Dictionary of Genocide - D Ank Unlimited

HUTU POWER
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committed large-scale massacres of Hutu in Burundi. The relationship between the Hutu
and Tutsi is inextricably intertwined within the Great Lakes region: since 1994 there
have been renewed efforts at reconciliation and the establishment of a harmonious
future. Owing to the existence of radical elements among certain sectors of the Hutu
population in both countries, however, such efforts have been slow in making lasting
progress.
Hutu Power. A virulent Hutu-supremacist philosophy. In 1957 Hutu leaders in Rwanda
published a Hutu manifesto espousing the virtues of the Hutu and denigrating the Tutsi. In
the 1990s, Kangura, Rwanda’s “hate-newspaper,” which maligned the Tutsi in every way
possible, published the “Hutu Ten Commandments.” The “commandants” were nothing
more than yet another way to malign the Tutsi and warn Hutu that any friendliness or
kindness shown Tutsi was frowned upon and would be considered traitorous.
In 1991, the term Hutu Power, which conveyed the absolute supremacy of the Hutu over
the Tutsi in all matters of life (political, social, economic, and religious), was coined. Not
content with words, extremist Hutu formed groups such as the Interahamwe (Hutu youth
militias), which translates to “those who stand together” and/or “those who attack
together.” These groups were indoctrinated with Hutu power beliefs and in the process
were filled with the poison of hatred for all Tutsi and moderate Hutu. Ultimately, those
espousing Hutu power were behind the planning and execution of the 1994 Rwandan
genocide that resulted in the mass murder of between five hundred thousand and 1 million
people in one hundred days (April–July).
Hutu Ten Commandments. A catalog of ten admonitory instructions that were to be
followed by Hutu in order to destroy Tutsi influence over Rwandan society and guarantee
Hutu hegemony. Published by Hassan Ngeze (b. 1961) in issue number 6 of the extremist
Hutu screed Kangura, in December 1990, the “Ten Commandments of the Hutu” were
written by Hutu extremists. The “Ten Commandments” could, in many respects, have
been adapted directly out of the Nazi Nuremberg Laws. The Hutu Ten Commandants
were as follows:
1. Every Hutu male should know that Tutsi women, wherever they may be, work
for the interest of their Tutsi ethnic group. As a result, a Hutu who marries a
Tutsi woman, befriends a Tutsi woman, or employs a Tutsi woman as a secretary
or concubine shall be considered a traitor.
2. Every Hutu should know that our daughters are more suitable and conscientious
in their role as woman, wife, and mother. Are they not beautiful, good
secretaries, and more honest?
3. Hutu women, be vigilant, and try to bring your husbands, brothers, and sons
back to reason.
4. Every Hutu should know that all Tutsi are dishonest in their business dealings.
They are only seeking the supremacy of their own ethnic group. Any Hutu
who engages in business dealings or partnerships with the Tutsi is a traitor.
5. All strategic positions—political, administrative, economic, military, and
security—should be entrusted to the Hutu.
6. The education sector should be majority Hutu.
7. The Rwandan armed forces must be exclusively Hutu.
8. The Hutu should stop having mercy on the Tutsi.