In the last article in the series, we observed that the ideology of PARMEHUTU was to exterminate all the Tutsi in Rwanda. In this article, we see that the Habyarimana regime continued to divide Rwandans along ethnic lines.

ALSO READ: A look back at PARMEHUTU’s oppressive policies and the birth of Inyenzi

Persecution and discrimination against the Tutsi population remained entrenched. As we move forward, we will examine how the regime introduced and reinforced regional balancing, and consider the consequences that followed.

ALSO READ: A look back at impact of Habyarimana’s use of violence as political strategy

In 1973, President Kayibanda was deposed in a military coup by Juvénal Habyarimana and PARMEHUTU was replaced by the MRND party. The party pursued the same discriminatory policies against the Tutsi, introducing more policies against regions other than those in northern Rwanda. Regional discrimination was formally established under MRND, as was the so-called ethnic balance (Iringaniza) meant to establish ethnic based quotas in all sectors of national life such as schools, security, and the public sector.

Rather than address the socio-economic issues inherited from the colonial and First Republic, the new regime continued dividing Rwandans along ethnic lines, enforcing the continued persecution and discrimination of the Tutsi. This environment of continuous persecution, hatred, divisionism, forced exile and loss of national values, led to the Genocide against the Tutsi in 1994.

During the Second Republic, the Hutu, especially those from the northern region, whom the regime had convinced that the Tutsi had historically disadvantaged them, received the majority of state benefits. After seizing power in the 1973 coup, Habyarimana formally announced his policy of regional and ethnic equilibrium, stating: "It is comprehensible that admission in different schools will take into consideration the social, ethnic, and regional composition of the Rwandan community.”

Under MRND rule, the Tutsi were excluded from public life. Those in exile were informed that they had no right to repatriation and were advised to seek citizenship in their respective countries of exile. From 1986, economic crises, power monopolization, institutionalized impunity, fraud, corruption and all sorts of other abuses were common practice across the nation.

ALSO READ: Habyarimana's role in planning, implementing 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi

It was under these conditions that in 1987, the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF-Inkotanyi) was formed with the mission to repatriate all Rwandans and install democratic, citizen-centered leadership built on the rule of law in Rwanda. RPF-Inkotanyi attempted to engage with Habyarimana’s MRND government which refused to consider the repatriation of Rwandan refugees. Their refusal to engage resulted in the launch of the liberation struggle, on October 1, 1990.

The MRND government radicalized the country’s political environment and increased persecution of the Tutsi within the country. The full-scale Genocide in 1994 was preceded by acts of Genocide against the Tutsi in 1990, 1991 and 1992.

Preparation of the Genocide against the Tutsi

In 1991, the MRND-led government allowed political parties to form in an attempt to open up the political space and become a multiparty system.

Several parties were formed including MDR, PSD, PL, PDC, PDI, and CDR. The establishment of the multiparty system was a result of pressure from educated Rwandans who requested a change in leadership from Habyarimana’s government.

To maintain its grip on power, MRND created satellite parties such as the extremist CDR which would plead allegiance to it, and later on lead the establishment of the Hutu Power ideology and mobilize factions from within other parties such as MDR and PL. This political stratagem led to full-scale Genocide.