In the previous articles in this series, we observed how the Tutsi were persecuted by the Kayibanda regime and later the Habyarimana regime. Habyarimana's regime exacerbated the situation by adding on regional divisions. In this piece, we shall see the consequences of divisionism and the solutions that were sought to solve it. Distant and immediate causes The previous episodes of this series, which treated the 1950s-1960s, provide details that enable us to understand Rwanda’s messed-up decolonisation and journey to independence from Belgian rule. This kind of decolonisation took colonial territories unawares and obliged them to gain independence hastily. It threw them into a tragedy, which Burundi, Congo and Rwanda were to experience later on. Anti-Hutu racism that took place during the colonial era was replaced by anti-Tutsi racism from the end of the 1950s. When the PARMEHUTU party emerged, all Tutsi qualities became evil and all evil that were previously associated with Hutu became qualities. They contended in any case that the Hutu were the majority who had been exploited by a feudal system for many centuries. The consequences of putting in place a regime based on the ideology of exclusion are well known. Some of these are the destruction of Rwanda as a nation, the destruction of properties belonging to the Tutsi, massacres and exile within and outside the country. Reactions to these acts of violence were the following: submission for the vast majority, armed struggle by Inyenzi, attempts by refugees to integrate into the new regime in Rwanda and in the countries of asylum. Towards 1965, in spite of the support from the non-aligned and socialist countries as well as the Afro-Asian group, the UNAR party or at least its external wing disappeared. Rwandan communities then camped on other priorities. They organised themselves in order to survive. They sought integration in host countries or in the new Rwanda. They had to ensure the education of their children as they tried to observe changes in Rwanda and in the host countries. Cultural and political awakening Their lived experiences affected the people and provided them with lessons through which their political awareness was aroused and the necessity to regain their motherland and recover all rights befitting any citizen of a country was strengthened. As French historian Gerard Prunier observed, “In different refugee communities, cultural awareness preceded political awareness. Towards the 1970s, there was a proliferation of cultural associations almost everywhere. Rwandese culture always stirred up Rwandese communities but the new strategy consisted of organising better and animating existing groups, creating new groups where they did not exist as well as organising public shows. They made tours, music and dances, etc. Behind that cultural involvement was a nostalgic feeling for Rwanda which later provided fertile ground for political awakening and support to the RPF during the liberation war. The political awakening happened after the failure of a Rwandan integration into President Idi Amin’s Uganda and the massive expulsions of Rwandan refugees under President Obote in 1982. There were also doubtful nationalities in Zaire in the 1980s as well as threats that weighed heavily on the Rwandese refugees whose fate was directly linked to that of the Tutsi of Burundi, a fact according to which a Tutsi inside the country was considered a second-class citizen and therefore humiliated and persecuted. This climate of deception gave rise to political awareness which translated into discussions between friends or parents and solidarity consciousness among all people who were in this situation of exclusion. This political awareness gave birth to the Rwandese Alliance of National Unity (RANU) created by young intellectuals who were educated at Makerere University in Uganda. They raised questions about the future of their community. In 1979, a group of intellectuals decided to create a forum to meet and engage in debates concerning the Rwandese community that was scattered all over the world without any spokesman and a core group to fine-tune the objectives of the forum. The causes of UNAR’s failure were constantly reviewed. Despite the separation from UNAR, the group kept the main elements of UNAR’s political line, i.e. national unity and sovereignty. After deeply studying the Kigali regime, this group of intellectuals made and imagined suitable solutions. From RANU, the Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF) emerged in 1987 as a broad-based movement. Three years later, the RPF launched an armed struggle that liberated Rwanda from a genocidal regime.
