Government And Local Officials During The 100 Day Period

During the 100-day period from April 6th to mid-July, 1994, an estimated 800,000–1,000,000 Rwandans were killed, which equaled as much as 20% of the country s total population and 70% of the Tutsi population living in Rwanda at the time. The genocide, which was begun by Hutu extremists in the capital of Kigali, spread throughout the country with astonishing speed and brutality. The Hutu government and local officials provoked ordinary citizens to bring death upon their neighbors. The way the government and local officials increased the hate between the Tutsi and the Hutus were by using the radio and newspapers. The national radio station, or RTMLC, and the newspapers that were being distributed mainly in Kigali were the ways these†¦show more content†¦a telegram with several requests. The requests were for more troops, to intercept weapons, and to shut down the radio. The U.N. denied the requests and stood by as this all happened, acting as if they had no idea what wa s going on. There should have been an intervention of some kind as soon as they received the telegram from General Dallaire. If the radio had been jammed, the killings would not have happened as fast as they did, or there would not have been as many deaths as there were. Propaganda was a huge contributor to the genocide, and most of the propaganda was spread through the same airwaves that the U.N. would not allow to be jammed. If the U.N. had not failed to respond to General Dallaire’s requests appropriately, the genocide probably would not have happened. There was a lot of history involved between the Tutsi and the Hutu people of Rwanda even before the genocide occurred. This history goes back even before the Europeans came to Rwanda. The Hutu have always been the majority, but the Tutsi were considered the elite. This was especially true because before the Europeans came, they had a Tutsi as their king. In the early 20th Century, when the Belgians took control over the Germans, they found the Tutsi to be easier to get along with and to be more â€Å"graceful† in appearance (meaning more Caucasian). In 1933, the Belgians introduced ethnic identity cards and made sure most of the jobs and education went to the Tutsi, which angered the