Hutu and Tutsi Identity Issues Leading to Genocide
In this section, we focus on certain factors that exacerbated the conflict that led to the Rwandan Genocide in 1994. For years, the Hutus and Tutsis were embroiled in bitter struggles involving several aspects of political, social, military, and daily life.
A Political Shift
In 1973, General Juvenal Habyarimana, a Hutu, seized power and became President of Rwanda. He established a highly centralized authoritarian regime, forming the MRND Party (Mouvement Revlotionaire Nationale pour le Developpement, which would become the only legally recognized national political party.12 Its main objectives included the consolidation of countryside cooperative groups and also sought to control both the Catholic Church and trade unions. This essentially left the Tutsi population with little or no legitimate forum to live their lives together freely and with representation.
Privileges Revoked
As a direct result of this and other actions, many restrictions arose for Tutsis in Rwanda. These included: a ban on inter-ethnic marriage and the exclusion of Tutsis from the military and government positions.3 These limitations facilitated a sentiment of frustration, anger, and resentment toward to Hutu population at large. The inter-marriage ban was especially troubling for Tutsis because this seemed to originate from no logical source. It seems that this intermarriage ban stemmed from an effort to polarize the Rwandan population between the two groups. This move, in conjunction with other efforts to push divisions between the Hutus and Tutsis, represented the seeds of the coming genocide. Tutsis who wanted to defend their country found no opportunity to do so, therefore creating hostility towards their own defense apparatus. It was, however, the prevention of Tutsis from gaining civil-service positions that created the most anxiety because government employment was seen as a steady source of income and offered status within the Rwandan regime.
1 http://www.rwandancoffeeclub.org/genocide.html
2 http://www.ppu.org.uk/genocide/g_rwanda1.html
3 ibid