In the previous article, it was established that ballistic and forensic reports determined the origin of the missiles that downed the plane carrying President Habyarimana and his delegation. His death sparked controversies regarding the cause of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. Further information, as we proceed, will help clarify the reality. ALSO READ: Habyarimana's role in planning, implementing 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi Étienne Sengegere, the then Rwandan Ambassador to Zaire, now DR Congo, along with President Habyarimana’s close associates, asserted that after the presidential plane was attacked that it had been shot down by Belgian soldiers of UNAMIR. Sengegere based this claim on the fact that the Belgians could have acted on behalf of the RPF and that Belgian UNAMIR soldiers were patrolling the area surrounding the plane crash at the time. ALSO READ: The former Rwandan Armed Forces' central role in preparation of 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi Colette Braeckman, a Belgian journalist and author, maintains that Habyarimana’s plane was shot down by missiles launched by elements of the French army or those trained by them. She states that she received a document detailing a commando unit responsible for the attack. While the individuals have not been publicly identified, she argues that foreign actors sponsored and executed the attack against Habyarimana. Despite the lack of conclusive evidence regarding the perpetrators of the attack, some have gone further to claim that the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi was triggered by Habyarimana’s death. Authorities of the Interim Government and genocide perpetrators exploited this assertion, portraying the genocide as an act of self-defense by the Hutu against the Tutsi. They argued that the Tutsi had destabilized the country and colluded with an external enemy, namely the RPF. Following the attack on the presidential plane, the Hutu-Power movement used the event as a justification to call for the extermination of the Tutsi. Leaders of the movement framed Habyarimana’s death as a provocation by the Tutsi and a prelude to the destruction of the Hutu. The president’s death served two objectives: avenging the Hutu of Burundi and warning Rwandan Hutu of a supposed Tutsi plan to annihilate them. The emotional shock caused by the simultaneous deaths of the Burundian and Rwandese presidents was exploited to rationalize the extermination of the Tutsi and mobilize participants. By portraying the Tutsi as responsible for the dual tragedy, leaders of the caretaker regime and perpetrators of the genocide, led by Jean Kambanda, significantly influenced the perceptions of the local population. Accusations directed at the RPF and its alleged allies convinced many Hutu of the urgent need to eliminate the Tutsi. A notable example is Shingiro Mbonyumutwa’s message, broadcast on radio RTLM a week after the attack. The son of former president Dominique Mbonyumutwa stoked emotions among hesitant Hutu, warning them that if they did not act swiftly against the Tutsi inside the country, those in the diaspora would retaliate. He declared: “Imagine therefore, these Tutsi in the Diaspora, who once in Rwanda would start avenging themselves against their enemies who kept them outside the country for thirty years! I confirm to you, as they declared themselves, the problem of a very big population in Rwanda shall be resolved soon. They are going to exterminate, exterminate and exterminate. They are going to exterminate you until they are the only ones in the country. “They will do this to keep power for a thousand years; the power that their fathers had kept for four hundred years. That is why you, who have reasoning capacity, saying that it will be enough to clap as they attack, you are wasting your time, and nobody should take this for granted.” The plane crash was ultimately used as a pretext by the planners of the genocide to carry out their objectives, as we will explore further.
