In 1994 genocide in Rwanda claimed the lives of at least 500,000 Tutsi -some three-quarters of their population -while UN peacekeepers were withdrawn and the rest of the world stood aside. Ever ...since, it has been argued that a small military intervention could have prevented most of the killing. In The Limits of Humanitarian Intervention, Alan J. Kuperman exposes such conventional wisdom as myth.
Combining unprecedented analyses of the genocide's progression and the logistical limitations of humanitarian military intervention, Kuperman reaches a startling conclusion: even if Western leaders had ordered an intervention as soon as they became aware of a nationwide genocide in Rwanda, the intervention forces would have arrived too late to save more than a quarter of the 500,000 Tutsi ultimately killed. Serving as a cautionary message about the limits of humanitarian intervention, the book's concluding chapters address lessons for the future.
Matthyssen’s monograph has an intriguing title: Ignorance is Bliss: The Chinese Art of Not Knowing. The art of not knowing is encapsulated in a pithy Chinese expression: Nande hutu (难得糊涂), which ...literally translates to “Hard to attain muddleheadedness”. In practice, Nande hutu entails deliberate performance of not knowing, or “playing dumb”, for one to cope with challenging circumstances. For example, a government official might pretend not to see corruption so as to keep a distance from it. More than a survival strategy, Nande hutu also allows one to maintain moral integrity or even achieve spiritual transcendence. As simple as the notion of Nande hutu might appear to be, it requires steadfast self-cultivation in the long run and skilful self-control during social interactions. For all these reasons, Nande hutu became a maxim that for centuries inspired Chinese individuals from varied walks of life. Capturing the sheer complexity of Nande hutu, Matthyssen treats it as the entrance into a labyrinth of Chinese philosophy, politics, social relations, and a cultural history spanning from ancient times to today.
This paper reflects on the complex dynamics of the relationship between forced repatriation of Hutu refugees with protracted refugee situations and insecurity prevailing in the Great Lakes region, in ...particular, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It critiques misconceived and misguided regional and international responses to the influx of Hutu refugees. The refugees were initially stereotyped as fleeing from prosecution and their influx was seen as a source of friction between Rwanda and its neighbouring countries and as burden to host countries’ social and economic progress. Viewing them as fugitives and as an economic burden, host countries forced Hutu refugees to return. This was done in cooperation with the Rwandan government (i.e. the persecutor) under auspices of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The purpose of this paper is to illustrate that the forced repatriation resulted not only in the resistance of the Hutu refugees, but also in turning the territory of the DRC into a fully-fledged battlefield for the Hutus and Tutsis. Further, it is argued that this Hutu-Tutsi conflict gave rise to the recurring cycle of violence in the eastern DRC.
Au mois d’avril 2017, les Presses universitaires de France ont fait paraître un « Que sais-je ? » consacré au génocide des Tutsi du Rwanda. Sous l’apparence d’une analyse documentée et équilibrée, ...l’auteur, Filip Reyntjens, tente d’imposer sa relecture partiale et malhonnête des faits, n’hésitant pas à recourir à des procédés peu dignes d’un historien rigoureux. Le courant révisionniste qu’il incarne vise notamment à faire porter une partie de la responsabilité de la tragédie aux rebelles du FPR et manifeste ainsi, une fois encore, sa capacité à faire valoir ses thèses jusque dans les collections les plus populaires et les plus prestigieuses.
Quand la boussole perd le nord Alain Gabet; Sébastien Jahan
Cahiers d'histoire (Espaces Marx (Association)),
09/2018
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Au mois d’avril 2017, les Presses universitaires de France ont fait paraître un « Que sais-je ? » consacré au génocide des Tutsi du Rwanda. Sous l’apparence d’une analyse documentée et équilibrée, ...l’auteur, Filip Reyntjens, tente d’imposer sa relecture partiale et malhonnête des faits, n’hésitant pas à recourir à des procédés peu dignes d’un historien rigoureux. Le courant révisionniste qu’il incarne vise notamment à faire porter une partie de la responsabilité de la tragédie aux rebelles du FPR et manifeste ainsi, une fois encore, sa capacité à faire valoir ses thèses jusque dans les collections les plus populaires et les plus prestigieuses.
This study, written collaboratively with a native Rwandan author, briefly recalls the historical reality from a Rwandan perspective and addresses the consequences of the Genocide against the Tutsi in ...Rwanda. Furthermore, the way the Western world was a passive spectator to the economic, political and social pillage and Genocide that occurred in the last part of the 20th Century, that was, in 1994, is discussed.
How is reconciliation fostered in the communities across Rwanda? In particular, the sites and communities where massacres were held? Strong community ties and community being central to social work practice is observed in most East African countries, with no exception to Rwanda. While social work pedagogy is something new and possibly introduced by Western idiom, the tradition of welfare and mutual caring (would have been/ has been part) of the Kinyarwanda culture, language, and manner of living. What factors have worked for reconciliation, reconstruction of the society? How were people made to understand violence, and what did they replace it with? How is the post-genocide moral narrative shaped? The traditional indigenous processes that have been utilised, including the Gacaca, unique court process, are briefly discussed. How do people implant hate into people? By the same token, how do people put peace and love into people? These are a few questions that were central to this study throughout.
Les accusations lancées par Paul Kagame à l’occasion des dernières commémorations du génocide des Tutsi ont ravivé les controverses sur la responsabilité de la France dans cette tragédie, ...contraignant une nouvelle fois nos gouvernants à un démenti offusqué. Les faits, pourtant, donnent raison au président rwandais : en 1994, les autorités françaises ont bel et bien protégé et épaulé les génocidaires. Le premier volet de cette contribution s’emploie à repérer les étapes de la reconstitution, par des enquêteurs et des chercheurs, des différents aspects de cette implication criminelle. Dans le prochain numéro, une seconde partie questionnera le difficile cheminement dans l’opinion d’une vérité occultée ou brouillée par une partie des médias et la grande majorité de la classe politique.
Les accusations lancées par Paul Kagame à l’occasion des dernières commémorations du génocide des Tutsi ont ravivé les controverses sur la responsabilité de la France dans cette tragédie, ...contraignant une nouvelle fois nos gouvernants à un démenti offusqué. Les faits, pourtant, donnent raison au président rwandais : en 1994, les autorités françaises ont bel et bien protégé et épaulé les génocidaires. Le premier volet de cette contribution s’emploie à repérer les étapes de la reconstitution, par des enquêteurs et des chercheurs, des différents aspects de cette implication criminelle. Dans le prochain numéro, une seconde partie questionnera le difficile cheminement dans l’opinion d’une vérité occultée ou brouillée par une partie des médias et la grande majorité de la classe politique.
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