Remembering Genocides in Central Africa

The author challenges conventional wisdom and suggests a new perspective for making sense of the appalling brutality that has accompanied the regions post-independence trajectories, highlighting the critical importance of the Burundi bloodshed to an understanding of the roots of the Rwanda genocide and the mass murder of Hutu civilians by Kagame's Tutsi army in the Congo.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 150 pages
Publication date: 01 August 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Rwanda, a tragic chapter from the last century, has gained widespread recognition as a genocide, yet profound disagreements persist regarding its causes and consequences. Drawing from personal memories, historical analysis, and extensive research in Central Africa, the author challenges prevailing narratives and presents a fresh perspective to comprehend the horrifying brutality that has accompanied the region's post-independence trajectories.

In the neighboring states of Rwanda, Hutu and Tutsi populations coexist, harboring the potential for ethnic conflict. However, it was in Burundi that this potential escalated to genocidal proportions in 1972. In response to a local insurrection, a predominantly Tutsi army, led by President Pierre Buyoya, committed the heinous act of killing at least 200,000 Hutu civilians. By expanding his analytical lens, the author highlights the critical significance of the Burundi bloodshed in understanding the roots of the Rwanda genocide. Furthermore, he emphasizes the later mass murder of Hutu civilians by the Tutsi army of President Paul Kagame, not only in Rwanda but also in the Congo.

The regional dimension of ethnic conflict, traceable to the Belgian-engineered Hutu revolution in Rwanda in 1959, three years before its independence, is a significant missing piece in the genocidal puzzle of the Great Lakes region of central Africa. However, this is just one aspect. Reassembling the missing pieces within and outside Rwanda is a crucial merit of this highly readable reassessment of a widely misunderstood human tragedy.

In conclusion, Rwanda's tragic history serves as a reminder of the profound consequences of ethnic conflict and the urgent need for understanding and reconciliation. By examining the broader regional context and reassembling the missing pieces, this book offers a valuable contribution to our understanding of this complex and devastating event.

Weight: 310g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367654160