UNIVERSITY OF RWANDA COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES SCHOOL OF ARTS AND LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT OF MODERN LANGUAGES UNIQUENESS OF GENOCIDE TESTIMONIES: TEXTUAL AND THEMATIC ANALYSIS A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Modern Languages, University of Rwanda By Vincent NTAGANIRA, MA Supervisor: Professor Josias SEMUJANGA, Montreal University, Canada Director of studies and Co-supervisor: Dr. Augustin RUDACOGORA, University of Rwanda Co-supervisor: Professor Déo BYANAFASHE, University of Rwanda December 12th, 2018 I TABLE OF CONTENTS ACRONYMS III ABSTRACT V CHAPTER ONE: GENERAL INTRODUCTION 1 1.1. RATIONALE 1 1.3. METHODOLOGY 3 1.4. A SOCIO-POLITICAL HISTORY OF RWANDA AND THE GENOCIDE AGAINST TUTSI 5 1.5. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM 23 CHAPTER TWO: TESTIMONIES OF GENOCIDE 24 2.1. DIVISION OF CHAPTERS 24 2.2. ABOUT TESTIMONIES 24 2.3. GENOCIDE TESTIMONIES 26 2.4. UNIQUENESS OF GENOCIDE TESTIMONIES 29 2.5. UNSPEAKABILITY OF GENOCIDE TESTIMONIES 33 2.6. IMPORTANCE OF GENOCIDE TESTIMONIES 34 2.7. ORAL TESTIMONIES 37 2.8. WRITTEN TESTIMONIES 38 2.9. CONCLUSION 39 CHAPTER THREE: THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF LA MORT NE VEUT PAS DE MOI (1997) 40 3.1. INTRODUCTION 40 3.2. Background to La mort ne veut pas de moi 40 3.3. Main themes in La mort ne veut pas de moi 45 3.4. CONCLUSION 73 CHAPTER FOUR: THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF N’AIE PAS PEUR DE SAVOIR (1999) 74 4.1. BACKGROUND TO N’AIE PAS PEUR DE SAVOIR 74 4. 2. MAIN THEMES IN N’AIE PAS PEUR DE SAVOIR 76 4.2.1. Betrayal 76 4.2.2. Betrayal by France 76 4.2.3. Betrayal by the international community 82 4.2.4. Betrayal by Faith-based Organisations 88 4.2.5. Betrayal between friends 90 4.2.6. Psychological Trauma 93 4.2.7. Hope in the future 100 4.2.8. Extremism 104 4.3. CONCLUSION 109 CHAPTER FIVE: THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF LES BLESSURES DU SILENCE (2001)………………110 5.1. BACKGROUND TO LES BLESSURES DU SILENCE 110 5.2. MAIN THEMES IN LES BLESSURES DU SILENCE 113 5.2.1. Interaction with the past 113 II 5.2.2. Unspeakability of genocide 116 5.2.3. Looting 119 5.2.4. Organisation and Preparation of the 1994 genocide 124 5.2.5. Betrayal 132 5.2.6. Resistance 139 5.2.7. Rape 143 5.2.8. Justice and reconciliation 152 5.2.9. Guilt, Remorse, and Repentance 157 5.2.10. Denial 166 5.2.11. Despair 170 5.2.12. Trauma 173 5.3. CONCLUSION 177 CHAPTER SIX: THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF SHAKE HANDS WITH THE DEVIL: THE FAILURE OF HUMANITY IN RWANDA (2003) 178 6.1. INTRODUCTION 178 6.2. THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF SHAKE HANDS WITH THE DEVIL: THE FAILURE OF HUMANITY IN RWANDA 180 6.2.1. Betrayal 180 6.2.2. Failure 196 6.2.3. Naivety 202 6.2.4. Indifference 209 6.2.5. Hatred 218 6.2.6. Inhumanity and evil 222 6.3. 226 CHAPTER SEVEN: GENERAL CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 232 BIBLIOGRAPHY 237 III ACRONYMS APC : Armoured Personnel Carrier APROSOMA : Association pour la Promotion Sociale de la Masse/ Association for the Social Promotion of the Masses CDR : Coalition pour la Défense de la République/Coalition for the Defence of the Republic CHUK : Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Kigali/University Teaching Hospital of Kigali CNBC : Consumer News and Business Channel CND : Conseil National de Développement, now known as the Chamber of Deputies, Rwanda’s parliament building DMZ : Demilitarised Zone DPKO : Department of Peacekeeping Operations FAR : Forces Armées Rwandaises/Rwandan Armed Forces FPR/RPF : Front Patriotique Rwandais/Rwandan Patriotic Front ICC : International Criminal Court JDR : Jeunes Démocrates Républicains du MDR/Democratic Republican Youth MDR : Mouvement Démocratique Républicain/Republican Democratic Movement MDR PARMEHUTU : Mouvement Démocratique Républicain-Parti pour l’Emancipation Hutu/ Republican Democratic Movement- Party for Hutu Emancipation MILOB : Military Observer IV UNAMIR : United Nations Assistance Mission to Rwanda MRND : Mouvement Révolutionnaire National pour le Développement/National Revolutionary Movement for Development RD CONGO : République Démocratique du Congo/Democratic Republic of the Congo RGF/RGF : Rwandan Government Forces/Rwandan Defence Forces RPA : Rwandan Patriotic Army SRSG : Special Representative of the Secretary-General UNAMID : African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur ONU/UN : Organisation des Nations Unies/United Nations UNMO : United Nations Military Observer PDC : Parti Démocrate Chrétien/Christian Democratic Party PL : Parti Libéral/Liberal Party PSD : Parti Social Démocrate/Social Democratic Party RTLM : Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines TV : Television UK : United Kingdom USA : United States of America UNSC : United Nations Security Council V ABSTRACT This PhD thesis, Uniqueness of Genocide Testimonies: Textual and Thematic Analysis, is a thematic discourse analysis of testimonies of the 1994 genocide against Tutsi in Rwanda. It seeks to analyse main themes that are discussed in four written testimonies on the genocide against Tutsi. Yolande Mukagasana, a survivor of genocide, wrote three of them: La mort ne veut pas de moi/ Death does not want me (1997), N’aie pas peur de savoir/Don’t be afraid to know (1999), and Les blessures du silence/The Wounds of Silence (2001). The fourth one, Shake hands with the devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda (2003), was written by the Canadian Retired Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire, the Commander of the United Nations Assistance Mission to Rwanda (UNAMIR) during the 1994 genocide against Tutsi in Rwanda. To deeply analyse all themes that are in the above four testimonies, this study used three approaches: socio-political approach, axiological or argumentative dimension and a comparison of themes with each other in order to show similarities and differences in the four testimonies. The thematic analysis of the above four testimonies helps the audience to easily understand genocide testimonies that are normally not easy to comprehend as they are dealing with unfamiliar stories to the minds of human beings. Selected examples from the testimonies based on their importance vis- à-vis the aim of this PhD research and their accompanying detailed explanations make the audience consider what is unspeakable more expressible. The results of this study provide a valuable contribution to the study of testimonies in Rwanda of the 1994 genocide against Tutsi. It ends by proposing recommendations on how the change of the paradigm on the new leadership of the after 1994 genocide gives hope for the never again to genocide. Key words: 1994 Genocide against Tutsi, Testimonies, Textual analysis, Thematic analysis, History of Genocide. VI DECLARATION I declare that Uniqueness of Genocide Testimonies: Textual and Thematic Analysis is my own work, that it has not been submitted for any degree or examination in any other university, and that all the sources I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by complete references. VINCENT NTAGANIRA December 12th, 2018 SIGNED: VII ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Without the contribution of different people and various institutions, this PhD project would not have been materialised. At its completion, I would like to deeply thank all of them. Firstly, I wish to thank the leadership of the University of Rwanda for having approved my PhD project and facilitated my studies. I also thank the leadership of the Prime Minister’s Office that I joined in 2012, almost three years after starting my PhD studies that encouraged me to complete my project. Special thanks to the Government of Rwanda, through the Rwanda Education Board, for having accepted to pay all of my PhD research fees, air tickets, and living fees each time I was in need of meeting my Montreal University-based supervisor, Professor Josias Semujanga. Secondly, I would like to express special thanks to Professor Josias Semujanga, my knowledgeable and ever available supervisor. Without his meticulous and helpful critical comments, I could not finish this PhD thesis. Equally important, I thank Dr. Augustin Rudacogora, the Director of studies and the exceptional co-supervisor of this research, and Professor Déo Byanafashe who was as well the excellent co-supervisor. Thank you so much for your usual encouragement. I owe you all many debts of gratitude. Thirdly, I wish to thank the library staff at the University of Rwanda, College of Arts and Social Sciences, those of Kigali Public Library and those of the Rwandan National Commission for the Fight against Genocide, for their continuous and friendly assistance. Fourthly, I would like to thank Yolande Mukagasana for having accepted to discuss with me about her testimonies. Her explanations gave me additional insights that cannot be found elsewhere. I will not forget how she willingly accepted to lend me a copy of her Les blessures du silence that I could not find VIII in all libraries and bookshops that I had visited at the time of writing this PhD dissertation. Fifthly, I would like to sincerely thank my friends and colleagues Professor Beth Kaplin, Dr. Pierre Canisius Ruterana and Emmanuel Nzaramba who willingly accepted to proofread the manuscript of my PhD dissertation. Your brilliant observations have helped me to make smarter this project. I owe you many debts. Finally, I am exceptionally thankful to my wife, Josiane Umwali, and my four children Elvira, Elvis, Elvaron, and Elvan, for their patience during my long absence at home when writing this thesis: with love, I dedicate this thesis to you. 1 CHAPTER ONE: GENERAL INTRODUCTION 1.1. Rationale Testifying one’s experience of horror is not an easy task. When the horror reaches the level of genocide, it even becomes more complicated. This is because these testimonies deal with unfamiliar stories to the minds of both their authors and their audience/readers. Because of this nature of genocide testimonies, according to Elie Wiesel (2006:x), “survivors of genocide have often agreed that words cannot convey the horrors they witnessed and that language is sometimes seen as an obstacle in their attempts at telling [their testimonies]”.