Resisting Reconciliation: State Power and Everyday Life in Post-Genocide Rwanda by Susan M. Thomson Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Dalhousie University Halifax, Nova Scotia May 2009 © Copyright by Susan M. Thomson, 2009 ii DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY DATE: 14 May 2009 AUTHOR: Susan M. Thomson TITLE: Resisting Reconciliation: State Power and Everyday Life in Post- Genocide Rwanda DEPARTMENT OR SCHOOL: Department of Political Science DEGREE: PhD CONVOCATION: October YEAR: 2009 Permission is herewith granted to Dalhousie University to circulate and to have copied for non-commerical purposes, at its direction, the above title upon the request of individuals or institutions. Signature of Author: _____________________________ The author reserves other publication rights, and neither the thesis nor extensive extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author’s written permission. The author attests that the permission has been obtained for the use of any copyrighted material appearing in the thesis (other than the brief excerpts requiring only proper acknowledgment in scholarly writing), and that all such use is clearly acknowledged. iii Dedication For Alison Des Forges, an extraordinary presence whose courageous voice dared to speak truth to power. May we all be as forthright and fair in our own analyses. iv Table of Contents List of Figures viii Abstract vix List of Abbreviations Used x Glossary xiii Acknowledgements xvii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 Political Ethnography: Identifying Everyday Acts of Resistance 10 Situating Lived Experiences of State Power in Post-Genocide Rwanda 18 Learning from Ordinary Rwandans 34 Plan of the Dissertation 37 A Note on Fieldnotes and Interviews 41 CHAPTER 2: BRINGING IN ORDINARY RWANDANS 44 Conceptualising Life History Interviewing 45 Site Selection and “Sample” 47 Interview Procedure and Protocol 54 Interpretation 66 CHAPTER 3: EVERYDAY LIFE AND STATE POWER IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE 70 The Strategic Roots of National Unity and Reconciliation 72 Official versus Lived Histories 78 Imagining Pre-Colonial Rwanda 79 The Hamitic Myth 82 Creating Ethnic Distinctions 84 State Power and the Politicisation of Identity 87 The Internal Politics of the Royal Court 89 Colonial Transmutations 92 Decolonisation and the 1959 Revolution 97 Post-Independence Politics 1962-1990 101 Conclusions 110 v CHAPTER 4: THE 1994 GENOCIDE IN A CONTINUUM OF VIOLENCE, 1990 TO 2000 112 Representations of the 1994 Genocide 116 Situating the 1994 Genocide 117 Instrumentalising the 1994 Genocide 119 A Continuum of Violence 125 Political Transition and Civil War (October 1990 - April 1994) 126 The Post-genocide “Emergency” Period (July 1994 to 1995) 139 Repatriation of Refugees (1996-1997) 144 The Rebel Insurgency in the Northwest (1997-2000) 148 Conclusions 154 CHAPTER 5: MECHANISMS OF NATIONAL UNITY AND RECONCILIATION 157 Understanding the Power of the Post-Genocide State 159 The Programme of National Unity and Reconciliation 162 Mechanisms of National Unity and Reconciliation 165 Conclusions 182 CHAPTER 6: EVERYDAY RESISTANCE TO THE PROGRAMME OF NATIONAL UNITY AND RECONCILIATION 185 Conceptualising Everyday Resistance 191 Daily Hardships: The Socio-Economic Context 195 The Everyday Acts of Resistance of Ordinary Rwandans 209 Staying on the Sidelines 213 Irreverent Compliance 218 Withdrawn Muteness 224 Conclusions 227 CHAPTER 7: EVERYDAY RESISTANCE TO THE GACACA PROCESS 229 The Power of the State and the Gacaca Process 231 The Gacaca Courts in the Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation 237 Everyday Acts of Resistance to Gacaca 252 Speaking Against RPF Excesses 253 vi Protesting Hardship 258 Conclusions 262 CHAPTER 8: CONCLUSION 264 Compliance and Resistance in Highly Stratified Societies 272 Researching Resistance 277 Areas of Future Research 279 BIBLIOGRAPHY 283 APPENDICES 322 vii List of Figures Figure 1 New and Old Provinces, 2006 49 Figure 2 Political Map of Rwanda 51 Figure 3 Old and New National Flags 175 viii Abstract This dissertation is a political ethnography of state-society relations in post- genocide Rwanda. It challenges much of the conventional post-genocide literature which focuses on the behaviour and practices of urban élites, provides a top-down perspective on the socio-political climate in contemporary Rwanda and treats the regime of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) as a unitary actor in its efforts to promote “one Rwanda for all Rwandans” in the name of national unity and reconciliation. The dissertation employs the concept of everyday resistance to identify and analyse the power relations between ordinary people and the Rwandan state, to show how individuals are positioned in relation to state power, and how this positioning affects their life chances in the post- genocide order. The dissertation argues that the programme of national unity and reconciliation constitutes a mechanism of state power that presents a self-serving version of history and manipulates the language of ethnicity to justify and maintain policies of exclusion in much the same way as previous regimes in Rwanda have done. In the name of national unity and reconciliation, the RPF maintains tight control over the socio-political landscape with myriad negative consequences for ordinary peasant Rwandans at the lowest rungs of society. Specifically, the dissertation finds that the programme of national unity and reconciliation is at odds with their interests as peasants since its aims do not accord with the exigencies of everyday rural life. Indeed, many ordinary Rwandans trace the illegitimacy of the programme of national unity and reconciliation to the mediating role that local officials play in its implementation, a finding which challenges the RPF’s assertions to western donors and journalists that its post-genocide policies enjoy broad-based grassroots support. The dissertation argues that Rwanda’s rigid socio-political hierarchy limits the ability of ordinary Rwandans to reconcile with one another. It also argues that the programme of national unity further limits their willingness to reconcile with neighbours and friends. It opens up avenues of future research both in Rwanda and other African societies, where layered domination is commonplace and is legitimated through practices of coercive compliance. ix List of Abbreviations Used APROSOMA Association pour la Promotion Sociale de la Masse ACORD Association de Coopération et de Recherche pour le Développement ADL Association Rwandaise pour la Défense des Droits de la Personne et des Libertés Publiques AFDL Alliance des Forces Démocratiques pour la Libération du Congo/Zaïre AFP Agence France Presse AI Amnesty International AIDS Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome ASF Avocats sans frontières BBC British Broadcasting Corporation CAURWA Communauté des Autochtones Rwandais CCM Centre for Conflict Management CDR Coalition pour la défense de la république CGC Centre de Gestion des Conflits CNS Commission Nationale de Synthèse COPORWA Communauté des Potiers Rwandais CPJ Committee to Protect Journalists DANIDA Danish International Development Agency FAO Food and Agriculture Organization FAR Forces Armées Rwandaises FARG Fonds d’Assistance aux Rescapés du Génocide FIDH International Federation for Human Rights HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus HRC Human Rights Commission HRW Human Rights Watch ICG International Crisis Group ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross ICTR International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda IDRP Institute of Research and Dialogue for Peace x IMF International Monetary Fund IRIN Integrated Regional Information Network LCC Legal and Constitutional Commission LDF Local Defense Force LGDL Ligue des droits de la personne dans la région des grands lacs LIPRODHOR Ligue Rwandaise pour la Promotion et la défense des droits de l'homme MDR Mouvement Démocratique Rwandais MIGEPROF Ministry of Gender and Women in Development MIJESPOC Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports MINAFET Ministry of Foreign Affairs MINALOC Ministry of Local Government, Good Governance, Community Development and Social Affairs MINECOFIN Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning MINIJUST Ministry of Justice MINIRENA Ministry of Lands, Environment, Forestry, Water and Natural Resources MRND Mouvement Révolutionnaire National pour le Développement MRND(D) Mouvement Révolutionnaire National pour le Développement et la Démocratie MSF Médecins sans frontières MSM Mouvement Social Muhutu NGO Non-Governmental Organisation NRA National Resistance Army NRM National Resistance Movement NSGJ National Service of Gacaca Jurisdictions NURC National Unity and Reconciliation Commission OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ORTPN Office Rwandaise du tourisme et des parcs nationaux PADE Parti Démocratique PARMEHUTU Parti du Mouvement de l’Emancipation Hutu PCD Parti Chrétien démocrate PDI Parti Démocratique Islamique PL Parti Liberal xi PPJR Parti Progressiste de la Jeunesse Rwandaise PRI Prison Reform International PSD Parti Social Démocrate PSR Parti Socialiste Rwandaise PTSD Post Traumatic Stress Disorder RADER Rassemblement Démocratique Rwandais RPA Rwandan Patriotic Army RPF Rwandan Patriotic Front RSF Reporters sans frontières RTD Rassemblement Travailliste pour la Démocratie RTLM Radio-Télévision Libre des Milles Collines RHRC Rwanda Human Rights Commission RIEPA Rwanda Investment and Export Promotion Agency TIG Travaux d’intérêt général UDPR Union Démocratique du Peuple Rwandais UNAMIR United Nations Assistance