Rwanda and Genocide in the Twentieth Century

In this important primer, Destexhe, secretary-general of the humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders, assails world complacency about the tragedy in Rwanda. The term ``genocide'' has been inflated by reckless use, he states, arguing strongly that the targeted massacres of Tutsis by Hutus in Rwanda qualifies--along with the plannned exterminations of Armenians and of European Jews--as genocide. He then describes how colonial policies set Hutu against Tutsi, and states that the two peoples ``cannot really even be described as `ethnic groups' for they both speak the same language and respect the same traditions and taboos."" He also recounts how Hutu leaders, in response to economic straits and calls for democratic reforms, scapegoated their rivals. He scores Western governments for providing only nominally ``humanitarian'' support while refusing to intervene to halt massacres, estimating that 500,000 Tutsis, or half the total Tutsi population, were killed. He calls for international tribunals to seek justice and suggests that, in the future, humanitarian groups should more aggressively try to force states to act. (Oct.)