The question of what needs to be done in order to prevent and address genocide appears to be a challenging one. The notions of genocide intervention and prevention refer to efforts to protect individuals and groups at risk of extinction (Jones, 2006). These efforts can be complex, as they require addressing and studying the root causes of genocide, spreading public awareness, and developing intervention strategies such as providing humanitarian aid.
Firstly, the role of genocide studies and public education is important. While genocide is inhuman and indefensible, it still needs to be studied and understood in order to be prevented and responded to (CSUSonoma, 2017, 1:17:19). Educating the public about genocide can help build support for efforts to address these issues (TEDxTalks, 2016, 11:41). In particular, this may involve engaging with community leaders, social media, and civil society groups to raise awareness and encourage action (TEDxTalks, 2016, 14:42). These channels are necessary for the public’s understanding of genocide, which is the first step in its intervention and prevention.
Secondly, if mass violence does occur, there are a range of interventions that can be pursued to address it. These interventions can be carried out by such institutions as the United Nations (Stanton, 1998). They may include efforts to protect civilians, such as the deployment of peacekeepers or the establishment of safe havens (Jones, 2006). It may also involve efforts to hold perpetrators accountable, through measures such as targeted sanctions or criminal prosecutions (Jones, 2006). In addition, efforts may be made to provide humanitarian assistance to those affected by the violence, such as food, shelter, and medical care (Jones, 2006). All these interventions are crucial for ensuring the amount of damage done to society is minimal.
It can be concluded that effective genocide prevention and intervention require a multifaceted approach that addresses both the immediate and underlying causes of mass violence. This entails a variety of efforts, including research, public education on genocide issues, economic assistance, and direct interventions to protect vulnerable groups. Due to the range and scope of these actions, they require the assistance of the UN and other international institutions. This combination of measures is necessary for minimizing the fallout following genocide and assisting victims.
Mankind has been known for aiming for peaceful existence in the society.However, peace has not been fully achieved as mass killing, and rape and deaths goes unabated.
In recent past, daily media broadcasts were covered with terrible news of genocide going on in Bosnia-Herzegovina, genocide in Rwanda where more than one million people were killed by government forces as well as parliamentary extremists, the mass killings in Burundi, the Indonesian genocide, continuing killings in Southern Sudan, mass killings in Congo and not to mention the hateful epithets as well as actions that took place in Germany, the US and around the world .
Currently, there are genocide that is taking place in Darfur region and the Government of Southern Sudan. In the last decade, more than one five million people have perished as a result of genocidal related actions and policies[1]
The term genocide comes into sight in the early 1940s following the crimes that were committed by the Nazis. Raphael Lemkin derived the word genocide by blending Genos and cide which are words in Greek language to form genocide. Genos is a Greek word which means family whereas cide is a Greek word which means to kill. Lemkin created the term Genocide in his book ‘Axis Rule in Europe’ following the mass killings of innocent people that took place following the Second World War[2]
Although there is a “legal definition” of genocide, which was created by United Nations in 1940s, there are still many controversy about what should be considered as genocide and what should not be.
This controversy exists despite the fact that man has experienced genocide acts and war in particular for many years. According to the legal definition, the tem genocide refers to the act of separating the aboriginal children from their indigenous parents with an aim of breeding out the color.
Lemkin defined genocide to mean a coordinated plan of various actions directed towards destroying the key foundations of the life of national group. In his subsequent article, Raphael Lemkin reiterated and also expanded on his definition of the term genocide by suggesting that, it is an act of destroying or partly crippling a human group. A study which was done by
Ball (2011) suggests that genocide arises from war conditions, tribal conflicts and war colonization[3].
Comparative approach to the study of Genocide
The past decade was characterized by a general increase in interest in the study of genocide. Several studies about genocide now exist. Research papers concerning the discipline are found on major annual conferences such as the International Studies Association. The end of cold war in the mid 1990s was a key factor that enhanced the genocide studies. Secondly, the occurrence of genocidal behaviors in the mid 1990s and early 2000s also made scholars to develop an interest in genocide field.
The prominent genocidal behaviors included the Balkans civil wars, the Rwanda violence and the Darfur law.Finally, the international community became concerned about the massive killings around the world and attention to genocide became a major issue in global politics. For istance, the United Nations, Nongovernmental Organizations and the United States joined hand to form a coalition that was aimed at addressing genocide across the globe[4]
The comparative approach to the study of genocide is a method that is used by political scientists in identifying general causal patterns. The approach allows political scientists to examine genocide in various forms. The approach enables political scientists to examine a given case and thus come up with comparative generalizations about that case. This approach had been applied during the analysis of particular genocide cases in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia[5]
Also, political scientists can use the comparative approach in making within-country comparisons .The political scientists usually focuses on comparing regions or villages in a country. This approach is advantageous as it allows political scientists to hold macro-level and nation’s constant while at the same time, examining the variations across villages and individual[6]
Causes and types of genocide
The following are the major types and causes of genocide; the religion is a major potential factor of propagating genocide actions.Usually, divine mandates have the effect of sanctioning and rationalizing genocidal behaviors. Sacred texts can also be used in propagating genocide[7]
The desire to eliminate rivals has been the root behind many genocidal behaviors across the globe. Groups that are deemed to be inferior by others are discriminated and also utterly disenfranchised. For istance, the victims of Darfur region genocides are mostly the black Africans due to their ethnic affiliations.
The unwanted ethnic groups of all ages are usually killed with a view of eliminating them. The black Africans are usually attacked by the majority Fur, Zaghawa and Massalit.Black Africans are usually attacked in their villages and Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps.Currently, more than 500,000 deaths have been recorded in the Darfur region.Meanwhile, the Government of Sudan troops have perpetrated genocidal acts by raping, attacking and murdering with impunity the black African rebels[7]
Another factor that causes genocide is the desire to increase wealth. Extreme scarcity of natural resources and massive competition of such is the reason behind many genocidal behaviors across the globe.
Horizontal inequality i.e. a situation where resources and power are distributed in unequal manner between various groups in the society has the effect of causing violent conflicts. For instance, much power and resources might be vested to only one race or religion and so, the other races or religions will act as they feels that they are being discriminated against.
The race or religion that possesses these resources may also engage in violent conflicts as a result of fears to lose them to others.Also, the scarcity of natural resources causes conflict in that, as they gets scarcer, people tends to compete for them and the elite people in the society tends to exercise their powers in retaining them at the expense of citizens.
The citizens in turn protests against the massive loot of state resources by the elites and this makes public order hard to be maintained and hence genocide arises. Genocide behaviors that erupted in the Democratic Republic of Congo under the leadership of Mobutu Sese Seko best illustrates how the desire to gain more wealth can cause killings to innocent citizens. There were various foreign players who were interested in Democratic Republic of Congo’s mineral resources.
Natural resources were illegally exploited by the foreigners and this was seen by local citizens as a violation of DRC’s sovereignty. This interests played a great deal in complicating the peace situation and in turn, conflict arose which saw more than 40 million Congolese people affected. This fighting occurred between the period 1998 and 2004 and more than 4 million people died. Millions sought safe haven in neighboring countries like Uganda and Kenya and others became IDPs[8]
Another factor that causes genocide is the ideological differences. Human beings have distinct personalities that adds richness to their lives.Usually,people seeks out others who possess different personalities from theirs because they admire their unique positive qualities.
However,people fails to understand the fact that these personal attributes are the main reasons that causes conflicts among them. People tend to become intolerant by attributing hostile motives towards others who have different personalities. In other words, people believe that others behave in a different manner as a result of the unfriendly motives that they have towards them. This makes people to develop fear that their interests will be blocked by others and as a result, genocidal actions and behaviors occur.
In many workplaces across the globe, the personality differences are the main reasons that causes conflicts among individuals.Thus, ideology as a factor for explaining genocidal behaviors is not based on the victims’ activities but the perception that the perpetrator has with regards to the victim. Ideology leads to identifying and dehumanizing people.However, not all ideologies leads to dehumanization and identification of a group.
The case of Guatemala was as a result of ideology that identified some group as state enemies. In Costa Rica, the ideology was opposite as it played an important role of promoting unity amongst various groups in the society. Attention should therefore be directed towards identifying the type of ideology that is operated by decision makers in a country that is characterized by gross violations of human rights.
Ideology as a method of perpetrating human rights violations serves to collectively identify a group. This method does not operate effectively on its own as there are other mechanisms that the perpetrators require. Individual leaders and institutions play a greater role as far as identifying a group is concerned. The role of institutions is to instruct individuals to regard others as a threat in society and the individual leaders have the role of instructing and issuing out orders to engage in genocidal behaviors[2]
Aftermath and consequences of genocide
Genocide has the effect of affecting people psychologically. Most casualties of genocide are usually helpless women and children. Genocide therefore causes post traumatic stress on communities. Indeed, it destroys the entire community structure. Issues such as violations of human rights, mass killings, and rape are fruits of genocidal behaviors. Many women are usually raped repeatedly and the survivors are left with reality of loss[10]
They all forms part and parcel of people’s psychological thinking. Genocide has the effect of cross-generating trauma and this is indeed a threat as future genocide can occur.
Genocide usually causes strain on the available social amenities. Service providers usually experience difficulties in meeting the needs of genocide victims across the globe
Ways of preventing genocide
Preventing genocide is usually a complex political activity which requires people to adopt a contingent approach. The truth of the matter is that a situation cannot be regarded as genocide until it explodes or degenerates. People do not know as to whether or not an ethnic warfare or a conflict will give rise to a genocide .Therefore, there are paradoxes and complexities with regards to preventing genocide.
The religious communities should aim at bringing an end to genocides that have already been done in the past by taking concrete and positive steps such as engaging in healing and reconciliation and using sanctuary powers such as prayers e.t.c. in furthering healing. Healing and reconciliation is important as it ensures that both the victims and the perpetrators of genocide actions are brought together[9]
The international community should have the will to end genocide. The executive branch of foreign government should not persist in turning away for the sole reason that genocide is not happening in their own countries.
Instead, the international community should join hands with countries where genocide is the order of the day and take actions of stopping the same. Lobbyists all over the world should elite opinions of stopping genocide. They should protest against genocidal behaviors that occur in distant countries (Totten and Parsons 2008).
Early warning systems should be developed in order to prevent genocide from occurring. The United Nations and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) should act to provide early warning systems (Totten and Parsons 2008).
The media should carry out its role effectively .Different media sources should not provide people with conflicting reports regarding the same situation. By providing conflicting reports, the media confuses people. For istance, the Rwanda genocide of 1994 was marked by various conflicting reports from the media. Some reports had indicated that violence had escalated in the country whereas other media reported there was calm in the capital Kigali. However, there were mass killings that were taking place and the absence of such details led to genocide in Rwanda
Finally, it is important for the world to bear in mind that genocides that were experienced in Rwanda, Armenia, Congo, Darfur, Cambodia and others in other parts of the world actually happened and can happen again without any early warning. It is therefore necessary to have a clear understanding of the factors that leads to genocides so as to take preventive measures[6]
Reference List
A Shabas, William. Commentary on Paul Boghossian, “the concept of genocide”. Vol.12, No.1 & 2. (T&F Informa UK Ltd: London, 2010), 91-99.
Abed, Mohammed. Clarifying the Concept of Genocide (London: Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2006.
Ball, Howard.Genocide.A reference handbook (ABC-CLIO: New York.2011), 276.
Gerlach, Christian. Extremely Violent Societies: Mass Violence in the Twentieth Century World (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010), 8.
Jacobs, Leonard.Genesis of the concept of Genocide According to Its Author from the Original Sources.Vol.3.No.2 (Springer: Berlin, 2002), 98-103.
Lang, Berel.Response to Paul Boghossian, “the concept of genocide“(T&F Informa UK Ltd: London, 2010), 2010), 69-80.
Makino, Uwe. Final solutions, crimes against mankind: on the genesis and criticism of the concept of genocide (Keith Windschuttle: Paddington, 2003), 1-12.
Migdal, Joel et.al.State power and social forces: domination and transformation in the Third World (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), 126.
Strozier, Charles and Flynn, Micheal.Genocide, war, and human survival (Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 1996), 142.
Totten, Samuel and Parsons, William.Century of genocide: critical essays and eyewitness accounts (New York: Taylor & Francis, 2008), 45-78.
Footnotes
William, A Shabas. Commentary on Paul Boghossian, “the concept of genocide”. Vol.12,
Mohammed, Abed. Clarifying the Concept of Genocide (London: Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2006.
Howard, Ball. Genocide: A reference handbook (ABC-CLIO: New York.2011), 276.
Christian, Gerlach. Extremely Violent Societies: Mass Violence in the Twentieth Century World (Cambridge:Cambridge University Press, 2010), 8.
Leonard, Jacobs. Genesis of the concept of Genocide According to Its Author from the Original Sources.Vol.3.No.2(Springer: Berlin, 2002), 98-103.
Berel, Lang. Response to Paul Boghossian, “the concept of genocide“(T&F Informa UK Ltd: London, 2010), 2010), 69-80.
Uwe Makino. Final solutions, crimes against mankind: on the genesis and criticism of the concept of genocide(Keith Windschuttle: Paddington, 2003), 1-12.
Joel, Migdal, et.al. State power and social forces: domination and transformation in the Third World (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), 126.
Charles, Strozier and Micheal, Flynn. Genocide, war, and human survival (Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 1996), 142.
Samuel, Totten and William, Parsons. Century of genocide: critical essays and eyewitness accounts (New York: Taylor & Francis, 2008), 45-78.
While analysing genocide in East Timor, it is necessary to consider some fundamentals concerning the issue of discussion. First of all, it should be pointed out that genocide is recognised to be one of the most terrible crimes a government can commit in relation to its people. As far as genocide was proclaimed an international crime, the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (UHCG) was established.
Generally, there is a wide range of definitions genocide involves. Social definitions are of particular importance, as they reveal the type of government a country is controlled by. Thus, on the one hand, genocide can be regarded as government’s intentions to commit crime against its citizens on the basis of their group membership.
On the other hand, genocide can be regarded as government’s intentions to abolish population on the basis of any reasons. One is to keep in mind that genocide is mostly associated with certain internal disruptions, war, etc.; so, one can conclude that if government is in danger, democide commitment provides excuse for the worst moral crime1.
East Timor’s genocidal grounds
Some of the historians are of the opinion that genocidal grounds were basically pre-planned. In the 17th century, the territory of East Timor was colonised by the Portuguese; in times of the Second World War, there were the Japanese, who controlled the territory.
In the early seventies, the Portuguese decided to reestablish their control over the country, and the Revolutionary Front of Independent East Timor (Fretilin) took a decision to form an independent community. In the mid of the seventies, Fretilin political force got the majority of voices in the local elections; so, the Indonesian government started its military actions and soon declared East Timor’s annexation2.
Keeping in mind a brief overview, one can probably conclude that the Indonesian government’s intentions to murder East Timor’s population involved political reasons; although a deep analysis of further actions the Indonesians followed give us an opportunity to suppose that both social definitions of genocide can be applied to the current case study.
The Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide (CPPCG) and its relation to the case study
According to the CPPCG, genocide is considered to be any act, which main purpose is to destroy certain groups. Such events in the case study as a) killing representatives of a national group (the population of East Timor), b) causing bodily and mental harm to representatives of a national group, c) “deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part”3, d) imposing certain procedures to stop births within a national group (gendercidal massacres of men), and e) transferring children to another groups can be all applied to genocide according to the Convention.
A critical overview of the Article II of the CPPCG
Some alternative definitions, however, cannot be neglected too. Thus, taking into account the acts of genocide the Convention includes, it becomes evident that the acts can be divided into two major groups. The points of the Convention from a) to c) belong to the so-called physical genocide. As far as Timorese population experienced starvation and suffered a severe lack of any medical services, one can state that the kind of genocide goes beyond descriptions that are pointed out in the CPPCG.
Therefore, killing representatives of a certain national group can be regarded whether as a simplified definition or as a definition that cannot fit for genocide atrocities, which occurred in East Timor. In other words, the Article II of The Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide involves some general definitions of one of the worst moral crimes a government commits against humanity.
The points of the Convention from d) to e) belong to the biological genocide. So, preventing births seems to be an exhaustive definition; although the original Convention contained no data on violence targeting women4. Gendercide in East Timor, in its turn, covered horrible spectacles with the execution of females. In our days, the execution of women is recognized to be one of the legal definitions of genocide.
Other acts not covered by The Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide involve cultural genocide and political genocide. Lawrence Davidson is of the opinion that when people are unfamiliar with the culture outside of their national group, “they are unable to accurately assess the alleged threat of others around them. Throughout history, dominant populations have often dealt with these fears through mass murder”5. East Timorese population was forced to study a new Indonesian language, which was formed on the basis of the Malayan language. Keeping in mind that the Indonesian government wanted to impose linguistic restrictions on the population of East Timor, one can probably notice that the Timorese also experienced cultural genocide.
Of course, political genocide in East Timor cannot be ignored. It was mentioned that the reasons of the conflict between the Revolutionary Front of Independent East Timor and the Indonesian party Apodeti were of political origin. Thus, Apodeti was mostly interested in East Timor’s annexation by Indonesia. Therefore, political genocide was unavoidable6.
Conclusion
It seems to be obvious that the Article II of The Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide does not depict the issue of genocide in detail. For this reason, one can state that the general definitions the Convention involves are to be expanded. The most generic definition of genocide was given by Israel W. Charny. He pointed out that the worst international crime in its common sense is considered to be the mass annihilation of human beings7.
As far as genocide is regarded rather ambiguously, some important points on an international crime are to be clarified. So, it must be noted that not only a government, but also various military and international organisations can be also considered as the perpetrators of genocide.
The most widespread motives of genocide include:
the annihilation of those, who are hated,
the destruction of those, who are regarded as the threat to a political regime,
the desire to establish a new order,
purification8.
Bibliography
Charny, I. Encyclopedia of Genocide, Santa Barbara, California, 1999.
Genocide refers to the destruction of a religious, ethnic or any other human group in part or in its entirety (Andreopoulos 35). The term was coined in 1944 and used to refer to an extremely destructive act of violence that led to massive deaths and destructions (Stanton 6). The Rwandan genocide is one of the most awful tragedies and crimes against humanity that have ever happened.
This paper seeks to find a way to make it easier for people in certain countries to speak out against genocide and ask for help. This help can give some relief or bring some peace to the lives of people who have experienced the horrors of genocide.
In addition, it will provide more information on genocide and explain why people have not learnt from its past occurrences and why it continues to happen in places, such as Darfur in Sudan. Genocide is worse than death because of its horrific consequences, such as destruction of human life and the emotional and psychological trauma experienced by victims.
Discussion
Genocide involves the mass murder of people based on factors, such as ethnicity, religion or political affiliation. It is deliberate, well-planned and perpetuated by individuals who are motivated by prejudices, revenge, racism, injustice and intolerance (Andreopoulos 38). For genocide to take place, certain conditions must be present. First, there must be a culture of non-concern for human life in the society.
Secondly, there must be a group that considers others as unworthy, less human and inferior. Thirdly, the dominant group must be composed of criminals and should have support from powerful organizations or individuals (Andreopoulos 38).
The Rwandan genocide that took place in 1994 was a horrific experience for the country. The genocide was characterized by the use of brutal weapons, merciless killing and great suffering (Stanton 6). Machetes and clubs were the weapons of choice used by men who were specially trained to massacre people. The genocide involved illegal squads that received help from the military (Stanton 6).
Whenever the squads experienced resistance or opposition, the military backed them up. In most genocide cases, the killings were directed towards certain groups of people that had rebellious political views.
Killings were mostly perpetrated by governments that exterminated certain groups that they considered a threat to the government. Killings were spearheaded by the military, using government resources and support. The people were killed in cold blood because they were unable to protect themselves or stop the killings.
In Rwanda, local authorities gathered people in places where the illegal squads slaughtered them. People were murdered regardless of their sex or age. Women, children and babies were mercilessly massacred in hospitals, schools and churches. During the Rwanda genocide, more than 60,000 people were killed during the first weekend (Stanton 8).
Unlike the killing of the Jews and the Armenians, the Rwanda genocide was not kept in a secret. Journalists reported the happenings as they had witnessed them. In the villages, corpses were covered with banana leaves to avoid international scrutiny (Stanton 9).
The killers were incited through radio stations to carry on with the killings and urged to hide the corpses. They burnt children in schools, mothers and babies in hospitals, and adults in churches (Stanton 11).
Survivors of genocide are seeking for refuge in refugee camps, the places that have pathetic and highly degrading living conditions. They cannot meet the basic human needs, such as food, clothing and shelter provisions.
Little water is available to the great number of people housed there, and amenities, such as toilets, are scarce. In most camps, diseases are easily spread because of congestion. Children die every day because there is little food available, and their parents have no means to fend for them. Health care services are scarce, and many people die helplessly, while waiting for help.
Some nations have not learnt any lessons from the past cases of genocide. Today, genocide exists because of greed for power and wealth by governments (Peaces of the World n.pag.). In Darfur region of Sudan, genocide is claiming thousands of innocent lives every day. Over 400,000 lives have been lost, and the situation is getting worse day after day.
The Sudanese government is responsible for these cases, as they hired a rebel group known as Janjaweed to perpetuate the killings (Peaces of the World n.pag.). The international community has done little to stop the killings, and this has aggravated the situation. The world needs to unite and do all that is necessary to stop these killings.
Conclusion
Genocide refers to the inhuman destruction of a part of or the entire religious or ethnic group. The worst consequence of genocide is the emotional and psychological trauma that survivors and victims have to deal with during their whole life. Genocide killings are still perpetuated by governments in certain countries. In Darfur region of Sudan, genocide claimed thousands of innocent lives every day.
Women and children were killed and raped under the watch of the government. Genocide is worse than death because of its horrible and humiliating means as well as horrific consequences, such as destruction of human life and the emotional and psychological trauma experienced by its victims.
Works Cited
Andreopoulos, George. Genocide: Conceptual and Historical Dimensions. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 1997. Print.
Peaces of the World. The After-Effects of Genocide on a Country and its People. n.d. Web.
Stanton, Gregory. Rwandan Genocide: Why Early Warning Failed. Journal of African Conflicts and Peace Studies, 1.1 (2009): 6-25. Print.
This is a movie that brings out the truth about the Rwandan genocide which consumed the lives of 800,000 people. This resulted from the history of the Rwanda’s two major tribes; the Tutsi and Hutu. Rwanda was colonized by Belgium, and it was supported by the Tutsi. In the colonial process, the Hutus were discriminated by the colonial power, which was Belgium with the help of the Tutsi. When Rwanda attained independent, the Belgians flew out of Rwanda. The Hutus took over power in Rwanda.
The Hutus extremists were filled with tribalism and hard courage guided by the fact that they were in power, they used this as an advantage to revenge the Tutsi. The Hutu extremists then started slowly killing the Tutsi people and the Hutus that were not racists. In the process, many innocent women, children and men were slaughtered by the Hutu extremists. The unique thing that happened was that none of the powerful nations like the US, Belgium, or even the international agency formed with the intention of keeping peace did not intervene. They stared from a far and watched the innocent women, children and men being slaughtered by the Hutu extremists just because they were Tutsi people.
The reason that Kofi Annan gives as to why the UN did not intervene and stop the killings
General Dallier and Barely were the first generals of the United Nations Peacekeeping that were informed of what was happening in Rwanda. General Dallier had less to do on his own without Kofi Anna’s approval. For this reason, he sent a telegram to the peacekeeping department of UN General Kofi Annan, who was on the seat at that time. In his telegram, he informed Annan that somebody told him that the Rwandan government was slaughtering its own people just because they were Tutsis. The intention of the government of Rwanda was using this as a trap to chase the western people from Rwanda. After Annan read the telegram, he first ordered General Dallier, “not to take any action” secondly, to share the information with the Rwandan government and know if it was true. General Dallier had nothing to do but obey the orders from above.
The reason as to why General Kofi Annan was that he was not convinced that it was true because it was information from intelligence people. He claimed that “intelligence can also be used to manipulate a person”. Therefore, Annan felt that the intelligence was used and the aim was to manipulate the UN agency. General Dallier being under the orders of General Kofi Annan did not go against the orders, but the truth was that innocent Tutsi people were continuously being slaughtered. This is why the international peacekeeping agency, the United Nations under General Annan by then did not intervene and stop the killings.
The reason why America did to intervene and stop the killings
The American government, as one of the powerful nations that played a very important role in peacekeeping apart from UN did not intervene. The funny thing that happened was that, when the United States of America’s government realized that that was the situation in Rwanda, instead of them intervening to stop the killings, they ordered its troops and citizens out of the country. This was indeed funny because this was not the case with what the United States of America. It had earlier before shown responsibility towards peacekeeping but it did not play any role in the Rwandan situation.
In three months that had passed, the soldiers of the United States of America send to keep peace and order in Mogadishu Somali were killed in a cold blooded act. The worst thing that happened was that the Belgian troops send to protect the Mother of the Prime Minister were killed by the Hutu extremists. The Unite States of America did not want to risk the lives of its soldiers in Rwanda like it did in Somalia. Therefore, the United States of America withdrew its troops from Rwanda and stared from a far while innocent women, children and men were being slaughtered just because they are Tutsi people.
The reason why Belgium did not intervene and stop the killings
Rwanda was a colony of Belgium and the country was still under its control in that even part of its troops was in Rwanda. Many people wondered why Belgium did not intervene and stop the killing of the innocent people. The reason that the Belgian government did not intervene and stop the killings was because the rumor that the Rwandan government used this as a bait to chase the Belgian citizens out of Rwanda. Therefore, the Belgian government did not intervene into the situation and stop the killings of the innocent women, children and men. They therefore, also stared and watched the innocent people being slaughtered by their own government.
Conclusion
In 1993, 800,000 citizens of Rwanda were slaughtered by the Hutu extremists just because they were of the Tutsi tribe or were not Hutus but not racists. The image of this inhuman act, still run down the minds of those who witnessed, who were victims and escaped through the meat of a tooth. People wondered why the powerful nations and UN peacekeeping agency did not intervene and stop the killing of the innocent men, women and children by the Hutu extremists. This was just because they were the Tutsi people.
Recommendation
Based on the above information, ignorance of powerful nations and the United Nations peacekeepers that made them fail to intervene into the Rwandan killings and stop them lead to dead of 800,000 people. This is a very worst choice of nations and a peacekeeping international agency giving petty excuses at the expense of the lives of innocent women, men and children. It is recommended that the powerful nations and peacekeeping agencies should be very concern to the extent of sending agents to the areas where the ramous claim that to be affected in any way. If in Rwandan case the United States and UN had taken that step, they would have known what the really truth was and they would have intervened and stopped the killings before many innocent were killed.
In addition to that, people in all global nations should know that all people are equal and they need not be differentiated based on their tribal or racial backgrounds. This is because, discrimination based on tribal difference was reason as to why the Rwandan genocide. In order to avoid such a situation from existing anywhere in the world, the nations under their governments should not differentiate its citizens but rather exercise fair and equal treatment of citizens. In this case, none of the tribes existing in any nation would feel oppressed by the government. By this, people of different types would also treat other as equals thus create peace and reduce tribal conflicts to the lowest rate ever.
The true cause of Sudanese recent genocide in Darfur region is the same as were the causes for other genocides, which have taken place in Africa, after this continent has been liberated of “white oppression” – the inability of local populations to adjust their behavior to socially-appropriate norms. When European explorers had set their foot in Africa for the first time, they found locals indulging in never-ending tribal warfare and cannibalizing each other, as their most natural preoccupation. However, after the brief period of law and order in Africa has ended, the status quo in African countries has been reestablished – these countries are now rapidly descending back into primeval savagery, despite the fact that many Western politicians continue to refer to these countries as “developing”. Sudan is one of the African countries that are being affected by the problem of overpopulation the most.
This overpopulation has been caused by Sudanese Blacks’ preoccupation with making babies, despite the fact that they do not know even know how to farm the lands they claim to be theirs. Within a matter of last 20 years, the population of Sudanese Blacks had tripled and now it represents a particularly heavy demographic burden for this country. In its turn, Sudan’s government, which consists mostly of lighter-skinned representatives of country’s Arab community, could not come up with a better way of dealing with Blacks, then slaughtering them en masse. It is now being estimated that, ever since the beginning of Sudanese conflict in Darfur region in 2003, 450.000 Blacks have been killed, which in its turn, had prompted International Criminal Court (ICC) to demand the extradition of Sudan’s acting President Omar al-Bashir to Hague, in order for him to face the charges of genocide.
In the case of Darfur what interventions if any would you recommend that the president take?
It goes without saying that the practice of ethnic cleansing is morally repugnant, even if it is directed against Blacks, as it is the case in Sudan. Therefore, we would recommend Sudan’s President to consider more civilized methods of addressing Blacks’ existential inadequateness. For example, Sudanese government could begin popularizing the usage of contraceptives among its Black citizens, and if this policy would turn out as ineffective, the more resourceful methods of reducing their numbers could be utilized, such as subjecting Blacks to forced sterilization.
Also, Black citizens could be issued with a smallpox infected blankets, as it had been practiced by American government in 19th century towards country’s Native populations. It is understood, of course, that in order for proposed measures to have a practical effect, all White Christian missioners and international “relief workers” would have to be expelled from Sudan, because it is namely due to their activities, during the course of last few decades, that the problem of overpopulation in Sudan has gained a status of priority. As in his book “The Death of the West”, Patrick J. Buchanan had put it: “Great folly of Christian doctrine was probably never as glaringly revealed as by the insane policies the Christian churches implemented in the Third World. These churches oppose contraception, sterilization, and abortion among their members. This results in exploding population growth which is further abetted by the medical care and food provided by the same churches” (Buchanan 2001). Therefore, we can describe the latest President’s initiative to kick international observers and the “lambs of God” out of the country as fully appropriate. Nowadays, it is only when Medias talk about a particular event, people believe that it really did happen. Therefore, if Western Medias did not stick their noses into what was happening in Sudan, the problem with country’s Blacks could have been effectively resolved long time ago, without triggering any kind of public controversy, whatsoever.
If this country were Panama would your recommendations be different?
If we consider a hypothetical possibility of Sudan turning into Panama, our recommendations as to what would Panama’s government have to do, while facing similar problem, would not be much different. This is because both: Sudan and Panama are Third World countries and it is namely the fact that these countries now enjoy independence, which causes their citizens’ living standards to sink ever-lower, as time goes by. In its turn, this can be explained by the fact that, ever since the end of “colonial era”, native people in former European colonies have been experiencing the lack of central authority. Nowadays, the civilizational attractiveness of just about any country directly corresponds to the percentile ratio of White people living in this country. The reason why today’s Haiti is nothing short of hell on Earth, is because Whites have been completely driven out of this country. Panama, on the other had, had retained a considerable number of Whites (descendants of Spanish colonists), which is why this country can be considered as quite attractive, by Third World standards. However, if a particular Panama’s non-White ethnicity would begin experiencing a birth boom, then we would recommend country’s government to utilize the same approaches to deal with the issue, as we have mentioned earlier, while coming up with proposals to Sudanese government. There is simply not enough room under the sun for all – people’s ability conceive as many as 20-30 kids per family, hardly qualifies them for such room, because it is namely one’s education and one’s willingness to act as a productive member of society, and not one’s skill in baby-making, which corresponds to his or her existential value, as individual.
Bibliography
Buchanan, P. 2001. The Death of the West: How Dying Populations and Immigrant Invasions Imperil Our Country and Civilization. New York, Thomas Dunne Books.
Western intervention in genocidal wars in other parts of the world is a highly controversial and heavily debated aspect of international politics in recent years. While from an ethical standpoint, intervening may be rationalized, there are international laws that prohibit such actions and historical evidence that demonstrates it can exacerbate the conflict in the region where genocide is occurring. Humanitarian intervention is justified if there are specific prerequisites met regarding the severity of the conflict and other mechanisms of regulation have been unsuccessful, creating an ethical dilemma which warrants action.
Background
Western civilization has been built on principles of democracy and freedom, which identity, legitimize, and support fundamental human rights. International charters of organizations such as the United Nations also support human rights and peace while condemning oppression and genocide. Nevertheless, the status quo of international relations has led to ineffective responses by the UN to crimes against humanity such as genocide in less developed parts of the world. Genocide is a mass killing of a specific population, commonly due to ideological, religious, or ethnic reasons. Scholarly research argues that without a direct influence or intervention, genocides can reach extreme proportions, creating ethical and humanitarian concerns (Kreps and Maxey 1816). The lack of sufficient mechanisms through international organizations often leaves Western nations with the choice of intervention, usually through military means. This has led to the rise of humanitarian intervention which is central to the foreign policy of Western countries. It permits to exercise of military intervention on a limited basis to alleviate a humanitarian crisis such as genocide to prevent human suffering and loss of life.
Socio-Political Justification
When Western states initiated the humanitarian intervention, they believe they are justified. Although this area of international law is a grey area, it is inherently legal if certain conditions are met. These include specific evidence of a crisis that is accepted by the global community, there is a lack of practical alternatives, and the use of force during the intervention must be limited to providing relief and not step outside the objective. This approach has been used by the international coalition through the UN Security Council Resolution in Libya in 2011 when there was specific evidence of human rights abuses and potential use of weapons of mass destruction against the population. However, if there is no unanimous approval, such actions are prohibited by the UN Charter leading to Western countries which choose to intervene technically outside international law.
Recently there has a rise in greater support of institutionalized humanitarian intervention, with many Western countries creating the Canadian-based International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS). It was established with the purpose of balancing the link between international law and actual practical interventions by states which feel that there is an ethical duty to respond to egregious infraction of human rights. The ICISS is built on the principle known as Responsibility to Protect (R2P) that shifts the primary dialogue for intervention among global actors. The primary argument is that genocide renders a foreign government immune to sovereignty protections since it is a violation of the UN charter. Bajoria and McMahon of the Council of Foreign Relations, argue that sovereignty is directly related to the conditional that a government protects its peoples, if that is violated, then the nation’s sovereignty no longer exists, and a Western military humanitarian intervention would not be considered an invasion (Bajoria and McMahon). Furthermore, from a humanitarian standpoint, intervention is necessary which should be complemented by the transformation in international law rather than Western democracies, with available resources to resolve it, standing by.
Humanitarian Concerns
There is a cosmopolitan perspective on interventions that highlights that the global community has the legal and ethical responsibility to intervene, including through the use of force in order to defend vulnerable populations and the principle of human rights. This argument believes in establishing international law that would support humanitarian intervention as a response to genocides and similar crises. The scholar Trahan in her discussion of international law on the issue suggests that the International Criminal Court suggests that military invasions with humanitarian objectives are legally ambiguous (42). It is a perspective shared by many international organizations and charters which exist for the protection of human rights such as the UN Human Rights Council and the European Court of Human Rights. Although these institutions offer judicial mechanisms for prosecuting those who initiate and participate in genocides, they are often ineffective or can only be done ex post facto. It remains a critical argument for humanitarian intervention which suggests that human rights are guaranteed by law but not anyhow enforceable during or even after such crimes as genocides. This allows for Western democracies to conduct planned operations based on the ICISS R2P values.
Opposing Argument
The opposition to the issue does not deny that genocide is an egregious human rights violation that is unacceptable and morally wrong. However, the use of foreign interventions, particularly military, sets a dangerous precedent. An article by Jayakumar citing a famous international politics scholar Noam Chomsky argues that practically every military invasion in recent decades has been done under the cover of humanitarian intervention (1). Even, the UN-approved intervention in Libya led to Western states breaking many rules by overthrowing the ruling regime and establishing a permanent presence in the region with the interest of supporting a pro-Western leader. Meanwhile, the UN charter explicitly establishes the principles of national sovereignty and self-determination which prohibits foreign intervention in internal conflicts of specific countries.
Humanitarian intervention is often used as a double standard since any potential criticism or foreign influence in Western countries is viewed as hostile. Those who promote intervention often focus narrowly on justifying it rather than attempting to resolve structural issues which have led to failures to resolve the conflict at its origins or non-military means. However, the primary issue remains that every single intervention by Western states historically has been done with an ulterior motive, inherently discrediting the “humanitarian” aspect of the operation.
Conclusion
Despite the legal and political challenges, Western interventions in genocide crises are a necessary aspect of humanitarian intervention. If there are no alternatives and there is a moral imperative to intervene, such actions are warranted. However, this mechanism of humanitarian intervention should be carefully balanced and regulated to avoid abuse as a cover for invasion. Therefore, it is better to improve its operation under international law and the UN rather than operating in grey areas as it currently does. The principle of the responsibility to protect is vital in the modern multilateral world and the rise of regional conflicts. More competent and actionable mechanisms should be developed at the international level to ensure the effectiveness of any potential interventions.
Kreps, Sarah, and Sarah Maxey. “Mechanisms of Morality: Sources of Support for Humanitarian Intervention.” Journal of Conflict Resolution, vol. 62, no. 8, 2017, pp. 1814-1842, Web.
Trahan, Jennifer. “Defining the ‘Grey Area’ Where Humanitarian Intervention May Not Be Fully Legal, But Is Not the Crime of Aggression.” Journal on the Use of Force and International Law, vol. 2, no. 1, 2015, pp. 42-80, Web.
Genocide is a crime that is punished by international law. The United Nations (UN, n.d.) defines genocide as any acts committed to destroying a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group by killing, seriously harming, or inflicting conditions aimed at the destruction of the group. Additionally, preventing birth or forcibly transferring children of one group to another is also considered a form of genocide. A total of 149 nations, including the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Russia, and China, ratified the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (UN, n.d.).
This implies that all these nations agreed to avoid, prevent, and punish genocide by implementing necessary internal and external policies (UN, n.d.). It appears that having all major countries ratify the convention would eliminate genocide from the world. However, many researchers agree that policies against the Uighurs imposed by the Chinese government can be considered a form of genocide (Fallon, 2019; Finley, 2020; Finnegan, 2020). Indeed, the situation in Xinjiang is peculiar due to the unfair treatment of the local cultural minority.
The region of Xinjiang, China’s Uighur Autonomous Region, has high economic, political, and strategic importance for China for a wide variety of reasons. Its reserves of coal, natural gas, and oil account for roughly a quarter of all Chinese natural resources (Fallon, 2019). Additionally, the area is a crucial region of the “One Road, One Belt Initiative,” which is a project to link the economies of China and other countries of Eurasia (Fallon, 2019).
However, the local population, a Turkic Muslim nation of Uighurs, has been trying to gain independence from China for the last century, which causes much disturbance to the region (Fallon, 2019). To subdue the nation to Chinese rule, the government implemented a series of measures, including forced abortions and sterilization, unlawful imprisonments, and discrimination on the basis of culture (Finley, 2020). The present paper claims that even though China presents the oppression against Uighurs as part of an anti-separatism campaign, it should be considered genocide that is to be prosecuted.
Policy of Exclusion
The Chinese government is trying to exclude Uighurs from society under the veil of the anti-extremism, anti-separatism, and anti-terrorism campaigns. After the events of September 11, 2001, the Chinese government launched its own war on terror. According to Chung (2002), the Chinese government started to label all the people that fight for the independence of Xinjiang as terrorists. The Chinese government claimed that the cultural group received funds from Al Qaeda, which made the group potentially dangerous (Chung, 2002).
As a result, China started to profile all Uighurs as potential terrorists, requiring them to provide DNA and biometric samples (Fallon, 2019). The rhetoric also helped to control separatism and extremism in the region through arbitrary arrest, detention without public trial, and summary executions (Chung, 2002). Thus, the War on Terrorism declared by the US helped the Chinese government to implement a series of questionable policies that raise the concern of international observers.
Numerous investigations confirmed that there were no signs of excessive danger of extremism and terrorism in the region. The separatism moods were common for the region since the start of the twentieth century (Fallon, 2019). However, after the fall of the Soviet Union, when many Islamic states received their independence, separatism became a common idea among Uighurs (Finley, 2020). As a reaction to these moods, the Chinese government started a policy of mass colonization of the region with Han Chinese representatives to reduce the percentage of Uighurs in the area (Fallon, 2019). The idea of the government appeared simple – to replace the unwanted Uighurs with loyal Han Chinese.
The events of September 11 helped the Chinese government to further enforce the policy using the global fear of terrorism to its advantage. International investigations revealed no signs of Uighurs being financed by Al Qaeda (Chung, 2002). Moreover, it is not legal or sensible to view all people of a cultural group as potential terrorists on the basis of the possible connection between some Uighurs and Al Qaeda.
Thus, even though the Chinese government is trying to represent the situation in Xinjiang as a war on terrorism, it is a clear attempt to deprive people of the cultural group of their rights. This can be seen as “deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction,” which can be considered genocide according to the UN’s definition (UN, n.d., para. 4). Therefore, the policy that excludes Uighurs from society by depriving them of their rights should be considered genocide.
Birth Control
Uighurs are being massively forced to have sterilizations and abortions, which is a step towards eliminating the national group. Uighur women were reported to have been massively taken to camps, where numerous crimes were committed against them (Finley, 2020). In particular, Uighur women reported forced insertions of intrauterine devices, repeated hits in the stomach, forced abortions, and pregnancy prevention injections inside these camps (Finley, 2020).
Some women were tortured into confessing birth control crimes and self-inflicted abortions (Finley, 2020). Data demonstrates that, in 2016, China invested tens of millions of dollars into sterilization programs, which resulted that 30% of women of child-bearing age in some Uighur-dominated areas reported being sterile (Finley, 2020). Thus, data demonstrate evident crimes that can be classified as “imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group” (UN, n.d., para. 4). These measures are considered a sign of genocide against Uighurs.
The Chinese government refutes the accusation of birth control by saying that Uighurs were subject to forced sterilization and abortion no more than other ethnical groups. In 2001, China implemented a policy under which each Han Chinese family was allowed to have only one child, while racial minorities were allowed two children (Finley, 2020). Everyone not obeying the law was fined, which motivated many women to have abortions or to be sterilized (Fenley, 2020). Indeed, China’s n National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) implemented policies to control the entire population rather than the minority group (Fallon, 2019).
However, evidence published by the Associated Press in June 2020 demonstrated that there was a major disproportion between the number of sterilized Uighur women and the number of sterilized women from other cultural groups (Finley, 2020).
Data from open-source data provided by the Chinese government shows that “over the past four years, hundreds of thousands of Turkic Muslim women have been subjected to mandatory pregnancy checks, forcible insertion of intrauterine devices (IUDs), and forced sterilizations and abortions” (Finley, 2020, p. 10). These practices fell sharply in other regions apart from China’s Uighur Autonomous Region (Finley, 2020). This demonstrates that the claims made by the Chinese government that birth control measures toward Uighur women were similar to those taken towards all women are untrue. Therefore, mass abortions and sterilization of Uighurs should be considered genocide.
Cultural Genocide
The Chinese government is trying to erase the culture of Uighurs, which is a sign of cultural genocide. The culture of Uighurs is associated with religious beliefs, customs, traditions, and language spoken by the group. The Chinese government is trying to erase the cultural identity of Uighurs through threats and forced re-education. According to Finnegan (2020), numerous Uighurs are being put in high-security camps without significant reasons.
These re-education camps aim at removing religious beliefs from the minds of Uighurs, as the racial minority is being repeatedly punished for practicing their faith (Finnegan, 2020). Additionally, representatives of Uighur culture are forced to sing praise to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), memorize and cite rules applicable only to the cultural group, and speak only Mandarin Chinese (Fallon, 2019). In other words, Uighurs are being punished for not abandoning their cultural identity and accept the ideology of communism.
The Chinese government is denying the idea that these camps are forced to oppress the Turkic minority group. The authorities claim that these camps are re-education camps, where Uighurs are reintroduced to society (Finnegan, 2020). According to the official explanation, the re-education camp help Uighurs to acquire the necessary skills to become valuable members of Chinese society (Finnegan, 2020). Government reports demonstrate that the majority of detainees entered the workforce after re-education and became happier (Finnegan, 2020).
Interviews with detainees and ex-wardens of these camps demonstrate that these claims are far from reality (Fallon, 2019; Finley, 2020; Finnegan, 2020). The interviews demonstrate that Uighurs in these camps are tortured, beaten, and psychologically pressured to abandon their beliefs (Finnegan, 2020). Thus, the described actions should be considered cultural genocide, as Uighurs are forced to give up their cultural identity.
The problem is that there is no official term for cultural genocide. The Genocide Convention of 1948 omitted cultural genocide as a term, which implied that only the physical being of minority groups was protected (Finnegan, 2020). The punishments for crimes against cultural identity are minimal, which makes people around the world unprotected from cultural genocide (Finnegan, 2020). The example of the oppression of Uighurs should become a sign for international organizations to revisit the definition of genocide.
Conclusion
The steps made by the Chinese government to destroy Uighurs as a cultural group are the signs of genocide, which should not be allowed in the modern world. The Chinese government is trying to exclude the Uighurs from society by depriving them of the right to self-determination. The Chinese authorities control the reproduction of Uighurs through forced sterilization and abortion. Moreover, China uses re-education camps to force the representatives of the minority group to abandon their cultural identities.
The UN nations should trial and prosecute the individuals responsible for these crimes against humanity, which is feasible according to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. If China does not cooperate, countries can impose political and economic sanctions, which proved their effectiveness in international practice (Fallon, 2019). The UN should prosecute genocide to prevent future cases from happening.
References
Chung, C. (2002). China’s “War on Terror”: September 11 and Uighur Separatism. Foreign Affairs, 81(4), 8-12. Web.
Fallon, J. E. (2019). China’s crime against Uyghurs is a form of genocide. Fourth World Journal, 18(1), 76-88.
Finley, J. (2020). Why scholars and activists increasingly fear a Uyghur genocide in Xinjiang. Journal of Genocide Research, 23(3), 348-370.
Finnegan, C. (2020). The Uyghur minority in China: a case study of cultural genocide, minority rights and the insufficiency of the international legal framework in preventing state-imposed extinction. Laws, 9(1), 1-20.
In most cases, a mass murder occurs within a single locality while the majority of the perpetrators end up committing suicide. Mass murder is multifaceted, and it takes different forms. The common categories include massacres, bombings, shootings, mass stabbings, and genocide among others. Mass murder is not a historically new phenomenon albeit its nature keeps on changing with time. Social, political, and economic factors influence the preferences and trends of mass murder. This paper compares and evaluates the contrasting explanations of mass murder while using the case studies of Rwanda and Cambodia.
The background of ethnic tensions in Rwanda
Rwanda was in the League of Nations under the mandate of the Belgium after the First World War together with the neighbouring Burundi. During the colonial period, the Belgians demonstrated favour for the Tutsis who were the minority against the Hutus (Mamdani 2014). The colonial masters used the divide and rule principle and thus in effect the divided the country into two tribal sides consisting the Tutsis and the Hutus.
Additionally, complicate the situation and widen the rift between the two sides, the Belgians sided with the minority Tutsis, who then ruled the majority Hutus, which fuelled more animosity. The aggression between the Hutus and the Tutsis led to the emergence of a revolution in 1959 forcing an approximate of 300000 Tutsis to flee the country (Agüero & Deolalikar 2012). By July 1962, the Belgium officially pronounced Rwanda independent after the United Nations’ referendum occurred in the same year (Straus 2013).
The genocide in Rwanda
By the time of the genocide, country’s population stood at around seven million. The Hutus composed around eighty-five percent, the Tutsis were fourteen percent, and the rest were the Twa ethnic group (Mamdani 2014). By the start of the last decade of the 20th Century, animosity between the Hutus and the Tutsis had escalated with the former accusing the latter of propagating socioeconomic and political inequalities within the country. Tensions escalated as the Tutsis were alleged to support the rebel group of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (Lupel & Verdeja 2013).
Habyarimana was the president at the time of the genocide, and he used propaganda and frequent political manoeuvring to create divisions between the Hutus and the Tutsis (Straus 2013). Consequently, resentments and fear for the minority increased, thus creating more room for war. The violence emerged after the alleged assassination of President Habyarimana after his plane was blown mid air. Given that the president was a Hutu, his tribesmen, who had lived with the notion that they had been repressed by the minority Tutsis, decided to execute an overdue plan to gain control by eliminating their perceived enemies. A series of brutal attacks occurred resulting in the death of entire families.
After approximately three months, eight hundred thousand people who comprised men, women, and children had died (Agüero & Deolalikar 2012). More than half of the Tutsis population was killed together with thousands of Hutus who opposed the destruction campaign. However, by early July 1994, the Rwandese Patriotic Front gained the control of the country including the capital city, Kigali (Mayersen 2015). Following the triumph, the party formed a coalition government with the president coming from the majority Hutus and the vice president from the minority Tutsis.
The Cambodian case
The genocide in Cambodia was carried out between 1975 and 1979 under the leadership of Pol Pot, who led the Khmer Rouge regime (Hinton 2013). The Khmer Rouge comprised fanatical communists who sought to initiate the most advanced form of egalitarianism around the globe. During the Vietnam War, the United States conducted massive bombings in the countryside of Cambodia, thus manipulating the political power to endorse Lon Non as the leader of the country (Chandler 2014). The military victory of the Lon Nol government marked the transfer of power and authority to the Khmer Rouge to execute brutal policies against the Cambodians.
The vast bombardment of the United States and the collaboration with Lon Nol enhanced the addition of new recruits into the Khmer Rouge guerrilla movement led by Pol Pot (Tyner 2014). The objective of the Khmer Rouge was to enforce radical policies based on communism. The policies advanced by Pol Pot were founded on ideologies of Maoism and Stalinism (Chandler 2014).
The genocide began through the attempts of Khmer Rouge to both centralise and rationalise the farming society of Cambodia (Tyner et al. 2014). The success to achieve the communist model followed the forceful relocation of people living in towns to their respective villages. Any attempt to oppose migration to the countryside amounted to death (Lupel & Verdeja 2013). The able-bodied individuals were forced to work in the farms, while those who could not travel for any reason were annihilated. All the residents occupying the cities were evacuated to the countryside including the capital, Phnom Penh (Meierhenrich 2014). Both the civil and political rights were abolished as children and their parents were separated and assigned to different work camps.
During the genocide, all the victims would reside in public communes that resembled military barracks (Tyner 2014). The potential opposition from journalists, lawyers, doctors, and other intellectuals from the upper class would not stop the mass killings by the Khmer Rouge (Kiernan 2014). The Khmer Rouge introduced the “re-education” system to orient the Cambodians to communism while those who opposed were killed in the death fields that surrounded the prison camp (Meierhenrich 2014). Speaking English and wearing glasses would also amount to death because it was assumed to have a bearing to the West (Chandler 2014).
All the religious enthusiasts including Christians, Buddhists, Muslims, ethnic Chinese, Thai, and the Vietnamese were all murdered during the genocide (Tyner et al. 2014). Most religious leaders were killed before the destruction of the majority of the places of worship. The survival of the Cambodians under the Khmer Rouge regime was linked to the ability to work (Hinton 2013).
Similarities between the mass murder in Rwanda and Cambodia
International organisation negligence
In the case of Rwanda, policymakers from Belgium, France, and the United Nations were aware of the preparation plans of the massive killings between the Hutus and the Tutsis, but they failed to take any precautionary measures to prevent the killings (Agüero & Deolalikar 2012). The international community was aware of the agenda to eliminate the Tutsis, but the relevant foreign actors ignored their obligation. The global leaders declined to implement both the moral and political authority to refute the legitimacy of the genocide (Mayersen 2015). Furthermore, the foreign actors failed to silence the television and radio stations that fuelled the conflict.
Similarly, the international community intentionally refused to declare the Khmer Rouge regime of Cambodia guilty of exterminating its citizens (Chandler 2014). The United States showed little concern for the emerging events southern Asia despite knowing the consequences that Khmer Rouge would bring to the citizens after gaining power. The American embassy located in the Phnom Penh was solely focused on the relationship of Cambodia to the effects of the Vietnam War, but not the massive killings perpetrated by the Khmer Rouge administration (Kiernan 2012).
Seizure of state power and authority to undertake mass murder
In both cases, the perpetrators occupied the senior-most positions in the government. Consequently, they were capable of using the state machinery and weapons to undertake mass killings (Olesen 2012). In Rwanda, President Habyarimana was used his political power to spread propaganda throughout the country. The president also ordered the media to spread hate messages, thus creating divisions that later degenerated into war. Additionally, Habyarimana used the authority bestowed upon him by the state to terminate the political elites who opposed the genocide agenda (Straus 2013).
Similarly, the communist group of the Khmer Rouge seized the control of Cambodia. Being at the apex of the state power, the regime implemented extremist policies by using military guerrilla groups to eliminate those who faulted its orders (Tyner 2014). The Khmer Rouge also exercised draconian rules by terminating all the independent movements and privately owned institutions including schools, churches, and hospitals.
Both occurred in less developed countries
Despite the differences in location of Rwanda and Cambodia, the two countries were underdeveloped at the time. Rwanda is located in Central Africa while Cambodia is situated in southern Asia. The causes that instigated the genocide in Rwanda are skewed towards the claim that the Tutsis had more economic and social dominion as compared to the Hutus, who were the majority (Agüero & Deolalikar 2012). The Cambodian mass killings aimed at curtailing capitalism through a random shift to an egalitarian society that embraced communism. The Khmer Rouge was also seeking to remove the western culture (Meierhenrich 2014).
Differences between the mass murder in Rwanda and Cambodia
The Cambodian genocide was based on ideologies and class differences
The causes of genocide in Rwanda stemmed from the ethnic rivalry between the Hutus and the Tutsis while that of Cambodia rested on the ideas of Stalinism and Maoism (Tyner 2014). The Khmer Rouge regime was forcing the Cambodians to become a centralised state with collectivisation of agriculture. The genocide was also based on class differences (Rangelov 2013). All the private developers were killed to reduce the gap between the bourgeoisie and the lower class. The objective of the Khmer Rouge was to create a nation based on the Maoist-communist model thus enacting policies that gave rise to genocide during the implementation (Kiernan 2014). However, the genocide in Rwanda resulted primarily from the allegations that the Tutsis were dominating over the Hutus, but it was void of ideological differences.
The Cambodian mass murder was “auto-genocide”
Despite the view that most injustices and casualties were inflicted on the Muslim population, multiple genocide scholars postulate that the Cambodian occurrences fail to meet the threshold of genocide as stipulated in the United Nations Assembly (Rangelov 2013). The intention of the Khmer Rouge regime of destroying a particular ethnic or religious group bears no proof in the Cambodian massacre. The genocide in Cambodia can only qualify to be “auto-genocide” due to its occurrence across the confines of the entire society and not targeting a particular group. On the other hand, the target ethnic group in the Rwandan genocide is explicit. The Hutus majority aimed to destroy the Tutsis who seemed to dominate the country (Olesen 2012).
Murder techniques incorporated in the genocides
The perpetrators of the Cambodian genocide deployed various forms to oppress the victims and conduct the mass killings. Several marches and purges were undertaken while the survivors were subjected to starvation, physical torture by inflicting injuries, and denial of treatment as means to terminate their lives (Kiernan 2012). Besides, killing of those incapable of working formed a basis for most deaths. In this regard, all the children, elderly, and the physically challenged were terminated at the expense of maintaining the Khmer Rouge regime.
Additionally, the elites and the owners of the private businesses were persecuted because they promoted communism by encouraging class disparities (Chandler 2014). On the other hand, the Rwandan genocide was dominated by the use of traditional physical weapons with machetes being the standard tool used in the manslaughter (Olesen 2012). The genocide in Rwanda did not involve work and starvation because it lasted for around one hundred days while the Cambodian genocide ran from 1975 to 1979.
Evaluation the Rwanda and Cambodia mass murder
The role of the media
In the Rwandan genocide, President Habyarimana used the media as a tool to spread messages of ethnic divisions, hatred, and an avenue to guide the perpetrators towards their victims (Olesen 2012). In this view, radio and television stations among other media platforms can be used to promote nationalism or create destructive tensions amongst citizens. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda has found some journalists guilty of incitement, crimes against humanity, and conspiracy (Straus 2013). In this view, the media plays a crucial role in determining national democracy while appropriate ways to respond to abuses of power must be formulated without violating the pillars of freedom. The media ought to play its fundamental role of informing and avoid activities that destruct national peace.
The role of international response
From the case studies of both Rwanda and Cambodia, foreign actors play an essential role in termination or motivating genocide activities (Valentino 2013). The negligence of the UN Security Council to send troops in time led to the escalation the genocide resulting in many deaths. After the Rwandan genocide, the international community rued the complicity of the United Nations’ peacekeeping soldiers after they failed to intervene in the conflict. The United States was particularly silent on the genocide (Beachler 2011). Since nobody appeared to be interested, the genocide persisted due to the absence of authorities to prevent the atrocities (Olesen 2012).
Correspondingly, the negligence of the foreign actors, and precisely the United States, to intervene in the Cambodian genocide triggered the forceful implementation of extremist policies that were against human rights provisions (Hinton 2013). The Rwandan and Cambodian cases highlight how the slackness of the international community to intervene in peace creation can precipitate into the massive loss of life of innocent people.
The role of economy in war
The Cambodian genocide started to initiate ideologies that would end class differences. The Khmer Rouge aimed at relocating all the residents to the countryside to undertake centralised agricultural activities (Chandler 2014). The bourgeoisie privately owned the production means and they were persecuted for occupying high ranks in the society and promoting policies that promoted communism (Kiernan 2012). Besides, the elites who comprised lawyers, doctors, and scholars among other professionals were killed because they were economically dominant, thus creating class stratifications. Likewise, the genocide in Rwanda had an economic bearing.
The minority Tutsis were alleged to control most resources while denying the Hutus their rights of ownership (Straus 2013). The claim that the Tutsis created economic pressures drove the country into massive killings.
The role of elites in maintaining power
The political elites initiate fear and hatred among the citizens to retain power and authority. The genocide in Rwanda is an example of how political leaders can enact divisions in a country leading to war (Valentino 2013). The selfish ruling class deploys the “divide and rule” approach to sustain their reign as depicted by President Habyarimana. Consequently, acts of genocide and associated crimes against humanity have a relationship with egocentric political class.
Conclusion
The causes of genocide are instigated by various factors including political, social, and economic. The Rwandan genocide arose from ethnic rivalry while that of Cambodia was based on political ideologies. Factors such as seizure of the state power and its deployment in undertaking genocide and the failure of the international community to intervene in conflicts are common causes of mass murders. However, the methods of murder and causes of conflicts differ from one situation to the other. The media, foreign actors, and the political elites play a pivotal role in promoting or curtailing genocide activities.
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Romeo Dallaire was correct in asserting that there were many flaws with the United Nations and its mission in Rwanda. His book Shake Hands with the Devil demonstrated the limitations of the largest international organization. The world has now come to grips with the nightmares that occurred in Rwanda. The nasty civil war in Rwanda that involved the Hutu majority and the Tutsi minorities had escalated into a hundred days of carnage and violence in which over 800,000 Tutsi and Hutu moderates were massacred by Hutu extremists. There is so far no account that has surpassed Romeo Dallaire’s Shake Hands with the Devil in narrating the epic tragedy in Rwanda. This paper will examine the issue in highlighting that the main purpose of the book was to let the world know of its blindness and lack of caution while the horrible and immoral situation developed unabated.
Introduction
The Rwandan Civil War began in October 1990 after rebel groups of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) attacked northern Rwanda through Uganda’s southern borders. Rwandan Patriotic Front comprised of over 4000 soldiers, mostly the offspring of Tutsi refugees that had escaped from Rwanda after ethnic clashes between 1959 and 1963. The RPF had depicted itself as a multi-ethnic and democratic group that wanted to put an end to the ethnic discrimination and economic plunder of the state by government agents. They wanted to prevent the security forces from taking destructive actions that were resulting in a constant flow of refugees into neighboring countries. The movement was entirely supported by the Ugandan government which was at the time under the leadership of Yoweri Museveni who came to power after winning the Ugandan Bush Wars with the support of these very insurgents. Fortunately for Rwanda, reinforcements arrived soon from France and Zaire that supported the Rwandan government (Barnett, 2002). This paper will examine the issue in highlighting the theme that the main purpose of the book was to let the world know of its callousness and lack of precaution while the horrible and immoral situation developed unabated.
Body Paragraph
While the conflict continued, on 22 June 1993, the United Nations Observer Mission Uganda-Rwanda (UNOMUR) was approved to be deployed by the UNSC along the Ugandan border with Rwanda. A week later, UN Secretary-General Boutros Ghali appointed Brigadier General Dallaire as the Chief Military Observer for UNOMUR. The Arusha Accords were signed on 16 March 1993 which made way for an all-inclusive accord to establish a power-sharing government and accordingly an UN-led peacekeeping mission was established in the region. The UN Security Council established The United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) on 5th October 1993 and its mandate was to ensure “the security of the capital city of Kigali; monitoring the ceasefire agreement, including the establishment of an expanded demilitarized zone and demobilization procedures; monitoring the security situation during the final period of the transitional Government’s mandate leading up to elections; assisting with mine-clearance; and assisting in the coordination of humanitarian assistance activities in conjunction with relief operations” (Rwanda Mandate, UNAMIR, 2009). Jacques Roger of Cameroon was the mission’s head while Lieutenant-General Romeo Dallaire was its Force Commander and the troops numbered 400, mainly from Belgium although Rwanda had once been a Belgian colony and the UN usually does not allow former colonies to assist in such peacekeeping efforts. Other nations that contributed to the efforts were Canada, Bangladesh, Tunisia, and Ghana. Both sides remained committed to the Arusha Accords for the entire year and it appeared that a broad-based government would be created shortly. However, squabbles developed amongst them which prevented the formation of a transitional government after Habyarimana became President on 5th January 1994. Violent clashes soon followed in which two prominent political leaders were assassinated and a UNAMIR convoy was ambushed (Atlee, 2003). The UN efforts became more strong in impressing upon the two sides to act as per the ideas put forth in the Arusha Accords. The UN extended the UNAMIR mandate up to 29th July 1994 because of the delay in establishing a broad-based transitional government. On 6th April 1994, a plane that carried President Habyarimana and President Cyprien of Burundi was shot down which led to a total collapse of the Rwanda peace process which was further carried forward in resulting in the Rwandan Genocide whereby over 800,000 Tutsi and Hutu people were massacred for 100 days. The first targets of the genocide were Prime Minister Uwilingiyimana along with some Belgian commandos and soldiers of the Paracommando Regiments that were participating with the UNAMIR.
They were actually the victims of mockery and misconceived legal protocols that were carried out after being asked by their commander to hand over their weapons to the government soldiers. The chaos escalated and the UN mission was unclear about the extent of force to be used, especially in view of the safety of civilians. By the time the genocide happened, the UNAMIR had become entirely helpless and powerless (Linda, 2004). In getting scared at the intensity of the massacres and the international embarrassment that the US suffered in Somalia, the country soon withdrew its troops and so did the Belgian government. The UNAMIR was now left with less than 270 soldiers with minimal local support. Lieutenant-General Dallaire had been given instructions to withdraw from the site of the genocide but he did not abandon his position and continued to face the genocide in leading whatever forces remained at his command. Despite being understaffed the UNAMIR forces did whatever was possible in saving the lives of thousands of people. Lieutenant-General Dallaire requisitioned for additional troops but they were not sent and the UNAMIR had to continue in coordinating peace talks between the RPF and the Hutu government but did not succeed in bringing about an agreement. The legendry Canadian general wrote in his book Shake Hands with the Devil, how he “watched as the devil took control of paradise on earth and fed on the blood of the people we were supposed to protect”. General Dallaire reminisced in his book that when he received the message to serve as the Commander of the UNAMIR in Rwanda, he assumed the assignment was to assist the two aggressive parties to achieve peace through negotiations. But he had to face the most unruly and barbarous acts of genocide and civil war and saw in just a hundred days what he had not seen in his entire career. He was shocked to witness the death of over 800,000 Rwandans but was unable to rescue people because of lack of manpower despite his repeated requests to the UN which had fallen on deaf ears. In his book, General Dallaire has recreated the dreadful history that the UN and the world community had chosen to ignore. He has also chronicled how he himself progressed from a confident Cold Warrior to an overwhelmed UN commander, to be eventually retired to struggle in pain and post-traumatic stress disorders. He is on record to have been the highest-ranking defense officer to have shared his experiences with readers.
The book is written as a first-person narration and records the complete tenure of General Dallaire as the UN Force Commander in Rwanda. The book gives exhaustive details as also the inner feelings that the general had about the way things were happening consequently to the ignorant attitude adopted by the UN and the superpowers at a time when thousands of people were being killed mercilessly without any reason. The book gives a detailed account of the events that happened despite the hectic efforts made by Dallaire. His book is very informative in terms of the narratives and the facts about the actual happenings during the Rwanda carnage. He gives a day-by-day account of the role played by the UNAMIR in attempts to resolve the crisis. The entire book is from the perspective of General Dallaire on what he went through in Rwanda. The diplomatic efforts were not undertaken in the right spirit and they only worsened the situation (Schell, 2003). The author writes how hate radio was responsible for creating the propaganda and motivation for the killings. The decision to ask UNIMAR to pull out of Rwanda was taken at a very inopportune time since there were hardly any forces left when the genocide began. General Dallaire and his men did not have the resources to do anything constructive in reducing the genocide problems. The General has been very tacit in expressing his experiences in Rwanda which is evident from the following excerpt from his book: “My story is not a strictly military account nor a clinical, academic study of the breakdown of Rwanda. It is not a simplistic indictment of the many failures of the UN as a force for peace in the world. It is not a story of heroes and villains, although such a work could easily be written. This book is a cri de coeur for the slaughtered thousands, a tribute to the souls hacked apart by machetes because of their supposed difference from those who sought to hang on to power…. This book is the account of a few humans who were entrusted with the role of helping others taste the fruits of peace. Instead, we watched as the devil took control of paradise on earth and fed on the blood of the people we were supposed to protect” (Dallaire, 2004). Painfully, the general describes that not a single country responded to his calls for help and all reinforcements were delayed while people continued to die in Rwanda. He has explicitly held the world community responded in just sitting and watching over the carnage that was destroying hundreds of thousands of human beings. Dallaire has highlighted the happenings that occurred right under the nose of the superpowers and he has asserted that if the same genocide were to happen again the superpowers will behave in a similar manner. The general has been very critical of the manner in which the procedures were undertaken by the UN in stark violation of a humanitarian approach towards a problem that clearly indicated that several lives were at stake. His concern in this regard is evident from the following quote from his book: “The future of UNAMIR’s participation in implementing the Arusha Peace Agreement was being decided by fifteen men sitting in a backroom beside the Security Council hall in New York, one of whom was a hardline Rwandan extremist. He found himself allied with the Americans, Russians, and Chinese, who all wanted the mission to end. On the morning of April 6, we received the Security Council’s Resolution 909, which extended our mandate for six weeks… The report sent the wrong message, and the consequences were truly devastating. It confirmed for all Rwandans-the moderates attempting to hang on to hope and the extremists plotting extermination-that the world didn’t give a damn about Rwanda” (Dallaire, 2004).
The book reveals the failures of the United Nations in not taking timely action in stopping the genocide. All the writings were on the wall in regard to the happening of such a catastrophe, yet the world community did not act in providing the required security personnel to curb the massacre. Dallaire has provided in his book, details of the proposals he had forwarded to the UN before the start of the genocide and subsequent examination of the proposals by experts has revealed that they would have certainly worked in reducing the number of lost lives. Dallaire had asked for just 5500 troops that were well-armed but he had to have the number cut down from 2000 that he had started with (Dallaire, 2004). The book is a real eye-opener about the effectiveness and working of the United Nations (Sageman, 2004). The world is convinced that what happened in Rwanda could have been averted by the superpowers. They are simply seen as blowing their horns in spreading and talking about the advantages of democracy but are not ready to act as per the moral duties provided for in a democracy. A democratic setup is all about giving freedom to people, protecting them, and encouraging peace throughout the world. It was a pity that the world watched as over 800,000 people lost their lives in a genocide that could have been averted had timely action been taken by entities that go around espousing the cause for peace and human rights. General Dallaire has given a rather emotional touch in writing that, “What I have come to realize as the root of it all, however, is the fundamental indifference of the world community to the plight of seven to eight million black Africans in a tiny country that had no strategic or resource value to any world power. An overpopulated little country that turned in on itself and destroyed its people, as the world watched and yet could not manage to find the political will to intervene. Engraved still in my brain is the judgment of a small group of bureaucrats who came to “assess” the situation in the first weeks of the genocide: “We will recommend to our governments not to intervene as the risks are high and all that is here are human” (Dallaire, 2004).
Rebuttal Paragraph
General Dallaire’s narration has not been well received by the United Nations in terming it as more of a personal opinion from an individual perspective. He has not considered the limitations faced by the international organization in terms of the bureaucratic procedures that render several of its functions to be adversely impacted often at the cost of considerable economic losses and human sufferings. Thinking from a realistic perspective and given that the UN has to requisition support from its member countries, the organization too was helpless in the face of minimal support being received from the superpowers. Countries such as the USA, France, and Belgium had withdrawn their forces at the last moment thus rendering the UN forces without any backup and support in terms of logistics and soldiers. The domestic security forces were of no use for General Dallaire and in having ignored the UN advice to leave Rwanda immediately, he was himself responsible for the difficulties that he faced. In being a hard-core defense services officer he should have known that orders of the high command have to be obeyed immediately.
Conclusion
The main purpose of the book was to let the world know of its own callousness and lack of precaution while the horrible and immoral situation developed unabated. Shake Hands with the Devil ought to be viewed from a different angle in being a substantial indictment of the United Nations practice of moving along gently. It is a compelling account of the ignorant attitude adopted by the UN primarily because of its persistence in refusing to establish an intelligence secretariat on the lines as suggested by the Brahmi Report. It is a case study about the failure of western countries in failing to establish rational global strategies and intelligence procedures that are necessary to make the strategies relevant and up to date (Linda, 2003).
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