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Truth Passes Through Fire and Does Not Burn an Analysis of Discourse and Transitional Justice in Post-Genocide Rwanda

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Truth Passes Through Fire and Does Not Burn an Analysis of Discourse and Transitional Justice in Post-Genocide Rwanda Truth passes through fire and does not burn An Analysis of discourse and transitional justice in post-genocide Rwanda Universiteit van Amsterdam (UvA) Master History: Holocaust and Genocide Studies, 2016-2018 Mark van de Beld Mentor: Thijs Bouwknegt Second Reader: Nanci Adler 16 November, 2018 1 Foreword Before you lies my Master’s thesis, the result of a research into post-conflict narrative and discourse in Rwanda. This thesis is written to complete the Master’s program Holocaust and genocide studies at the University of Amsterdam. Genocide and the events in Rwanda specifically have fascinated me ever since I took a course on the subject ‘Genocide after 1945’ in the second year of my Bachelor. Despite this fascination the writing of this thesis has proven to be quite the challenge for me. It is therefore with appropriate pride that I deliver this product of my labour. I could not have completed this thesis without the help of some important people. I would like to thank Thijs Bouwkegt especially. For his patience, his guidance and making it possible for me to enrol in this Master program and participate in a study trip through Rwanda. I would also like to thank Yte Elbrich Schukking for supporting me through all the difficulties I encountered and for being a sparring partner. Finally, I would like to thank my parents, my family and my friends, who collectively provided enough pressure and comfort for me to carry on. Wishing you much reading pleasure, With kind regards, Mark van de Beld Utrecht, 16 November 2018 2 Abstract This Master’s thesis looks at the historiography of Rwanda’s genocide in an attempt to establish how and why the debates that are found within it are created and perpetuated. This thesis uses frameworks concerning the abuse of history and different notions of truth to look at the current debates in the historiography. Doing so, it demonstrates that history is abused by the Rwandan government through their attempts at influencing the possibilities of research and efforts to censor unfavourable outcomes. After that a thorough analysis of the transitional justice mechanisms that were used in Rwanda, especially the Gacaca courts, follows. Using the same frameworks, it is consequently displayed that the meddling of the government of Rwanda ICTR proceedings and influencing of national debates through Gacaca courts and special laws is abuse of history. Furthermore, the truth that is found through these transitional practices is a mixture of different notions of truth but resembles most closely an effectual truth. 3 Contents FOREWORD 2 ABSTRACT 3 CONTENTS 4 INTRODUCTION 6 CHAPTER ONE: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS OF THE ABUSE OF HISTORY AND TRUTH 8 INTRODUCTION 8 A MORAL CODE FOR HISTORIANS 9 CONCEPTS OF TRUTH 10 CONCLUSION 13 CHAPTER TWO: A WEB OF NARRATIVES OF THE RWANDAN GENOCIDE 14 INTRODUCTION 14 CONTENTION 15 WHO ASSASSINATED THE PRESIDENT? 15 PLANNING THE GENOCIDE 17 VICTIMS: WHO AND HOW MANY? 18 PERPETRATION IN THE GENOCIDE 20 THE CASE OF RPF CRIMES 21 CONSENSUS 22 THE ROOTS OF ETHNICITY 23 COLONIAL INFLUENCE 24 TEMPORAL BOUNDARIES 24 COURSE AND EXTENT 25 HALTING THE GENOCIDE 25 CONCLUSION 26 CHAPTER 3: TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE AND TRUTH IN RWANDA 30 INTRODUCTION 30 TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE, AN OVERVIEW 31 TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE MECHANISMS USED IN RWANDA 33 THE INTERNATIONAL CRIME TRIBUNAL FOR RWANDA 34 DOMESTIC COURTS 36 LAWS AGAINST DIVISIONISM AND GENOCIDE IDEOLOGY 37 THE CREATION OF THE GACACA COURTS 39 AN ANCIENT CUSTOM 39 REVAMPING THE OLD CUSTOM 40 THREE LEADING PRINCIPLES 42 CATEGORIZATION OF GENOCIDE CRIMES 43 TRUTH IN GACACA COURTS 44 EVALUATION OF THE GACACA COURTS 45 RELIANCE ON ACCUSATIONS 46 MICRO MECHANICS 47 RPF CRIMES 48 4 GACACA COURTS AS A VEHICLE FOR RPF POWER 49 ANALYSING THE USE OF HISTORY AND KINDS OF TRUTH 53 CONCLUSION 54 CONCLUSION 55 BIBLIOGRAPHY 59 5 Introduction The release of Judi Rever’s book In Praise of Blood: The Crimes of the Rwandan Patriotic Front in March of this year has lead to controversy.1 In this book Rever details how members of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), the organization of Tutsi diaspora that ended the Rwandan genocide in 1994 and has been in power even since, have committed genocide against Hutu both during their struggle to topple the genocidal regime and afterwards in the Democratic Republic of Congo.2 While suspects of the Rwandan genocide have extensively been put on trial, these crimes committed by the RPF have been left unpunished. This counter-narrative to the official version of history that is propagated by Rwandan officials gave rise to a heated debate as people took to Twitter to speak out about Rever’s work.3 Some lauded Rever’s work, but most voiced their dissatisfaction, calling Rever biased and accusing her of working for genocide deniers and enemies of President Kagame. In Praise of Blood was nominated for the Hilary Weston Writer’s Trutst Prize for Nonfiction.4 This year marked the 24th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, a genocide marked by ethnic hatred and intimate violence. During a hundred days in 1994, Rwanda was the stage to a genocide in which predominantly Hutu were swept up by political elites to kill predominantly Tutsi. These two identity groups were at odds with each other ever since colonizers instituted a minority rule by the Tutsi and solidified the social classes into ethnicities. As a wave of violence swept the country many victims were killed up close and personal with agricultural instruments at roadblocks and places were they gathered. 24 years later, there are still numerous debates surrounding the genocide. The genocide has proven to be a popular subject of academic and journalistic research. Rwanda has also been home to a range of transitional justice mechanisms that have produced factual knowledge of what happened during the lead up and during the genocide itself. Yet, the historiography of Rwanda’s genocide is marked by multiple points of contention. The reception of Rever’s work moreover shows how heated these debates can get. The debates are sings that a common truth about the past has not been agreed upon by all parties. This begs 1 Judi Rever, In Praise of Blood: The Crimes of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (Random House Canada, 2018). 2 Interview with Judi Rever, CBC Radio, 2 April 2018. 3 See the thread following Rever’s tweet to promote her book: “My book, In Praise of Blood, exposes the crimes that Paul Kagame and his Rwandan Patriotic Front got away with. https://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0345812093/prhca-20 …” (@JudiRever, March 23, 2018). 4 “Awarding the top Canadian nonfiction of the year,” Writer’s Trust Canada, accessed November 12, 2018, https://www.writerstrust.com/awards/hilary-weston-writers-trust-prize- for-nonfiction. 6 the question what truth actually is and how it is created or formed. Moreover, history is a discipline of nuance and interpretation that therefore naturally has debates. These characteristics also leave history open to be used of ulterior motives. This thesis will not focus on the genocide of Rwanda on itself, but rather the discourse and historiography that has surrounded the genocide since its start. This focus on the historiography will provide knowledge of what others have to say about the genocide. In this light, this thesis will make use of publications on the Rwandan genocide and look into different transitional justice mechanisms, in particular the Gacaca courts system, that were practiced in post-genocide Rwanda. These institutions have provided information about the genocide just as scholars have and can therefore hold information concerning the creation of narratives. In order to be able to make claims of these sources and processes this thesis will look into theoretical frameworks about use and abuse of history and different understandings and definitions of truth. Research into these debates is of interest because of the implications they have on the Rwandan people and their government. The RPF has ruled Rwanda ever since their victory over the genocidal regime. President Paul Kagame currently is on his third term after a change to the constitution. This position has potentially given the political elite considerable power to influence the shaping of the genocide’s narrative both inside Rwanda’s borders and outside. If truth is established through an open, democratic debate that gives room to multiple viewpoints and public acknowledgement it can help to heal the nation.5 The continuation of debates and especially the tone with which it happens now can be an obstruction to a lasting stability in Rwanda. Central to this thesis is the following question: ‘what are the major debates about the Rwandan genocide and in what way has transitional justice contributed to them?’ To come to an answer to this question this thesis’ first chapter shall give an outline about the use and abuse of history along with an analysis of different kinds of truth. The second chapter will focus on the historiography, accompanied by the question ‘what are the major debates found in the historiography of Rwanda’s genocide and what interests are connected to the sides of these debates?’ The third chapter will focus on some of Rwanda’s transitional justice mechanisms using the question ‘in what way has transitional justice contributed to the shaping of narrative about the genocide?’ 5 Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa Report: Volume One (Cape Town, 1998), 112 – 114. 7 Chapter one: Theoretical Frameworks of the Abuse of History and Truth Introduction To come to an answer to the main question of this thesis, a demarcation must first be given of the theoretical frameworks that stand at the core of the question itself.
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