Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire O.C., C.M.M., M.S.C., C.D., LLD (ret.d) – Brief Biography • www.romeodallaire.com • Served as force commander of UNAMIR 1993-4 in Rwanda • Meritorious Service Cross (Canada) • 1996 U.S. Legion of Merit • 2000 Medically released from the Canadian Forces due to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder related to experience in Rwanda • 2002 U.K. Aegis Trust Award from the Beth Shalom Holocaust Centre • 2002 Order of Canada • 2005 Pearson Peace Medal • Several honourary degrees including an honourary doctorate from SFU in October 2005 1 • Present – Special Adviser to the Canadian International Development Agency – Special Adviser to the Minister of International Cooperation on War-Affected Children – Advisor to the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade on the Prohibition of Small Arms Distribution. – pursuing a Fellowship at the Carr Centre for Human Rights Policy, Kennedy School of Government, at Harvard University in the area of conflict resolution. • Lectures on conflict resolution and leadership • Active in eradicating child soldiers • Member of Senate on Genocide Prevention • B. June 25, 1946 in Holland • Father was Canadian soldier and his mother a Dutch nurse • Grew up in Montréal, in ‘blue-collar’ neighbourhood • English/Protestant and French/Catholic sections • Dallaire’s ‘mixed’ family meant that he had friends in both camps • 1964 entered military college, Collège militaire royal de Saint-Jean; again finds that he moves between French and English groups 2 • Graduated with B.Sc. From Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston • Attended the Canadian Land Forces Command and Staff College • Attended the United States Marine Corps Command and Staff College • Attended the British Higher Command and Staff Course • Promoted to Brigadier-General in 1989 • Force Commander, UNAMIR, Rwanda, 1993-4 • Commander of the 1st Canadian Division and Deputy- Commander of the Canadian Army. • Promoted to Three-Star General, • Assistant Deputy Minister for Department of National Defense • Continues to testify at the International Criminal Tribunal Rwanda in Arusha, Tanzania 3 • 1500s – Tutsi tribe colonized Hutu tribe • Tutsis established a monarchy • 1919 – mandated to Belgium • Tutsis are tall, light skinned and herd livestock; the Hutus are short, dark and raise vegetables • Belgians see Tutsis as more ‘European’ and promote Tutsis over Hutus; • meanwhile Belgians are exporting coffee and tea grown in Rwanda • 1945 – UN trust Territory administered by Belgium • 1959 – Hutu, who form majority of the population, revolt • 1962 gained independence from Belgium • Hutu leader Gregoire Kayibanda targets former Tutsi elite; Tutsis are slaughtered or driven into surrounding African states of Burundi, Uganda, and Zaire where they live as refugees • 1973 – military coup , country led by President Juvénal Habyarimana and MRND party (Mouvement révolutionnaire national pour le développement); Kayibanda ousted • only legal party until 1991; • stable dictatorship for 20 years 4 • Diasporic Tutsis have no state • 1990 – Children of Tutsis sent into diaspora in Uganda, form RPF (Rwandese Patriotic Front); • RPF invaded Rwanda from bases in Uganda • RPF repulsed the Belgian and French backed RGF (Rwandese Government Forces) • International pressure for democratic reform and multi- party elections • 1991 peace talks begin in Arusha and continue for 2 years • Problems are how to resettle the refugees, many of whom have been outside Rwanda for 40 years and • how to demobilize armies; share power between Hutus and Tutsis • Short term plan is for a transitional government to be formed of RPF and MRND • Long term goals: – multi-party, democratic elections – Create new army – rewrite the constitution – deal with the local police force – rebuild the economy with substantial foreign aid 5 • Arusha Peace Agreement signed August 1993 • Ends civil war between RPF and government • Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) constructed between RPF and RGF • Dallaire arrives in Kigali, Rwanda, August 1993 • Project complicated by: – Lack of resources, both large scale (military presence) and small (paper, pencils, telephone lines (59)) – “lingering sense of injustice” between ethnic groups – “mistrust of authorities” from colonial history – Militias of young men – Extremists elements – RPF speak English; Rwandans speak French and Kinyarwanda 6 Players • Government (Hutu dominated) – Juvénal Habyarimana, President – Jean-Damascène Bizimana, Rwandan ambassador to UN – Augustin Bizimana, minister of defense (Hutu extremist) – Major General Déogratias Nsabimana, head of RGF (replaced by Marcel Gatsinzi, who is replaced by Lt. Col. Augustin Bizimungu) – Colonel Théoneste Bagosora – French and Belgian military advisers – French ambassador, Jean-Phillippe Marlaud – Presidential Guard to Habyarimana – Interahamwe – young militants – Colonel Augustin Ndindiliyimana – head of Gendarmie • RPF: – Paul Kagame, military leader of RPF (Tutsi), “the Napoleon of Africa” – Pasteur Bizimungu, “public political face” of RPF (Hutu) – Alexis Kanyarengwe, “titular head” of RPF 7 • Transition Government – Madame Agathe (Agathe Uwilingiyimana), prime minister of interim govt. – Faustin Twagiramungu, prime minister designate - Lando Ndasingwa, Minister of Labour and Social Affairs and wife Hélène Pinsky (Québécoise) • United Nations – Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Secretary General of the UN – Jacques-Roger Booh-Booh – Special representative of the Secretary-General of the UN – Dr. Abdul Hamid Kabia, executive director of UNAMIR – DPKO – Dept. of Peace Keeping Operations (UN) – General Marc Baril, head of Military division of DPKO (Canadian) – General Roméo Dallaire, Force commander – Major Brent Beardsley, Military Assistant to Gen. Dallaire – Colonel Luc Marchal, Belgian Commander in UNAMIR – Colonel Clayton Yache – Ghanaian Demilitarized Zone 8 Glossary • UNAMIR- United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda • MILOB – Military observer (unarmed) • APC – Armoured personnel carrier • CDR – Hutu extremist party • CND – National Assembly; RPF resided here, guarded by UNAMIR Shake Hands with the Devil • Dallaire didn’t begin writing the book until 7 years after his return • Writing took several years • 1993 Shaughnessy Cohen Award for Political Writing • 2004 Governor General’s Award for Non-fiction • 2004 documentary film, Shake Hands with the Devil dir. Peter Raymont • Feature film slated for 2006 9 Forward functions as epitaph; text as elegy • Epitaph – words inscribed on tomb • Elegy – lament for the dead • Text commemorates the slaughtered Rwandans, the 15 peacekeepers and Dallaire’s assistant • Preface – wrote because existing accounts were not adequate • “The sounds, smells, depredations, the scenes of inhuman acts were largely absent” (xi). • Avoided writing because he couldn’t face the memories, he was “too sick, disgusted, horrified and fearful” (xi) • Return trip to testify at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda brought back the previous experience • Discharged from the Army with PTSD 10 • Aide, Major Brent Beardsley, pushes Dallaire to write the book: families, for history, and for others in the same situation • Dallaire – accepts personal accountability (xiv) • Also feels accountable to Rwandan people • Effort to prevent further tragedy (xvii-xviii) 11.