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$Unique_ID{bob00479}
$Pretitle{}
$Title{Rwanda
Chapter 2B.   Events Leading to Independence}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{The Director Foreign Area Studies}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{hutu
tutsi
rwanda
political
belgian
government
administration
assembly
belgium
elections
see
tables
}
$Date{1990}
$Log{See Table 2.*0047901.tab
See Table 3.*0047902.tab
}
Title:       Rwanda
Book:        Area Handbook for Rwanda
Author:      The Director Foreign Area Studies
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1990

Chapter 2B.   Events Leading to Independence

     In February 1957 the High Council of Rwanda, composed entirely of Tutsi,
released its "Statement of Views" calling for definite action leading toward
self-government through rapid preparation of the elite. Because of its
emphasis on the training of the elite to prepare them for greater
responsibilities and participation in Government, the document brought an
immediate response from Hutu leaders who saw, in the ideas expressed, a Tutsi
attempt to perpetuate their dominant status.

     The following month a counterdocument, "The Manifesto of the Bahutu,"
signed by Gregoire Kayibanda and eight other Hutu leaders, was made public.
Although agreeing that Africans should be allowed greater participation in
Government, the Manifesto declared that the basic problem of the country was
the political, economic, and social domination of the Hutu majority by a Tutsi
minority. The Manifesto demanded a continuation of Belgian Trusteeship until
such time as this situation could be corrected.

[See Table 2.: Results of 1956 Elections in Rwanda-Burundi]

     The Manifesto of the Bahutu was the first indication of organized Hutu
opposition; a further step was taken in June 1957 when the nine signers joined
in the formation of the Hutu Social Movement "... to promote democratization
of institutions and to combat abuses." Together, the Manifesto and the
Statement articulated the conflicting principles which promoted the continuing
alienation of the Hutu and Tutsi. The 1960 Visiting Mission reported that it
was greeted by two contradictory slogans: "Immediate independence. Get rid
of the Belgians for us" and "Down with Tutsi feudalism. Long Live Belgian
Trusteeship."

     A second Hutu organization was formed in November 1957. This was the
Association for the Social Betterment of the Masses (Association pour la
promotion sociale de la masse-APROSOMA), founded by Joseph Habyarimana
Gitera. Through its newspaper, Ijwa rya rubanda rugafi (The Voice of the
Common People), APROSOMA launched strong attacks on the entire system of Tutsi
domination.

     Throughout 1958 the Hutu leaders attempted to convince the Mwami and the
High Council of the gravity of the problem of Hutu-Tutsi relations. In June
a Hutu delegation presented the Hutu case before the High Council. Its views
were not accepted, and the APROSOMA newspaper declared that there was reason
"to honestly wonder if the Bahutu still have anything to hope for from the
Batutsi for their emancipation."

     Political activity gained momentum in 1959. Riots in Leopoldville in
January caused the Belgian Government to announce its intention to accelerate
the program for Congo independence. The possibility of similar action for
Rwanda-Burundi motivated both Hutu and Tutsi to attempt to strengthen their
positions.

     The sudden, unexpected, and mysterious death of Mwami Mutara III on
July 24, 1959 initiated a period of intense political activity. Mutara was
reported to have died after an injection of an antibiotic, and the Tutsi
biru acted quickly to name a successor, Jean-Baptiste Ndahindurwa, a son of
Musinga and half-brother to Mutara. The Belgian Vice Governor learned of the
selection only after the fact, but felt compelled to accept the choice of the
biru, and the new Mwami was later invested as Kigeri V Ndahindurwa.

     The rising tempo of political activity was manifested in the formation
of a number of political parties during the next few months. APROSOMA had
already been transformed into a political party in January. On September 3
the Rwanda National Union Party (Union nationale ruandaise-UNAR) was founded
with the goals of immediate self-government and total independence in 1962
under a hereditary constitutional monarchy Appealing for the unity of all
Rwandans, UNAR accused Belgian administrators and missionaries of having
divided the country.

     Another party, the Rwanda Democratic Rally (Rassemblement Democratique
Ruandaise-RADER), was established on September 14. Advocating an "authentic
democracy in harmonious relationship with the various constituent groupings
of the Rwandese people," RADER proposed a constitutional monarchy and the
election of chiefs through universal suffrage. In addition, the party listed
among its purposes the maintenance of good relations with Belgium, the
spreading of the Gospel, internal autonomy in 1964, and independence in 1968.
The UNAR group charged that RADER was nothing more than a tool of the Belgian
administration. RADER played little part in the agitations leading to the
subsequent civil disorders.

     On October 9, 1959, the Hutu Social Movement was transformed into a
fourth political party, the Party of the Hutu Emancipation Movement (Parti
du mouvement de l'emancipation Hutu-PARMEHUTU). The declared goals of this
party were the termination of Tutsi hegemony and the ending of the feudal
system. It called for sweeping land reforms and for ready access by the Hutu
to all levels of education. Kayibanda emerged as the leader of the party and,
in keeping with the Manifesto of the Hutu published some 2 years earlier,
rejected the concept of internal autonomy as another means of perpetuating
Tutsi domination. Independence, according to PARMEHUTU, would be possible
only after there were guarantees of genuine democracy.

     The day after the formation of PARMEHUTU, the Governor of Rwanda-Burundi
prohibited all political meetings. Tensions had been increasing daily during
October, and the Governor's order was issued with a view to the restoration of
calm.

     Tensions continued to mount, however, principally because of what was
seen as a UNAR-sponsored campaign of intimidation of members of opposition
parties through threats and assaults. There was also an attempt by the
Belgian Administration to discipline three highly placed Tutsi chiefs for
alleged UNAR political activities which were detrimental to the Government.
Mwami Kigeri allied himself with the chiefs and declared the action of the
administration illegal. The conflict led to a break between the administration
and UNAR.

     In November the tensions culminated in a series of attacks and
counterattacks between Hutu and Tutsi groups. On November 3 a group of Tutsi
youths attacked a leader of PARMEHUTU, who was also one of the few Hutu
subchiefs. The following day, when it was falsely reported that the Hutu chief
had died, Hutu and Tutsi groups clashed and two Tutsi notables were killed.
These incidents touched off a wave of violence in which the Hutu pillaged
and burned thousands of Tutsi huts, and Tutsi commando bands attacked and
killed several PARMEHUTU and APROSOMA leaders.

     By November 14 the Administration was able to restore order by
declaring a state emergency, calling in troops from the Congo, and bringing
in two companies of Belgian paratroopers. A number of UNAR leaders were
arrested and subsequently convicted by a military court. Several other UNAR
leaders fled to Tanganyika or Uganda to avoid prosecution.

     One immediate result of the civil disorders was a serious refugee
problem. Nearly 5,000 Tutsi huts had been burned, and the number of Tutsi
refugees unable to return to their homes reached 7,000. Two more incidents
of burning in March and April of 1960 added substantially to the number of
refugees. The matter of refugees was made a strong political issue by Tutsi
leaders, and the administration charged them with impeding solution of the
problem because of political motivations. By the end of April 1960 the
number of refugees living in Government refugee centers in Rwanda had grown
to 22,000. Others had fled in large numbers to Burundi, Uganda, and the Congo.

     At the height of the civil disturbances in November 1959, the Belgian
Administration issued a statement of its plans for the political future of
Rwanda-Burundi. Earlier that year a special Working Group had been
established to visit Rwanda-Burundi, study the political situations, and
make recommendations. The proposals made by this Working Group formed the
basis for the administration's plans, the main features of which provided for
the transformation of the subchiefdoms into communes with a burgomaster and
an elected council, and the formation of a new State council, with the Mwami
as a figurehead "... outside the government and above parties."

     In February 1960 the first of the proposed communes was formed and in
March, it was announced that communal elections would be held in June. The
1960 Visiting Mission of the UN Trusteeship Commission expressed opposition to
the holding of elections at that time, believing that it was first necessary
to bring about a measure of reconciliation between the opposing groups.
Belgium, however, decided to go ahead with the proposed schedule, and the
elections for communal councils were held between June 26 and July 30, 1960.
The results were heavily in favor of the Hutu parties. UNAR officially
boycotted the elections, although their lists were not withdrawn in some
areas, and a few UNAR candidates were elected (see table 3). Mwami Kigeri went
to Leopoldville in July, intending to meet there with the Secretary General of
the UN to protest the elections. The Belgian Administration decided not to
permit him to return to Rwanda.

     On October 26 the administration proclaimed the establishment of a
Provisional Government for Rwanda. Gitera was elected President of the
Legislative Council by its 48 appointed members. Kayibanda, the head of
PARMEHUTU, was appointed Head of the Provisional Government.

     Discussion of the Rwanda-Burundi situation at the 15th (1960) Session
of the UN's General Assembly resulted in a call for Belgium to hold a
conference of all political parties before the proposed general election of
1961 in order to "... compose the differences between the parties and to bring
about national harmony." The General Assembly also registered regret that
the Mwami had been arbitrarily suspended by the Administering Authority
and had not been allowed to return to Rwanda. In addition, the General
Assembly endorsed the Trusteeship Council's views that the "best future for
Rwanda-Burundi lies in the evolution of a single, united and composite State,
with such arrangements for the internal autonomy of Ruanda and Urundi as may
be agreed upon by their representatives."

     In December 1960 the Permanent Representative of Belgium to the UN
informed the Secretary General that a conference of political parties of
Rwanda-Burundi would be held in Ostend, Belgium, beginning on January 6, 1961.
The UN was invited to send observers. At the conference the representatives of
the political parties simply restated their views, and no decision was taken
on the future relationship of Rwanda and Burundi. An election date for Rwanda
was fixed for January 23, 1961.

[See Table 3.: Results of Elections for Communal Councils in Rwanda-Burundi,
1960]

     Two days before the scheduled election date, however, the Belgian
Government announced that it had agreed to follow the recommendations of the
UN General Assembly and that the elections would be postponed until such time
as it would be possible to arrange a referendum on the question of the
Mwami. On January 25 Belgium granted self-government to the Provisional
Government of Rwanda, asserting that the measure was necessary to offset the
Hutu unrest caused by the decision to postpone elections.

     On January 28 a meeting of all burgomasters and communal councilors was
convened at Gitarama by the Minister of the Interior, Jean-Baptiste Rwasibo
ostensibly for the purpose of taking steps to ". . . facilitate
pacification and the maintenance of order in view of the tense situation
resulting from the news concerning the postponement of the elections."
Rwasibo declared the Tutsi feudalism and its symbols, especially the biru and
the Kalinga, were offensive to the people of Rwanda and must be eliminated.
Gitera, President of the Council of Rwanda, and Kayibanda, the Prime Minister
of the Provisional Government, then introduced a new flag and proclaimed the
Republic.

     The assembled burgomasters and councilors then chose Dominique
Mbonyumutwa, the same Hutu chief whose reported death as the result of an
attack of Tutsi youth had sparked the incidents of November 1959, as
President of the Republic and elected 44 members of the Legislative Assembly.
Of these, 40 were members of PARMEHUTU and four, of APROSOMA. Kayibanda
was again named Prime Minister and charged with setting up the Cabinet of the
Provisional Government.

     Two days later, on February 1, the Belgian Administration declared, that
in order to avoid provoking serious disorders in Rwanda, it had decided to
grant de facto recognition to the Republican regime. Strong objections came
from the UN, and the Trusteeship Commission charged collusion between the
PARMEHUTU and Belgian authorities in staging the Gitarama coup. By a vote
of 86 to one, the General Assembly passed a resolution declaring that
"exclusive responsibility" had been given to Belgium for the administration
of Rwanda-Burundi and that Belgium was accountable to the UN fulfilling the
Trusteeship Agreement. In addition, the General Assembly asked Belgium to
establish broad-based caretaker governments in both Rwanda and Burundi.

     A period of negotiations ensued between Belgium and the Rwanda
leadership. On August 4, unable to reach an agreement, the Belgian
Government withdrew the de facto recognition of the Hutu Republican regime
and resumed administrative powers. Elections, however, were set for September
18.

     UN teams attempted to supervise the election preparations as well as
the voting and tabulation. In addition to the selection of members of the
Legislative Assembly, the electorate voted on questions concerning the future
of the monarchy. In the balloting PARMEHUTU received 77.7 percent of the
vote; UNAR, 16.8 percent; APROSOMA 3.5 percent; and other parties totaled
2 percent. On the basis of this tabulation, the 44 seats in the Legislative
Assembly were distributed as follows: 35 for PARMEHUTU, seven for UNAR, and
two for APROSOMA. As to the question of continuing the monarchy, the vote
was 80 percent negative, a figure corresponding to the total vote of the two
Hutu parties.

     After being installed on October 2, 1961, the Legislative Assembly voted
to abolish the monarchy, divest the Mwami of all authority, and set up a
Republic. On October 26, with the UNAR representative abstaining Kayibanda
was elected President of the Republic.

     A protocol concluded between Belgium and Rwanda in December 1961 granted
Rwanda powers of internal autonomy and paved the way for independence. The
16th Session of the General Assembly requested that representatives of
Belgium, Rwanda, and Burundi meet with a five-member UN Commission in Addis
Ababa in April 1962 to explore the possibilities of affecting the "closest
possible form of political, economic and administrative union" between the
two territories. At the meeting there was agreement on the formation of a
monetary and customs union and a joint coffee board, but both Rwanda and
Burundi felt that, because of ancient antagonisms and because the political
developments in the two countries had progressed in different directions, no
form of political union was possible.

     The final act leading to the close of Belgian Administration came on
June 27, 1962, when the General Assembly voted to terminate the Trusteeship
Agreement. Three days later, on July 1, 1962, Rwanda attained independence.