state In 1973 in a military coup a Hutu General, Juvenal Habyarimana took power. He carried on the policy of discrimination against Tutsi and instead favoured his own clan from the north-west of the country.
His dictatorship grew more vicious in the 1980's when torture, extra-judicial execution and the imprisonment without trial of thousands was rife.
With the RPF invasion in 1990, every Tutsi was suspected of being an enemy and treated likewise. The advent of multi-partyism and Hutu dissatisfaction over his clannism made him many Hutu enemies as well whom he also victimised. Some of them escaped from the country and joined the RPF in exile.
The Rwandan army had by now become a wholly Hutu preserve with Tutsis not permitted to join or marry soldiers. The army grew from 4,000 to 40,000 after 1990 emerging as a political force. The rocket which downed Habyarimana's jet was probably fired by the elite Presidential Guard who were mounting their own coup d'etat.
The Rwandan dictator. was on his way back from Tanzania where he had finally signed the Arusha peace accord with the RPF. Under the agreement, there would have been a multi-party transitional government in place last year and free elections this year.
Also the Rwandan army was to be integrated with the RPF army. Hutu dominance would at the least be shaken and the ruling elite lose their monopoly on power. From their perspective it was crucial to prevent this ever happening.
Western responsibility Habyarimana's human rights record meant nothing to his western backers, who financed and armed him to the teeth. He was seen as an ally when imperialism was on the ideological defensive in the 1970s.
However the collapse of the Soviet Union and its influence made his friends change tack, and they began to press for an end to his despotism and for multi-party elections.
It is certain that Habyarimana was reluctant to loosen his grip on power. As early as 1992 he had approved attacks on Tutsis as well as Hutu oppositionists who supported peace with the RPF.
Militias linked to his party and another Hutu supremacist party were trained by the French with arms supplied during this period by Belgium, Israel and Egypt among others.
These militias callled the Interahamwe (Those who attack together) and Impuzamugambi (Those with a single purpose) made preparations for a final solution - the genocide of the Tutsi, well in advance of those April days.
The now infamous Radio Milles-Collines On course to confront rich? RPF fighters exhorted Hutus to kill, urging them "not to spare the children unlike last time". This was not some spontaneous outburst or "tribal frenzy", it was a carefully planned and exe. cuted campaign.
When the so-called "international community of nations" that is the oppressors and exploiters of the world shed crocodile tears for the Rwandese we should recall that this is a tragedy for which they bear a heavy responsibility.
As the new government. which includes Hutu democratic parties but is dominated by the RPF rebuilds the country, an issue it must quickly face is the hundreds of thousands of internally displaced and the millions of refugees in Zaire, Tanzania and Burundi.
In these refugee camps they are easy prey not only to disease and hunger but also to the chauvinist propaganda of Hutu extremists linked to the old regime: Many of the militia leaders and their families are sheltered here. They have been successful in persuading the refugees that they will be punished if they return to their homes.
Unfortunately the RPF has fueled these: genuine fears in the Kibeho massacre. Its troops were ordered to close down and evacuate a camp within its borders where extremists were in control when some refugees ran through RPF ranks, soldiers opened fire killing hundreds.
In the ensuing stampede thousands were trampled underfoot and the final toll may be over 5,000 dead. The new government has made a full apology for the atrocity and promised that soldiers would be punished.
It has accepted that an independent commission of inquiry has to examine the facts. The acid test of its 'national' credentials will be whether it confronts the abuses committed by its own forces and take action to prevent its repetition.
Independent reports confirm that there have been few offically sponsored attacks on Hutus.
Where RPF. soldiers are implicated, they tend to be those who joined last year in response to the murder of their families and for whom the pain and anger is greatest.
It seems that there are three viable options to the refugee dilemma.
• They should be allowed to return, accompanied by human rights monitors to their homes, equipped with seed and tools and enough food until the next harvest.
• They could be allowed to stay in the neighbouring countries and settle there, but retain their Rwandan nationality.
• They could be naturalised as citizens in those countries and be given full and equal rights.
Rwandan Patriotic Front It was inevitable that the RPF would be dominated by Tutsi. After all it was they who formed the majority of refugees and the op: pressed post 1959.
However the progressive aspect of the RPF is that it has seen itself since its formation as a. liberation movement of all Rwandese. Its executive is majority Hutu and it has Hutu soldiers in its ranks. The RPF chairman, Colonel Alexis Kanyarengwe is himself Hutu. It is more than symbolic that the President and Prime Minister appointed by the new government are themselves Hutu.
Although it is widely accepted that the key figure is Major-General Paul Kagame who îs deputy President and Defence minister and a Tutsi.
The RPF is a multi-class formation. It was created to be as broad as possible and on a minimum platform of demands. There are three trends within the RPF.
Some would have liked nothing better than to ally with the Hutu elite and become part of the ruling class. There are others who impressed by the Museveni regime in Uganda and favour an economy open to foreign capital but where instead of multi-partyism a strong state rises above ethnic association.
The third trend are those militants particularly from the student milieu who recognise that the neo-colonial economy which spawned the genocide remains intact and has to be dismantled.
Even if they are content to carry forward the modest eight point programme the RPF adopted in 1990, this sets them on course for a confrontation with the rich and the propertyowners and their imperialist backers abroad.
Cancel the debt!
Rwanda cannot be seen either in isolation from the rest of the region especially Burundi. Throughout this century events in one country have impacted upon the other.
Their problems are similar and the way out equally applicable. If western countries really care about Rwanda and regret their role in the past they can demonstrate it by cancelling its foreign debt and returning the war criminals who now reside in the plush suburbs of Nairobi and Brussels to face trial.
In the genocide neighbour turned against neighbour. The victim and the attacker knew each other. Not everyone can or will be punished. The most important are the politicians, the army high command and the militia leaders. of whom an example must be made.
Never again must there be a repeat of last year's events. Never again must the criminals go unpunished. Never again.
SOCIALIST OUTLOOK No. 85, June 10 1995, Page 10