originally published in Africa Review, Kenya
Hutu extremists have been cited as the leading suspects in a series of grenade attacks in the capital of Rw
anda late last Friday.
The attacks left at least one
person dead and 30 others injured , police officials have said. Two men were arrested and said to be connected to Hutu militia originally responsible for the 1994 Rwandan genocide, while a number of seriously injured victims remained clinging to life in city hospitals. While only one had so far died, the attacks have brought fear to a normally peaceful country. Three near simultaneous attacks hit taxi stations near a shopping mall in the city’s business district, a restaurant, and the country’s busy international bus station during early evening rush hour. Within hours of the attack, Rwandan police and other politicians were blaming the attacks on Hutu extremists, bent on destabilising President Paul Kagame’s government and retaking power, and arrests were made.
“Two suspects were apprehended, they belong to the Interahamwe militia,” said Rwandan police spokesperson Eric Kayingare. Though he said two had been arrested, he did not say where they were found or how they were known to be members of Hutu extremist groups.
Massive violence
A fringe group of Hutu extremists incited massive violence in Rwandan in 1994 leading to neighbour-to-neighbour genocide against the minority Tutsi, slaughtering nearly 1 million in only three months. Since then, the genocide remains the original story of the New Rwanda, made famous for its dramatic recovery. While Rwanda is regularly listed as one of the safest and most secure countries in Africa, security remains a highly conscious issue in the tiny East African country. Most of the people who committed genocide in 1994 have either been tried in local and international courts or are living abroad as fugitives, most famously across the border in eastern Congo, where they mingle with the nasty rebel group called Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda.
Some who still harbour ‘genocide ideology’ – the state-of-mind the government says the killers hold – are living within Rwanda, and from time to time, most commonly through grenades, they show their presence.
Although police spokesperson Kayingare told sections of the international press that there wasn’t conclusive proof yet linking the most recent attacks to extremists, he told others, including wire service AFP, that “there is no doubt” that they were behind the attack, bringing further confusion to the incident.
Intimidate people
“Those who commit these kind of crimes want to sow chaos, intimidate people and kill the genocide survivors,” said Mr Kayingare, adding that “all the evidence” pointed towards Hutu extremists. The attacks come just a week before French President Nicholas Sarkozy is due to visit the country following renewed relations after years of hostility and silence. France has been accused of playing an integral role in training and facilitating the genocidal government in 1994 and was seen as a strong ally of the Hutu extremists.
The attacks also come amidst increasing tension between the government and a handful of political opposition parties – some of which are not yet registered – who have been accused of being bastions of ethnic divisionism and ‘genocide ideology’.
President Kagame’s government has come under attack in recent months over a controversial and amorphous law banning ‘genocideideology’ that critics say is being used to wipe away all opposition to the government. Officials and regular citizens in Rwanda said the attacks were proof that ‘genocide-ideology’ exists, and that it was being used violently to target nationals.
The police said that, since investigations were under way, they could not go into details about the two suspects who were arrested in connection to the attacks and it remains unknown if they were the sole conspirators.
National mourning
Late last year, a string of grenade attacks killed a number of genocide survivors who had been acting as witnesses in genocide trials, and grenade attacks have become a common presence during national mourning week every April. The country’s largest genocide memorial has been attacked by grenades in consecutive years, killing security guards. Late last week, a grenade exploded in the country’s Southern Province, killing a 12-year-old boy.
While the country inches towards presidential elections slated for August, opposition parties are being accused of ethnic divisionism, and the ruling party accused by human-rights organisations of using vague laws to sweep away critics.
While the government is currently in a week-long retreat to discuss leadership and development policy, a handful of opposition groups have formed a coalition to solidify their base. So far, their campaigns have been ruthless in highlighting ethnic strife within the country that they say the ruling-party, led by President Kagame, has brought on.
Under Kagame’s leadership, Rwanda has received a number of accolades making the country the face of Emerging Africa. The keystone of President Kagame’s policy is a ban on public expressions of ethnicity, which he argues is integral to bridging ethnic divisions in the country that led to genocide in 1994. According to the police, the grenade attacks over the weekend highlight that sensitive situation in the country.
Comments