Juvénal Habyarimana
Encyclopedia
Juvénal Habyarimana was the third President of the Republic of Rwanda, the post he held longer than any other president to date, from 1973 until 1994. During his 20-year rule he favored his own ethnic group, the Hutus, and supported the Hutu majority in neighboring Burundi
against the Tutsi
government. On April 6, 1994, he was killed when his airplane, also carrying the President of Burundi, Cyprien Ntaryamira
, was shot down close to Kigali
International Airport
. His assassination
ignited ethnic tensions in the region and helped spark the Rwandan Genocide
.
and ousting the then-ruling Parmehutu
party. In 1975, he created the Mouvement Révolutionaire National pour le Développement
as the country's only legal party. The government stayed almost entirely in military hands until 1978, when a new constitution was approved in a referendum
. As a result, the MRND was reaffirmed as the official "State-party". Local administrations simultaneously represented the official party as well as the local authority. Legal and party policies were communicated and enforced from the Head of State down through the local administrative units, especially the general policy of Umuganda where Rwandans were required to “allocate half a day's labour per week” to infrastructural projects.
At the same time, Habyarimana was elected to a five-year term as president as the only candidate. Initially, he won favor among both Hutu and Tutsi groups given his administration’s reluctance to implement policies that catered to his primarily Hutu supporters. This restraint did not last and Habyarimana eventually began to oversee a government that mirrored the policies of his recently overthrown predecessor. Quotas were once again applied to jobs for “universities and government services” which intentionally disadvantaged Tutsis. As Habyarimana continued to favor a smaller and smaller coterie of supporters, the more Hutu groups —slighted by the nation’s leader— cooperated with Tutsis to weaken his leadership. By the start of the Rwandan Civil War
, Habyarimana’s supporters had shrunk down to his akazu
("little house" or "President's household"), which was mainly composed of an informal group of Hutu extremists from his home province, namely from the reigions “Gisenyi and Ruhengeri in the north-west”.
He was reelected in single-candidate elections in 1983 and 1989. However, in 1990, he dismantled the one-party state and allowed the formation of other parties such as the Mouvement démocratique républicain
, the Parti social démocrate
, the Parti libéral
and the Parti démocrate chrétien
.
Habyarimana's closest advisers were his wife Agathe
and the akazu
.
began when rebels from the Rwandan Patriotic Front
(RPF), a force of mostly Tutsi
Rwandan expatriates who had defected in masses from the Ugandan army, crossed the border from Uganda
. The French and Zairian militaries intervened on behalf of Habyarimana's government forces, and a ceasefire was officially reached in 1993 through the Arusha Accords
.
, killing Habyarimana. Cyprien Ntaryamira
, the President of Burundi, the Chief of Staff of the Rwandan military, and numerous others also died in the attack. The plane crashed on the grounds of the presidential residence.
The circumstances of the crash are unclear. At the time, the Hutu Power
media claimed the plane had been shot down on orders from RPF leader Paul Kagame
. Others, including the RPF, accused militant Hutus from within Habyarimana's party of orchestrating the crash in order to provoke anti-Tutsi
outrage while simultaneously seizing power. Since the aircraft had a French
crew, a French investigation has been conducted; it concluded that Kagame was responsible for the killing and demanded that he be prosecuted. The response from Kagame, who has since become the president of Rwanda, was that the French were only trying to cover up their own part in the genocide that followed.
President Mobutu Sese Seko
and stored in a private mausoleum in Gbadolite
, Zaire
(now Democratic Republic of the Congo
). Mobutu promised Habyarimana's family that his body would eventually be given a proper burial in Rwanda. On May 12, 1997, as Laurent-Désiré Kabila
's ADFL
rebels were advancing on Gbadolite, Mobutu had the remains flown by cargo plane to Kinshasa
where they waited on the tarmac of N'djili Airport for three days. On May 16, the day before Mobutu fled Zaire (and the country was renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo), Habyarimana's remains were burned under the supervision of an Indian
Hindu
leader.
, who was evacuated by French troops shortly after his death. She has been described as having been extremely influential in Rwandan politics. She has been accused by Rwandan justice minister Tharcisse Karugarama
of complicity in the genocide and was denied asylum in France on the basis of evidence of her complicity.
She was arrested March 2010 in the Paris region by police executing a Rwandan-issued international arrest warrant.
Burundi
Burundi , officially the Republic of Burundi , is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its capital is Bujumbura...
against the Tutsi
Tutsi
The Tutsi , or Abatutsi, are an ethnic group in Central Africa. Historically they were often referred to as the Watussi or Watusi. They are the second largest caste in Rwanda and Burundi, the other two being the Hutu and the Twa ....
government. On April 6, 1994, he was killed when his airplane, also carrying the President of Burundi, Cyprien Ntaryamira
Cyprien Ntaryamira
Cyprien Ntaryamira , was President of Burundi from 5 February 1994 until his death when his plane was shot down on 6 April 1994.-Biography:...
, was shot down close to Kigali
Kigali
Kigali, population 965,398 , is the capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is situated near the geographic centre of the nation, and has been the economic, cultural, and transport hub of Rwanda since it became capital at independence in 1962. The main residence and offices of the President of...
International Airport
Kigali International Airport
Kigali International Airport , formerly known as Gregoire Kayibanda International Airport, but sometimes referred to as Kanombe International Airport, is the primary airport serving Kigali, the capital of Rwanda...
. His assassination
Assassination of Habyarimana and Ntaryamira
The assassination of Juvénal Habyarimana and Cyprien Ntaryamira on the evening of April 6, 1994, was the catalyst for the Rwandan Genocide. The airplane carrying Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana and Burundian president Cyprien Ntaryamira was shot down as it prepared to land in Kigali, Rwanda....
ignited ethnic tensions in the region and helped spark the Rwandan Genocide
Rwandan Genocide
The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass murder of an estimated 800,000 people in the small East African nation of Rwanda. Over the course of approximately 100 days through mid-July, over 500,000 people were killed, according to a Human Rights Watch estimate...
.
Rule
On July 5, 1973, while serving as Army Chief of Staff, Habyarimana seized power by overthrowing Grégoire KayibandaGrégoire Kayibanda
Grégoire Kayibanda was the first elected and second President of the Republic of Rwanda. He led Rwanda's struggle for independence from Belgium, and replaced the Tutsi monarchy with a republican form of government. He asserted Hutu majority power.-Early life and education:Grégoire Kayibanda was...
and ousting the then-ruling Parmehutu
Parmehutu
Parmehutu , also known as MDR-Parmehutu is a now-defunct political party of Rwanda and Burundi.It was founded by Grégoire Kayibanda as a political party of moderate Hutu...
party. In 1975, he created the Mouvement Révolutionaire National pour le Développement
Mouvement Révolutionaire National pour le Développement
Mouvement Révolutionaire National pour le Développement is a former Rwandan political party...
as the country's only legal party. The government stayed almost entirely in military hands until 1978, when a new constitution was approved in a referendum
Rwandan constitutional referendum, 1978
A constitutional referendum was held in Rwanda on 17 December 1978. It followed a coup by Juvénal Habyarimana in 1973 and the dissolution of the former sole legal party, MDR-Parmehutu. The new constitution created a presidential republic with no term limits for the President, and made the National...
. As a result, the MRND was reaffirmed as the official "State-party". Local administrations simultaneously represented the official party as well as the local authority. Legal and party policies were communicated and enforced from the Head of State down through the local administrative units, especially the general policy of Umuganda where Rwandans were required to “allocate half a day's labour per week” to infrastructural projects.
At the same time, Habyarimana was elected to a five-year term as president as the only candidate. Initially, he won favor among both Hutu and Tutsi groups given his administration’s reluctance to implement policies that catered to his primarily Hutu supporters. This restraint did not last and Habyarimana eventually began to oversee a government that mirrored the policies of his recently overthrown predecessor. Quotas were once again applied to jobs for “universities and government services” which intentionally disadvantaged Tutsis. As Habyarimana continued to favor a smaller and smaller coterie of supporters, the more Hutu groups —slighted by the nation’s leader— cooperated with Tutsis to weaken his leadership. By the start of the Rwandan Civil War
Rwandan Civil War
The Rwandan Civil War was a conflict within the Central African nation of Rwanda between the government of President Juvénal Habyarimana and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front...
, Habyarimana’s supporters had shrunk down to his akazu
Akazu
The Akazu was an informal organization of Hutu extremists, a circle of relatives and close friends of then Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana and his influential wife Agathe Habyarimana...
("little house" or "President's household"), which was mainly composed of an informal group of Hutu extremists from his home province, namely from the reigions “Gisenyi and Ruhengeri in the north-west”.
He was reelected in single-candidate elections in 1983 and 1989. However, in 1990, he dismantled the one-party state and allowed the formation of other parties such as the Mouvement démocratique républicain
Democratic Republican Movement
The Democratic Republican Movement was a political party of Rwanda. It was founded in 1991, after the National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development lost its monopoly on politics and opposition parties became legal. The MDR took its name from President Grégoire Kayibanda's political...
, the Parti social démocrate
Social Democratic Party (Rwanda)
The Social Democratic Party is a centre-left Social democratic political party in Rwanda. In the parliamentary election held on 30 September 2003, the party won 12.3% of the popular vote and 7 out of 53 seats...
, the Parti libéral
Liberal Party (Rwanda)
The Liberal Party is a political party in Rwanda that adheres to Liberalism. Higiro Prosper is the party's chairperson.The Liberal Party supported President Paul Kagame in the 2003 presidential election. In the parliamentary election held on 30 September 2003, the party won 10.6% of the popular...
and the Parti démocrate chrétien
Christian Democratic Party (Rwanda)
The Christian Democratic Party is a political party in Rwanda. At the last legislative elections on 30 September 2003, the party won 3 out of 53 seats. Mukabaranga Agnès is one of its leading members....
.
Habyarimana's closest advisers were his wife Agathe
Agathe Habyarimana
Agathe Habyarimana is the widow of former President of Rwanda Juvénal Habyarimana. Kanziga is part of a Hutu lineage that long ruled an independent principality until the late nineteenth century...
and the akazu
Akazu
The Akazu was an informal organization of Hutu extremists, a circle of relatives and close friends of then Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana and his influential wife Agathe Habyarimana...
.
Rebellion
In the early 1990s, a rebellion against Habyarimana's governmentRwandan Civil War
The Rwandan Civil War was a conflict within the Central African nation of Rwanda between the government of President Juvénal Habyarimana and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front...
began when rebels from the Rwandan Patriotic Front
Rwandan Patriotic Front
The Rwandan Patriotic Front abbreviated as RPF is the current ruling political party of Rwanda, led by President Paul Kagame. It governs in a coalition with other parties...
(RPF), a force of mostly Tutsi
Tutsi
The Tutsi , or Abatutsi, are an ethnic group in Central Africa. Historically they were often referred to as the Watussi or Watusi. They are the second largest caste in Rwanda and Burundi, the other two being the Hutu and the Twa ....
Rwandan expatriates who had defected in masses from the Ugandan army, crossed the border from Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
. The French and Zairian militaries intervened on behalf of Habyarimana's government forces, and a ceasefire was officially reached in 1993 through the Arusha Accords
Arusha Accords
The Arusha Accords were a set of five accords signed in Arusha, Tanzania on August 4, 1993, by the government of Rwanda and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front , under mediation, to end a three-year Rwandan Civil War...
.
Assassination
On April 6, 1994, Habyarimana's private Falcon 50 jet was shot down near Kigali International AirportKigali International Airport
Kigali International Airport , formerly known as Gregoire Kayibanda International Airport, but sometimes referred to as Kanombe International Airport, is the primary airport serving Kigali, the capital of Rwanda...
, killing Habyarimana. Cyprien Ntaryamira
Cyprien Ntaryamira
Cyprien Ntaryamira , was President of Burundi from 5 February 1994 until his death when his plane was shot down on 6 April 1994.-Biography:...
, the President of Burundi, the Chief of Staff of the Rwandan military, and numerous others also died in the attack. The plane crashed on the grounds of the presidential residence.
The circumstances of the crash are unclear. At the time, the Hutu Power
Hutu Power
Hutu Power was an ideology propounded by the Akazu and other Hutu extremists in Rwanda. It contributed to the Rwandan Genocide in 1994 against the Tutsi and moderate Hutu.-Background:...
media claimed the plane had been shot down on orders from RPF leader Paul Kagame
Paul Kagame
Paul Kagame is the sixth and current President of the Republic of Rwanda. He rose to prominence as the leader of the Rwandan Patriotic Front , whose victory over the incumbent government in July 1994 effectively ended the Rwandan genocide...
. Others, including the RPF, accused militant Hutus from within Habyarimana's party of orchestrating the crash in order to provoke anti-Tutsi
Tutsi
The Tutsi , or Abatutsi, are an ethnic group in Central Africa. Historically they were often referred to as the Watussi or Watusi. They are the second largest caste in Rwanda and Burundi, the other two being the Hutu and the Twa ....
outrage while simultaneously seizing power. Since the aircraft had a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
crew, a French investigation has been conducted; it concluded that Kagame was responsible for the killing and demanded that he be prosecuted. The response from Kagame, who has since become the president of Rwanda, was that the French were only trying to cover up their own part in the genocide that followed.
Aftermath of death
The death of Habyarimana ignited a murderous spree by extremists from the majority Hutus against Tutsis and those Hutus who had opposed the government in the past or who had supported the peace accords. Within 100 days, somewhere between 800,000 and 1 million Rwandans were massacred.Storage of body and cremation in Zaire
At some point following the April 6,1994 assassination, Habyarimana's remains were obtained by ZairianZaire
The Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...
President Mobutu Sese Seko
Mobutu Sese Seko
Mobutu Sese Seko Nkuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga , commonly known as Mobutu or Mobutu Sese Seko , born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, was the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1965 to 1997...
and stored in a private mausoleum in Gbadolite
Gbadolite
Gbadolite or Gbado-Lite is the capital of the Nord-Ubangi District in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The town is located south of the Ubangi River at the border to the Central African Republic and northeast of the national capital Kinshasa...
, Zaire
Zaire
The Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...
(now Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
). Mobutu promised Habyarimana's family that his body would eventually be given a proper burial in Rwanda. On May 12, 1997, as Laurent-Désiré Kabila
Laurent-Désiré Kabila
Laurent-Désiré Kabila was President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from May 17, 1997, when he overthrew Mobutu Sese Seko, until his assassination by his bodyguards on January 18, 2001...
's ADFL
Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo
The Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire was a coalition of Congolese dissidents, disgruntled minority groups and nations that toppled President Mobutu Sese Seko and brought Laurent Kabila to power in the First Congo War...
rebels were advancing on Gbadolite, Mobutu had the remains flown by cargo plane to Kinshasa
Kinshasa
Kinshasa is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The city is located on the Congo River....
where they waited on the tarmac of N'djili Airport for three days. On May 16, the day before Mobutu fled Zaire (and the country was renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo), Habyarimana's remains were burned under the supervision of an Indian
Demographics of India
The demographics of India are inclusive of the second most populous country in the world, with over 1.21 billion people , more than a sixth of the world's population. Already containing 17.5% of the world's population, India is projected to be the world's most populous country by 2025, surpassing...
Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
leader.
Family
Habyarimana was survived by his wife, Agathe HabyarimanaAgathe Habyarimana
Agathe Habyarimana is the widow of former President of Rwanda Juvénal Habyarimana. Kanziga is part of a Hutu lineage that long ruled an independent principality until the late nineteenth century...
, who was evacuated by French troops shortly after his death. She has been described as having been extremely influential in Rwandan politics. She has been accused by Rwandan justice minister Tharcisse Karugarama
Tharcisse Karugarama
Tharcisse Karugarama is a Rwandan politician. He is the current Minister of Justice and Attorney-General in the Rwandan government.A member of the RPF, Karugarama has played a role in the prosecution of crimes associated with the Rwandan Genocide....
of complicity in the genocide and was denied asylum in France on the basis of evidence of her complicity.
She was arrested March 2010 in the Paris region by police executing a Rwandan-issued international arrest warrant.
External links
- Rwanda: How the genocide happened, BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
, 1 April 2004