. ... Additionally, Rwanda has developed the Ministry for Gender and Women in Development, as well as 'gender posts' within every other government office and agency at all levels. According to Powley, Rwandans have succeeded in "mainstreaming gender at all political levels," so even the office of Mayor would also include a post for Vice-Mayor for Gender Affairs. ... [Read More]
Rwanda
On June 30, Parliament approved a report by the Commission on Genocide Ideology that described evidence allegedly showing the prevalence of "genocide ideology" in each of the country's 12 provinces. Based on 6 months of investigations, the report dealt with cases of harassment of genocide survivors, the activities of the domestic human rights organization Rwandan League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LIPRODHOR) and other NGOs, and allegedly corrupt leaders of local government, churches, and grassroots organizations. During the year, the Government used this report to target perceived critics of the Government (see Sections 2.a. and 2.c.). International observers criticized the report for failing to adequately define genocide ideology and failing to protect the principle of presumption of innocence. Simply being accused by the Government of supporting a genocide ideology was enough to damage the ability of the accused organizations from being able to work effectively, ev ... [Read More]
USIS -- Issues of Democracy, May 1996 -- Kritzon War Crimes
The Rwandan case demonstrates the need for pragmatism to temperan absolutist approach to prosecution. In one of the mosthorrific genocidal massacres in recent memory, up to one millionRwandan Tutsis and moderate Hutus were brutally slaughtered injust 14 weeks in 1994. Throughout their first year in office,many senior members of the new government insisted that everyperson who participated in the atrocities should be prosecutedand punished. This approach, however, would put more than100,000 Rwandans in the dock, a situation that would be whollyunmanageable and certainly destabilizing to the transition. Asof April 1996, although no formal charges have yet been filed,some 70,000 Rwandans are detained in prisons built to house afraction of that number on allegations of involvement in thegenocide. To compound the problem, the criminal justice systemof Rwanda was decimated during the genocide, with some 95% of thecountry's lawyers and judges either killed or currently in exile,or prison ... [Read More]
US Department Of State Post Report
Prunier, Gerard. September 1995. The Rwandan Crisis: History of a Genocide. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0231104081. Rosamund Carr, Land of A Thousand Hills: My Life in Rwanda Jean-Pierre Chrétien (translated by Scott Straus), The Great Lakes of Africa: Two Thousand Years of History (New York: Zone Books, 2003). 503 pp. Human Rights Watch, Uprooting the Rural Poor in Rwanda (New York: Human Rights Watch, 2001). 91 pp. [Read More]
Rwanda
ENTRY/EXIT REQUIREMENTS: A passport and evidence of yellow fever immunization are required. Visas are not required for American citizens entering Rwanda for less than 90 days. U.S. citizens planning on working in Rwanda should apply for a work permit at the Department of Immigration as soon as possible after arrival in Rwanda. Permits are valid for one- or two-year periods depending on the requestor's occupation. Detailed entry information may be obtained from the Embassy of the Republic of Rwanda, 1714 New Hampshire Avenue, N.W., Washington D.C. 20009, telephone 202-232-2882, fax 202-232-4544. Overseas, inquiries may be made at the nearest Rwandan Embassy or Consulate. See our Foreign Entry Requirements brochure for more information on Rwanda and other countries. ... [Read More]
Press Releases
1111--04/05/04 U.S. Delegation to Rwanda for the 10th Commemoration of the Rwandan Genocide ... 1111--08/20/03 Urge the Government of Rwanda to Hold Free and Fair Elections ... 1111--04/29/05 International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda Conviction ... [Read More]
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