Burundi Genocide Research Paper

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In 1972, the Burundi people led vicious attacks against one another. The Tutsi government officials massacred the Hutu people having an influential effect on the neighboring country of Rwanda. The poor “pre-coloinal kingdom” was heavily populated with three different types of ethnic groups: Hutus, Tutsis, and the Twas (only made up 1% of the population).
The Hutu were in control until the king appointed a Tutsi prime minister. The Hutu people disagreed with the decisions being made and they began to riot. The Hutu were on a mission to get rid of the Tutsi, but the Tutsi ended up turning the situation around and took control which led to the genocide. The Burundi genocide took place in May and lasted until August. The main target was towards the educated and rich Hutu (University, n.d.). Tribal hatred did not cause the Burundi genocide, but rather caused by the tensions within the Tutsi-Hutu community. The government thought was aware of what was going on at first. They didn’t think much of it because the rival between the two ethic groups have been going on for as long as they could remember. The government didn’t get involved until the Tutsi people started to rebel. …show more content…

Some historians believe the government began in the late sixteenth century while others think the early eighteenth century was the start. They did agree on one thing though: the kingdom began when the Hutus, Tutsis, and Twas came together as a community. While the different ethnic groups were geographically close, they were far in cultural relations. The Tutsis, also known as the Abatutsi, were from different types of tribes who herded cattle and moved all around, making them nomadic. Hutu’s on the other hand were agriculturalists who were seen as the “lower class” (Lemarchand,

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