Shake Hands with the Devil

Also called the Arusha Accords, the Arusha Peace Agreement was the original peace agreement made between the Rwandan Government Forces (RGF) and the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). It stipulated the creation of a Broad-Based Transitional Government (BBTG) that would be democratic and give rights to both Tutsis and Hutus. Following the Rwandan Genocide, the RPF-led government that came to power still followed the Arusha Peace Agreement, but with the added provision that anyone who participated in the genocide would not be allowed to hold political office and would be brought to trial.

Mandated by the Arusha Peace Agreement, the BBTG would be a temporary government formed by appointees of Rwanda’s political parties that would replace the government of President Habyarimana and pave the way for a new, democratically-elected government. The installment of the BBTG was first delayed by the refusal of various political factions to participate, and then derailed by the Rwandan Genocide.

One of the major political parties of Rwanda, the CDR is described as a far-right, Hutu-led political party “whose ideology was blatantly fascist and racist” (132). Its members openly refused to sign on to the Arusha Peace Agreement and became important instigators of the Rwandan Genocide, along with members of MRND.

Dallaire uses the term extremists to refer to politicians from different parties who wanted to continue the exclusion of, and discrimination against, the Tutsi minority in Rwanda as well as Tutsi refugees. The extremists were behind the Rwandan Genocide.

“Gendarmerie” is a term used in many French-speaking countries, including Rwanda, for a branch of the military responsible for internal security and police matters.

Called in English “Hotel of a Thousand Hills,” this is a luxury hotel located in Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali. It became one of the refuges for people fleeing the Rwandan Genocide and was placed under UNAMIR protection. The experiences of the hotel’s manager and the survivors who lived there during the genocide became the basis of the 2004 film, Hotel Rwanda.

“Hutu Power” was a term for a set of beliefs shared by extremist politicians in Rwanda across political parties. It promoted the idea that Hutus were racially superior to Tutsis and called for the total exclusion of Tutsis from the government and to forbid relationships between Tutsis and Hutus.

The Hutus are an ethnic group who comprised the majority of Rwanda’s population. Historically, they were often agricultural laborers serving under a Tutsi warrior aristocracy. After the Rwandan Revolution, the Tutsi monarchy was overthrown and a republican government dominated by Hutus came to power. In the Rwandan Civil War, Hutus tended to be represented by the Rwandan Government Forces (RGF).

A militia connected to Rwanda’s radical political party, CDR, the Impuzamugambi often allied with the Interahamwe and participated in the Rwandan Genocide.

The Interahamwe were a radical militia that worked for Rwanda’s political party, the MRND. They were the main perpetrators of the Rwandan Genocide, massacring Tutsis and moderate Hutus around Rwanda.

A Bantu language, Kinyarwanda is spoken around Central and East Africa, but primarily in Rwanda. It is one of the official languages of Rwanda and one of the two recognized native languages, along with Swahili.

A Hutu-dominated party, MDR pushed for the establishment of a democratic government and opposed President Habyarimana. Although many of its members were moderates, it also had extremist members who supported Hutu Power. One of its members was the prominent Hutu moderate and prime minister, Agathe Uwilingiyimana.

A Military Observer is a United Nations military official who serves under a peacekeeping mission.

In the context of Rwandan politics during Dallaire’s time there, moderates were politicians from different political parties who wanted to allow the return of the Tutsi refugees who left the country during the Rwandan Revolution and to establish a full democracy in Rwanda that would not discriminate against Tutsis. Moderate politicians were targeted during the Rwandan Genocide.

An extremist pro-Hutu political party, the MRND supported the dictatorship of President Habyarimana. Some of its members were also involved with the Interahamwe militia that were key perpetrators of the Rwandan Genocide.

Referring to the Battle of Mogadishu where a number of United States soldiers were killed during a United Nations peacekeeping operation in Somalia, the Mogadishu Line refers to when a peacekeeping operation becomes a military conflict. It is often used to refer to when a nation state might become reluctant to risk its soldiers’ lives in a peacekeeping operation.

A term often used by Dallaire, “prayers” refers to official meetings between commanders and their staff in the military.

RTLM (the abbreviation for Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines/Free Radio-Television of the Thousand Hills) was a popular radio station in Rwanda. It became notorious for broadcasting vicious anti-Tutsi and anti-RPF propaganda in the months leading up to the Rwandan Genocide.

One of the two factions fighting in the Rwandan Civil War, the RGF was generally led by Hutus and fought on behalf of President Habyarimana and the MRND party. The RGF was trained by, and seen as allied with, the military of France.

Founded by Rwandan Tutsi refugees in Uganda, the RPF fought in the Rwandan Civil War against the RGF.