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33-420: Gisenyi was the home province of Juvénal Habyarimana , and during his rule it provided "virtually all the leaders of the army and security service", and a disproportionate number of office holders for important government jobs. Together with neighboring Ruhengeri Province , Gisenyi was also blessed with disproportionate development funds and enrollment in higher education. This Rwanda location article

66-613: A French court denied Rwanda's request for extradition of Agathe Habyarimana. Habyarimana was a devout Catholic . 1973 Rwandan coup d%27%C3%A9tat The 1973 Rwandan coup d'état , also known as the Coup d'état of 5 July ( French : Coup d'état du 5 Juillet ), was a military coup staged by Juvénal Habyarimana against incumbent president Grégoire Kayibanda in the Republic of Rwanda . The coup took place on 5 July 1973 and

99-466: A French crew, a French investigation was conducted; in 2006 it concluded that Kagame was responsible for the killing and demanded that he be prosecuted. The response from Kagame, the de facto leader of Rwanda since the genocide, was that the French were only trying to cover up their own part in the genocide that followed. A more recent French probe in a January 2012 report was falsely reported to exonerate

132-602: A conservative political agenda and was anti-communist. However, in 1990, before the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) invasion, and because of mounting pressure from several sources—Rwanda's main ally and financial backer, France , its main funders, the IMF and the World Bank , and from its own citizens wishing for a greater voice and economic change—he agreed to allow the formation of other parties such as

165-863: A degree in mathematics and humanities. In 1958 he enrolled in Lovanium University 's medical school in Léopoldville . After the beginning of the Rwandan Revolution the following year, Habyarimana left Lovanium and enrolled in the officer training school in Kigali . He graduated with distinction in 1961 and became an aide to the Belgian commander of the force in Rwanda. He married Agathe Kanziga in 1962. On 29 June 1963 Habyarimana, as

198-499: A government that mirrored the policies of Kayibanda. Quotas were once again applied to jobs for universities and government services which intentionally disadvantaged Tutsis. As Habyarimana continued to favor a smaller and smaller coterie of supporters, Hutu groups who felt slighted by him cooperated with Tutsis to weaken his leadership. By the start of the invasion from Uganda by the army of the Rwanda Patriotic Front,

231-684: A lieutenant, was appointed head of the Garde Nationale Rwandaise . Two years later he was made Minister of the National Guard and Police. On 5 July 1973, while serving as Army Chief of Staff and minister of defense, Habyarimana seized power in a coup d'état against the incumbent President Grégoire Kayibanda , ousting Kayibanda's ruling Parmehutu party. In 1975, he created the Mouvement Révolutionnaire National pour le Développement as

264-597: A private mausoleum in Gbadolite , Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo ). Mobutu promised Habyarimana's family that his body would eventually be given a proper burial in Rwanda. On 12 May 1997, as Laurent-Désiré Kabila 's ADFL rebels were advancing on Gbadolite, Mobutu had the remains flown by cargo plane to Kinshasa , where they waited on the apron of N'djili Airport for three days. On 16 May,

297-454: A rebel army made up mostly of refugee Tutsi who had helped Uganda's Museveni seize control of the presidency, Habyarimana's supporters had shrunk down to the akazu ("little house" or "President's household"), which was mainly composed of an informal group of Hutu extremists from his home region, namely from the northwestern provinces of Gisenyi and Ruhengeri . From 1975 to 1990, the MRND and

330-593: A second ceremony, Chief Justice Joseph Kavaruganda did not appear and the suggested ministers were not sworn in, infuriating Habyarimana. On 6 April 1994, Habyarimana's private Falcon 50 jet was shot down near Kigali International Airport , killing Habyarimana. Cyprien Ntaryamira , the President of Burundi , the Chief of Staff of the Rwandan military, and numerous others also died in the attack. The plane crashed on

363-698: A whole had become slightly less impoverished during Habyarimana's tenure, the great majority of Rwandans remained in circumstances of extreme poverty . In 1990, the Tutsi -led Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) launched the Rwandan Civil War against his government. After three years of war, Habyarimana signed the Arusha Accords in 1993 with the RPF as a peace agreement. The following year, he died under mysterious circumstances when his plane, also carrying

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396-472: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Juv%C3%A9nal Habyarimana President of Rwanda Government Presidential elections Battles/wars Juvénal Habyarimana ( Kinyarwanda: [hɑβɟɑːɾímɑ̂ːnɑ] , French: [ʒyvenal abjaʁimana] ; 8 March 1937 – 6 April 1994) was a Rwandan politician and military officer who was the second president of Rwanda , from 1973 until his assassination in 1994 . He

429-646: The President of Burundi , Cyprien Ntaryamira , was shot down by a missile near Kigali . His assassination ignited ethnic tensions in the region and helped spark the genocide against the Tutsi . Juvénal Habyarimana was born on 8 March 1937, in Gisenyi , Ruanda-Urundi to a wealthy Hutu family. After receiving a primary education, he attended the College of Saint Paul in Bukavu , Belgian Congo , where he graduated with

462-881: The Republican Democratic Movement , the Social Democratic Party , the Liberal Party and the Christian Democratic Party . In October 1990, an attack on Habyarimana's government began when rebels from the RPF , a force of mostly Tutsi Rwandan refugees and expatriates who had served in the Ugandan army (many in key positions), crossed the border from Uganda . Habyarimana was in New York City attending

495-479: The 1961 election and referendum , but the absence of effective Tutsi opposition led to regional tensions between Hutu politicians. The central and southern politicians were opposed by those from the north. In the months prior to Habyarimana's coup, the Army (mainly composed of northern soldiers) had intensified persecution of ethnic Tutsi through the formation of Hutu vigilante committees to ensure enforcement of

528-464: The Habyarimana government were one. Under a constitution adopted in 1978, every five years the president of the MRND, Hayarimana, was automatically elected to a five-year term as president of the republic, and was confirmed in office via a referendum. Every four years, voters had the option of choosing between two MRND candidates for the legislature. All citizens of Rwanda became members of the MRND at birth. Local administrations simultaneously represented

561-549: The RPF. Members of Kagame's inner circle have come out publicly stating that the attack was ordered by Kagame himself. These include his former Chief of Staff and Ambassador to the United States Theogene Rudasingwa , the former army chief and Ambassador to India General Kayumba Nyamwasa , the former secretary in the Ministry of Defense Major Jean-Marie Micombero and others. Habyarimana's body

594-535: The Ugandan Government of supplying the RPF, establishing a "rear command" for the group in Kampala, and "flagging off" the invasion. The Rwandan Government announced on 30 October that the war was over. On 4 August 1993 the Rwandan government and the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) signed the Arusha Accords to end the Rwandan Civil War . As stipulated by the agreement, the new transitional government

627-566: The United Nations World Summit for Children when the attack commenced. When news of the RPF offensive broke, Habyarimana requested assistance from France in fighting the invasion. The French government responded by dispatching troops to his aid under the cover of protecting French nationals. Zairian President Mobutu Sese Seko 's contribution was to send several hundred troops of the elite Special Presidential Division (DSP). The Zairian soldiers raped Rwandan civilians in

660-609: The country's only legal party. The government stayed almost entirely in military hands until 1978 when a new constitution was approved in a referendum . At the same time, Habyarimana was elected to a five-year term as president; as president of the MRND, he was the only candidate. He was reelected in 1983 and 1988, both times as the only candidate. A Hutu himself, he initially won favor among both Hutu and Tutsi groups given his administration's reluctance to implement policies that catered to his primarily Hutu supporters. This restraint did not last and Habyarimana eventually began to oversee

693-519: The coup Habyarimana announced the Committee for Peace and National Union . The coup was completely successful and resulted in no lives lost; however, 56 people were arrested. After the coup, all 56 people that were arrested, including former president Grégoire Kayibanda, starved to death while in prison. Immediately after seizing power, Habyarimana established a totalitarian dictatorship and outlawed all political parties, but in 1974 created his own,

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726-601: The day before Mobutu fled Zaire and the country was renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Habyarimana's remains were burned under the supervision of an Indian Hindu leader. The death of Habyarimana ignited the genocide against the Tutsi by extremists from the majority Hutus, against Tutsis and those Hutus who had opposed the government in the past or who had supported the peace accords. Within 100 days, somewhere between 491,000 and 800,000 Rwandans were massacred. Habyarimana's wife, Agathe Habyarimana ,

759-467: The grounds of the presidential residence. The circumstances of the crash remain unclear. At the time, the Hutu Power media claimed the plane had been shot down on orders from RPF leader Paul Kagame . Others, including the RPF, accused militant Hutus from within Habyarimana's party of orchestrating the crash to provoke anti- Tutsi outrage while simultaneously seizing power. Since the aircraft had

792-488: The north of the country and looted their homes, prompting Habyarimana to expel them within a week of their arrival. With French assistance, and benefiting from the loss of RPF morale after Fred Rwigyema 's death, the Rwandan Army enjoyed a major tactical advantage. By the end of October, they had regained all the ground taken by the RPF and pushed the rebels all the way back to the Ugandan border. Habyarimana accused

825-503: The official party as well as the local authority. Legal and party policies were communicated and enforced from the Head of State down through the local administrative units, especially the general policy of Umuganda, in which Rwandans were required to "allocate half a day's labour per week" to infrastructural projects. Habyarimana is sometimes described as a moderate though the party is said to have used right-wing propaganda methods, advanced

858-516: The required ethnic quotas requested by Habyarimana. Kayibanda refused this policy of quotas and was then described by the Army as a 'weak' leader. Fake rumors and documents were produced by the Army against the President and Rwanda became isolated economically and diplomatically, especially from neighbouring Uganda (then under the rule of Idi Amin ) which housed large numbers of Tutsi. This situation

891-514: Was considered by many as a betrayal. While still under Belgian rule in the 1950s and early 1960s, resentment towards colonial rule and the ethnic Tutsi elite among the Hutu had increased, and led to the formation of the political party Parmehutu by Grégoire Kayibanda in 1957, with aims to overthrow the monarchy and gain identical rights ("emancipation") for the Hutus. This was achieved following

924-615: Was evacuated by French troops shortly after his death. She has been described as having been extremely influential in Rwandan politics. She has been accused by Rwandan Justice Minister Tharcisse Karugarama of complicity in the genocide and was denied asylum in France on the basis of evidence of her complicity. She was arrested in March 2010 in the Paris region by the police executing a Rwandan-issued international arrest warrant. In September 2011,

957-544: Was identified lying in a flowerbed at about 21:30 on 6 April by the crash site. The corpses of the victims were taken into the presidential palace living room. Plans were initially made to take his body to the hospital, but the renewal of conflict made this difficult, and instead his corpse was stored in a freezer at a nearby army barracks. His family shortly thereafter fled to France, making no preparations for his burial. At some point following, Habyarimana's remains were obtained by Zairian President Mobutu Sese Seko and kept in

990-412: Was nicknamed Kinani , a Kinyarwanda word meaning "invincible". An ethnic Hutu , Habyarimana served in several security positions including minister of defense under Rwanda's first president, Grégoire Kayibanda . After overthrowing Kayibanda in a coup in 1973 , he became the country's new president and eventually continued his predecessor's pro-Hutu policies. He was a dictator , and electoral fraud

1023-501: Was regarded by the majority of the population as a betrayal from Habyarimana. Indeed, prior to the coup Habyarimana, who served as Army Chief of Staff, was also a friend of president Kayibanda. On the morning of 5 July 1973, Juvénal Habyarimana with AML-60 armored cars and infantry from the Rwandan National guard, took over the government and put then-president Grégoire Kayibanda under house arrest. The next morning after

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1056-405: Was suspected for his unopposed re-elections: 98.99% of the vote on 24 December 1978, 99.97% of the vote on 19 December 1983, and 99.98% of the vote on 19 December 1988. During his rule, Rwanda became a totalitarian , one-party state in which his MRND -party enforcers required people to chant and dance in adulation of the president at mass pageants of political "animation". While the country as

1089-538: Was to be sworn in on 5 January 1994. Habyarimana was sworn in as interim President at the Parliament building, but then suddenly departed before calling up the new Prime Minister and cabinet to be inaugurated. Habyarimana returned that afternoon with a list of new cabinet members from Hutu extremist parties, who had not been agreed upon in the Arusha Accords, to be sworn in. Having not been formally invited for

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