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The Rwandan Patriotic Front: Politics and Development in Rwanda

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 August 2021

Wm. Cyrus Reed
Wm. Cyrus Reed*
Affiliation:
The American University in Cairo, Cairo, Egypt
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Extract

The past twelve months have witnessed the devastation of Rwanda. More than one half million people were murdered by the Rwandan army and the associated civilian militias, while over two million people fled the country after the death of former President Juvenal Habyarimana. The Rwandan Patriotic Front, which emerged in exile over the past thirty years and now dominates the government in Kigali, faces a dilemma: how does it consolidate its position amongst its core supporters, many of whom grew up in exile and recently returned to Rwanda, while at the same time gain the confidence of the domestic population, many of whom have recently fled? Resolving this dilemma is the central task for the regime, and is critical to the future political and economic development of the country.

In spite of its stated desire to create a broad-based government, the core of RPF support lies on a perilously narrow base, located as much outside of the country as inside. Domestically, the country is in ruins. The exodus of refugees resulted in the collapse of production and of the state.

Type
Research Article
Information
African Issues , Volume 23 , Issue 2 , 1995 , pp. 48 - 53
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 1995 

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References

Notes

This paper is based upon field work conducted in Rwanda and Uganda in August, 1994; the author would like to thank the American University in Cairo for its support, without which the research upon which this work is based would not have been possible.

1. In August, the local market utilized the Rwanda franc as a unit of account, though goods and services were readily available from any vendor in virtually any international currency, including US dollars, French Francs, German Marks, and at times Ugandan and Kenyan Shillings.

2. McGreal, Chris. “Rwandan Tutsi Seize Hutu Homes,” Guardian Weekly, 27 November 1994. p. 4 Google Scholar.

3. Human Rights Watch/Africa. “The Aftermath of Genocide in Rwanda: Absence of Prosecution, Continued Killings,” 15 September 1994.

4. Human Rights Watch/Africa. “The Aftermath of Genocide in Rwanda.”

5. Human Rights Watch/Africa. “The Aftermath of Genocide in Rwanda.”