In January the Rwandan government took the dramatic step of sending troops to the DRC to aid their former foes’ suppression of the Hutu-comprised Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). The short strategic incursion – already finishing – has had a ripple-effect in the country. Not only was their three-way mission successful in targeting the FDLR, but recently, with renewed vigor, Congolese-UN forces have launched further military operations against the Rwandan Hutus.
Besides bringing clear political and economic benefits to the DRC, the amplified fighting is increasing the rate of Hutu refugees returning to Rwanda. Many of these are forced: the Congolese government has deported nearly 3,000 Hutus – rebels and civilians alike – in the last month. Others are leaving simply because they no longer have a place in the DRC, encouraged by the low-intensity but sustained human rights abuses committed by the Congolese soldiers. The Rwandan government is very actively encouraging the return of Hutus so that it may continue to forge a “post-tribal” Rwandan nation; indeed, it is only now, when the survivors of both sides of the Rwandan genocide have returned, that one can truly learn what the social cost of 1994 and its aftermath has been.
The stories of the returnees are very interesting, and hold a glimpse into what is to come. Hitherto many had been dissuaded from returning by rebel Hutu leaders who told them that the Tutsis in Rwanda would surely kill or imprison them; instead, what has come from the state is a massive education and socialization drive to create ‘Rwandans’ with none of the other classifications that led to the 1994 slaughter. The first step in this process is a stint in one of a series of camps where the returnees at taught how to be citizens of their new nation. Subsequently, they are told to live in mixed villages: Hutus and Tutsis side-by-side. This top-heavy integration process has had limited success in inducing reform, even though some initiatives, such as police officers receiving training in community relations to make them impartial, have been undertaken.
However, the legal system in particular has confounded the government’s efforts to maintain power and build a nationalism-based state while simultaneously suitably punishing those responsible for Rwanda’s notorious recent history. The major issue is the Gacaca court system. This is a community-based tribunal arrangement that was reformulated in 2004 with great power to punish people involved in Rwanda’s civil war. While the courts handed down hundreds of thousands of sentences in a period far faster than the ordinary court system could ever hope to achieve, they are rife with government manipulation, corruption, preferential treatment, and the tolerance of torture. Furthermore, to maintain their hold on power, the Tutsi-led state has effectively silenced evidence given of their own massacres: there have been no prosecutions to date against Rwandan Patriotic Front personnel – now the country’s governing party – and this lack of judicial impartiality is severely hampering efforts at fostering unity. As a result, Amnesty International has specifically called for countries not to extradite people accused of war-crimes currently detained in their countries, stating that they should rather begin the proper legal process themselves.
Many of the Hutus now returning are in a particularly weak position. Their very flight may be viewed as evidence of culpability, even though some portion of those who fled did so due to fear of unjust persecution. Meanwhile, few will be able to muster the resources necessary to defend themselves – or bribe court officials, as so many others have done. With the Gacaca courts scheduled to finish by the summer, treatment of these returning Hutus will serve as one of the final legacies of the system. The debate over whether justice has been achieved – and more broadly, over how much credit President Paul Kagame’s government deserves for reconstruction, given its weak record on democracy – will long rage in Rwanda. In this light, it will be well worth keeping an eye on what happens to these long-exiled returnees. Their fate may well symbolize the success of the reconciliation enterprise more generally.
Photo Credit: Flickr user Boyznberry
