Rwanda and Syria: An Unexpected Relation

Rwanda and Syria: an Unexpected Relation

        Of the events that are etched into history’s pages, April 6 to July 17 1994 marks one of the bloodiest and most brutal acts of violence against humanity; the genocide of the Tutsi in Rwanda. Lasting 100 days, the world watched in shock and horror as approximately 800,000 Tutsi were strategically hunted down, tortured, and then slaughtered by their ethnic rivals, the Hutu^[1]. Such violence and destruction evolved from Rwanda’s civil war between the Rwanda Patriotic Front, a Tutsi rebel party and the Hutu dominated Rwandan government of President Juvenal Habyarimana. Between the civil war and genocide, the death toll of Rwandan victims reached over a million, forcing the international community to intervene and prevent further deaths. Unfortunately, effective international intervention came too late, and the events in Rwanda will forever stain history. Over twenty years later, Syria seems to be following the same path of destruction and massive loss of life as that of Rwanda.  According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Syria’s civil war has already claimed over 330,000 lives between its start in March 2011 to August 5 2015, and forcibly displaced more than half of the country’s population^[2]. Undoubtedly, parallels can be drawn from the Rwandan conflict to that of Syria’s, despite differences in geographic regions, historical origins, ethnicity, and conflicting parties. It begs the question, to what degree are the civil wars of Rwanda and Syria similar? Additionally, could the escalating violence of Syria’s civil war be predicted by analyzing the patterns of violence and conflict seen in Rwanda? In comprehending the historical events of Rwanda’s civil war, its escalation to genocide and the failure of timely international intervention, could the international community halt or at least lessen the humanitarian crisis of Syria’s current conflict?  With these questions in mind, this essay will evaluate and analyze the historical origins of the Hutu and Tutsi, causation of the Rwandan civil war and genocide, as well as international actions to the Rwanda’s crisis, demonstrating the correlation to that of Syria’s current conflict.

         Rwanda has a distinct history of division between its people, the Tutsi and Hutu, which can be traced long before European colonization implemented ethnic and racial differentiation. Prior to colonization, the indigenous people of Rwanda created complex hierarchical institutions dependent on economic activity and social status, with the Tutsis holding the majority of control.^[3] It was Belgian’s colonization of Rwanda in the early 20th century in conjunction with European’s favoritism for the Tutsi’s lighter skin, which reinforced the Tutsi’s monopoly of power against the Hutu^[4]. Additionally, in 1930 the Belgian government established and implemented a system of ethnic identification, mandating all Rwandans to identify as either Hutu or Tutsi as well as requiring each adult to carry identification cards with their declared ethnicity. This permanent and defining distinction caused tensions and resentment that eventually brought about acts of violence, when the 1950’s ended Belgian support of the Tutsi and in turn their administrative power of Rwanda. By 1967, the violence was no longer politically driven, rather they were crimes of ethnic hate that were responsible for approximately 20,000 Tutsis to be killed and more than 300,000 forced to flee the country.^[5] The violence from the Hutu Revolution, as the incursions were called, centered on promoting anti-Tutsi policies, leading to the Rwandan civil war, followed by the genocide of 1994. Rwanda has proven to have a history heavy in disputes between the Hutu and Tutsi, partnered with the country’s dense population, the deaths of over a million Rwandans with little international interference is unsurprising. In continuing the analysis of the historical origins of a nation’s internal dispute, it can be seen that history can be repeated no matter where the geographic location of the country is.

        Located in the Middle East, Syria is a country rich in a historical background that is as turbulent and violent as that of Rwanda’s. The Syrian population is mainly considered to be an ethnoreligious group, combining Arabic heritage with that of the Islamic religion. For centuries there has been conflicts between the two main sectors of Islam; the Sunni and Shia which arose in the early days of Islam in regards to how the caliph, or Islamic leader should be chosen. The Sunni’s adhered to the selection of individuals who were qualified to lead, while the Shia insisted that the succession came from Mohammed’s bloodline.^[6] This ongoing conflict has deeply rooted itself into the political domains of the Syrian government, with the Sunnis identifying themselves as being the “true” Muslims of Islam and were the dominant population that maintained the Islamic government, suppressing their Shia counterparts. The Sunni’s loss of power in Syria revealed an uncanny resemblance to that of the Tutsi’s fall in Rwanda, when the Syrian Shias violently gained control of the government and tormenting their once Sunni oppressors.^[7] As it has been previously noted, the civil war in Rwanda parallels to that in Syria. In summary, both nations’ experienced the struggle for political power between two opposing parties who shared the same ethic and ethnoreligious background, they share similar origins of a historical pretext from which the conflicts were rooted, and both nations have lost a massive number of their population due to their conflicts. There is one significant and perhaps most important factor between the Rwandan crisis and that of Syria; the Rwandan genocide and civil war ended, yet Syrian civil war currently continues. Although Syria shows signs of becoming the “next Rwanda” its path is still unwritten and preventable. In analyzing the actions of the international community in reference to the Rwandan crisis, identifying where miscommunication and mistakes were made, perhaps we can prevent the escalating violence currently seen in Syria.

         Officially, Rwanda’s civil war began October 1, 1990, lasting over a period of two and a half years, violent attacks between the two warring parties ensued, resulting in thousands of deaths from both ethnicities.^[8] The catalyst that set off the genocide occurred April 6th 1994, when a plane carrying the Presidents of Rwanda and Burundi was shot down, causing their deaths.^[9] Evidence that an uprising would occur was supported by a fax sent to UN peacekeeping officials Maj. Gen. Maurice Baril, from Gen. Dallaire; warning the existence of the Rwandan military uprising, who had secretly been systematically planning the assignation of Belgian UN peacekeepers, Rwandan members of parliament and a list of Tutsis to be killed^[10]. This document, among others is significant beyond the information of its contents. It gives physical evidence that proves the intentional disregard of international intervention, especially from the U.S. who were the main providers and gatherers of all information regarding the Rwandan conflict.^[11] Despite the endless knowledge of the activities in regards to the military uprising, no actions were taken to prevent the mass killings of Rwanda.  Ironically, several weeks after the start of genocide, with the massacre still ongoing; the White House released a public statement on April 22 1994, imploring for the violence to end, despite knowing that the genocide would take place.^[12] Had the international community been more active in the Rwandan conflict, approximately 800,000 lives if not more could have been saved.