Rwanda Terms

Akazu

part of the Hutu power movement; the inner circle/elite in the Rwandan government who supported Habyarimana; determined to use any means, including genocide, to hold onto power

CDR

Coalition for the Defense of the Republic; a Hutu power organization formed in 1992 by hardliners from the MRND

Gacaca

a community court system in Rwanda, recreated in 1999 to try to handle the large number of court cases concerning those who participated in the genocide

ICTR

International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda; created after 1994 genocide; purpose was to try those guilty for leading the genocide

Impuzamugambi

part of the Hutu power movement; largely responsible for the genocide of Tutsi and moderate Hutu in 1994

Interahamwe

"those who attack together" in Kinyarwanda; part of the Hutu power movement; began as a youth wing of the MRND; became largely responsible for the genocide of Tutsi and moderate Hutu in 1994

Inyenzi

"cockroach" in Kinyarwanda; became a derogatory term used by Hutu to describe Tutsi

Kangura

Hutu magazine; part of the Hutu power propaganda machine

Kinyarwanda

common language spoken by Tutsi, Hutu, and Twa

MRND

National Revolutionary Movement for Development; president Habyarimana's political party; Hutu organization

Mutzinzi report

investigation by the Rwandan government completed in 2007 concerning the 1994 shooting down of Habyarimana's plane

Network zero

combination of various Hutu power people and movements; "zero" refers to how many Tutsi they want to remain alive

PAREMEHUTU

Party for the Emancipation of the Hutus; created in 1957

RPF

Rwandan Patriotic Front; Tutsi rebel group formed after the 1959 revolution by the Tutsis living as refugees outside of Rwanda; later led by Paul Kagame

RTLM

Radio Television Libre des Mille Collines; propaganda machine run by the Hutu power movement

UNAMIR

United Nations Assistance for Rwanda

UNAR

National Rwandese Union; Tutsi political party created in 1959

UNHCR

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Bagasora, Theoneste

colonel in the Rwandan army; Rwanda's chief of staff of the ministry of defense; leader in the Hutu power movement

Bizimungu, Pasteur

moderate Hutu who left the Habyarimana government in 1990; eventually joined RPF; became the first president of the new post-genocide Rwandan government, had Paul Kagame as his VP

Boutros-Ghali, Boutros

secretary general of the UN during the Rwandan genocide; from egypt

Dallaire, Romeo

brigadier general from canada, in command of the UN mission to Rwanda in 1994

Habyarimana, Juvenal

Hutu; president of Rwanda 1963-1973; overthrown by a military coup; died under mysterious circumstances

Sindikubwabo, Theodore

interim president of Rwanda; appointed by Hutu power leadership as a puppet leader

Uwilingiyimana, Agathe

moderate Hutu; prime minister of Rwanda; killed at the beginning of the genocide, but would have been the one to take power after Habyarimana's death

Burundi

nation to the direct south of Rwanda

Zaire/Dem Rep of Congo

nation directly to the west of Rwanda

Tanzania

nation directly to the east of Rwanda

Uganda

nation to the NE of Rwanda

Lake Kivu

body of water on the border between Zaire (dem rep of Congo) and Rwanda

Kigali

capital of Rwanda, located near the center of the country

Kenya

nation directly to the east of Uganda

Lake Victoria

largest lake in Africa, located in the center of Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania