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Tributes paid at Qutub Minar on the anniversary of the Rwandan genocide. The massacre was remembered by lighting lights in the colors of the Rwandan flag on the Qutub Minar. The United Nations International Day of Reflection commemorates the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi community in Rwanda. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal posted on Twitter that Secretary Economic Relations Dammu Ravi represented India on the 30th anniversary of the genocide in Kigali (capital of Rwanda) today.
April 1994 proved to be a terrible year for the African country Rwanda. This year a terrible massacre took place in the country. In which 8 lakh people died within 100 days. This year marks three decades since the Rwandan genocide. This genocide came about due to tension between two races, Hutu and Tutsi.
Even before April 1994, tension was arising between Hutu and Tutsi. The Tutsi, who made up 8.4 percent of the population according to the 1991 census, were considered close to white Europeans. Hutu constituted 85 percent of the population, but despite being greater in population, they lacked access to education and economic opportunities. Tutsi dominated the country for a long time.
After which, in 1959, as independence movements began across Africa, the Hutu rebelled violently against the Tutsi. About 100,000 people, mostly Tutsi, took refuge in neighboring countries, including Uganda, to save their lives following the killings and attacks. After this the Tutsi group formed the rebel organization Rwanda Patriot Front (RPF). This organization came to Rwanda in the 1990s and the conflict began.
The war ended with a peace agreement in 1993. But on the night of April 6, 1994, a plane carrying then President Juvenal Habyarimana and Burundi President Gabriel Ntaryamira was shot down over Kigali (the capital of Rwanda). Everyone aboard was killed. From where this terrible massacre began.
It has not yet been decided who downed this ship. Some people blame Hutu for this while others blame Rwanda Patrick Front (RPF). Since both these leaders came from the Hutu tribe, the Hutu held the RPF responsible for their murder. Soon after this the phase of murders started. RPF accused Hutu that the plane was shot down by Hutu so that they could get an excuse for the massacre.
Before the genocide, the Hutu carefully compiled a list of Tutsi people who had criticized the government. After which they started killing all the people included in the list along with their families. People from the Hutu community even killed their neighbors from the Tutsi community.
The fighters closed the roads, where Tutsis were selectively killed with sharp weapons. Not only this but thousands of Tutsi women were kidnapped. They raped women and looted houses. Later, the victims were taken to large open spaces such as stadiums or schools where they were massacred.
The killings stopped 100 days later, on 4 July, when the RPF captured Kigali. It will probably never be known how many people died because graves can still be found there. However, the United Nations said that 8 lakh people were killed in the massacre that lasted three months.