RWANDA, de la guerre au génocide

Les politiques criminelles au Rwanda (1990-1994)
(“Rwanda, from War to Genocide. Criminal Politics in Rwanda, 1990-1994”)
André Guichaoua

Preface by René Degni-Ségui
Despite the profusion of publications devoted to the genocide of rwandan Tutsis in 1994, many unknowns still remain concerning its antecedents – particularly the politico-military conflict that ripped the country apart starting in 1990 – and the manner it which it unfolded. Thus, seemingly virulent disagreements – often reproducing the same partisan divide between former belligerents, implicating state actors, international institutions, journalists and academics – regularly stir up current judicial, political and diplomatic debate.

André Guichaoua, one of the foremost specialists on the region, was in Rwanda during the first days of the genocide. In this book, he provides us with the results of fifteen years of research into these events, supporting his analysis with the same wealth of information and documentary trail that corroborated his testimony as expert-witness in front of various courts (among them, the ICTR). This book is an essential contribution to the history of the war and the genocide.

Interested readers may follow up on many of the points addressed by the book and its annexes by consulting the website (http://genevaconference-tpir.univ-paris1.fr/). The website posts audio-visual recordings and written transcriptions (in both French and English) from the Conference on the Achievements of the ICTR that was organized at author’s initiative in Geneva from 9-11 July 2009 under the auspices of the IEDES of the Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne University and the Faculty of International Law at the IHEID in Geneva with sponsorship from the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and the ICTR.

In spite of the ambivalence that characterizes relations between the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the present authorities in Kigali (the former rebels), and as the term of this jurisdiction draws to a close, the author insists upon the necessity of advancing independent research for justice and truth, free from all political constraints.

You may also consult the information note on this book at  the Wisconsin University Press website.

André Guichaoua,
noted specialist on the Great Lakes Region in Africa, is Professor at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne.

He is also the author of Rwanda 1994. Les politiques du genocide à Butare (“Rwanda 1994. The Politics of Genocide in Butare”) (Karthala, 2005).