Read Shake Hands With the Devil Online
Authors: Romeo Dallaire
Major Luc-André Racine
Canadian reinforcement
MILOB
employed on challenging tasks by General Dallaire due to his excellent language skills and extensive experience. Worked with recce as Sector Commander in
HPZ
, and as Liaison Officer to Human Rights Mission
Radio Muhaburu
Radio station operated by the
RPF
Radio Rwanda
Government-controlled radio station
Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines
(
RTLM
) Kigali independent radio station with strong links to extremist elements in and out of the regime
Ambassador David Rawson
US
Ambassador to Rwanda, left at the beginning of the war
Lieutenant Commander Robert Read
Canadian reinforcement Officer transferred from Somalia to Rwanda during the genocide and employed as Logistics Base Commander
Recce
Reconnaissance
RGF
Rwandese Government Forces
RGF Headquarters
Located in Camp Kigali
RGF Sector
HQ
in Ruhengeri, south of the
DMZ
, encompassed government-controlled areas in northern Rwanda consisted of
MILOB
s only
Isel Rivero
UN DPKO
Political Desk Officer for Central Africa, Cuban
Iqbal Riza
Assistant (Deputy) Secretary-General,
DPKO
, Pakistani diplomat and long-time
UN
employee
ROE
Rules of Engagement
Colonel Jean-Pierre Roman
Belgian Commander of the Belgian Para-commando brigade, visited Rwanda at the same time as Minister Claes
Colonel Cam Ross
In spring 1993, led first
UN
Technical Mission to Rwanda and recommended the deployment of a peacekeeping force. During
UNAMIR
, was Director of Peacekeeping Operations for the Canadian Forces at
NDHQ
in Ottawa
General Armand Roy
Canadian Army Military Area Commander for Quebec in 1993
Royal Canadian Regiment
The senior serving infantry regiment in the Canadian Army
Royal Military College (RMC)
Located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada
RPA
Rwandese Patriotic Army
RPF
Rwandese Patriotic Front
RPF Sector
HQ
in Mulindi, co-located with the
RPF HQ
. Its area of operation was the area under
RPF
control in northern Rwanda. Consisted of
MILOB
s only
RTLM
Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines
Ruhengeri
Northwestern prefecture, capital of same name, location of the Virunga Mountains, heartland of the extremist Hutu regime, location of the Gendarmerie school, including rapid reaction forces
George Ruggiu
Belgian mercenary who ran
RTLM
, which incited genocide against Tutsis
Enoch Ruhigira
Chef de cabinet of the president and former prime minister of Rwanda, confidant of Habyarimana
Rules of Engagement (ROE)
Establishes rules for the use of military force in a mission, updated as risk factors change
Colonel Léonidas Rusatira
Head of the esm or Military College, senior colonel in the rgf, later promoted to general, Hutu moderate, deserted to the rpf near the end of the war
Tito Rutaremara
Proposed
RPF
national assemblyman, Tutsi extremist
Lieutenant Colonel Ephrem Rwabalinda
RGF
liaison officer to
UNAMIR
, killed in early July 1994
Rwandese Government Forces (RGF)
Hutu-dominated Rwandan Government Army, Kinyarwanda- and French-speaking
Rwandese Patriotic Army (RPA)
The military wing of the
RPF
Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF)
Tutsi-dominated military and political movement, disciplined rebel army composed of Rwandan refugees raised in Ugandan refugee camps, supported by the Ugandans, English-speaking, led by Kagame, originally the Rwandese Alliance for National Unity (
RANU
) started in 1979, changed to
RPF
in 1987
Major Jean-Yves St-Denis
Canadian reinforcement Officer,
UNMO
Sainte Famille
A large church/school complex in the centre of Kigali that served as a protected site for thousands during the genocide
Dr. Salim Ahmed Salim
Secretary General of the Organization of African Unity, Tanzanian
Marcel Savard
Ex-Canadian Forces Logistics Officer, leader of the
UN
Field Operations Division team on the Technical Mission
SC
The
UN
Security Council
Lieutenant General Daniel Schroeder
American commander of the U.S. Joint Task Force to Africa
The Secretariat
The administrative support organization of the
UN
Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations (SRSG)
The political head of mission appointed by the
SG
, usually appointed Head of Mission.
SRSG UNAMIR
was Jacques-Roger Booh-Booh from Cameroon from Nov 93âJun 94 and Shaharyar M. Khan of Pakistan from 1 Jul 94
Section
A squad or group of soldiers usually eight to eleven in number and commanded by a junior
NCO
or Sergeant
Security Council
UN
decision-making body of ambassadors representing their
respective nation-states charged with monitoring and ensuring international peace and security. The council receives reports from the
SG
and in turn issues the
SG
with guidance. The Security Council issues the mandates for peacekeeping missions
Seth Sendashonga
RPF
political leader, fled Rwanda to join the
RPF
in Uganda, Hutu
SG
The
UN
Secretary-General
Théodore Sindikubwabo
Hutu
MRND
extremist appointed President of the interim government after the assassination of Habyarimana
Sitrep
Situation Report, provides details of current situation
Major Manuel Sosa
Uruguayan
MILOB
killed by a rocket
Southern Sector
HQ
in Butare, area of operations was government-controlled area of southern Rwanda, consisted of
MILOB
s only
Sous-prefect
Assistant political head of a prefecture
SRSG
Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations
Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA)
Agreement between the
UN
Force and a host nation, concerning administrative and legal matters such as immunity from national law, exemption from duties and tariffs, etc.
Status of Mission Agreement (SOMA)
Agreement between the
UN
Mission and a host nation, concerning administrative and legal matters such as immunity from national law, exemption from duties and tariffs, etc.
Johan Swinnen
Belgian Ambassador to Rwanda, left in April 94
Technical Mission
UN
term for a multi-disciplinary reconnaissance or information-gathering team sent to a problem area to observe and report back to the
SG
who in turn reports to the
SC
Theatre command
Operational command in the field
Third force
Name given by
UNAMIR
to an extremist group that was out to derail the peace process
Colonel Isoa Tikoka
UN
Military Observer during Arusha Peace negotiations, and later became
UNAMIR
Chief Military Observer, known as Tiko, of Fiji
Major General Guy Tousignant
Canadian Force Commander of
UNAMIR
, replaced Major General Dallaire Aug 94
Triumvirate
General Dallaire's nickname for Major-General Maurice Baril, Kofi Annan and Iqbal Riza
Master Corporal Philippe Troute
FC
's personal driver, Walloon Belgian Para-commando
Tutsi
Minority ethnic group in Rwanda comprising approximately fourteen percent of the population
Twa
Minority ethnic group in Rwanda comprising approximately one percent of the population, mainly pygmies
Faustin Twagiramungu
Prime Minister Designate for the
BBTG
, selected in Arusha, member of the
MDR
, moderate Hutu during 93â94, varied political background, became prime minister after the
RPF
victory in July 1994
UN
United Nations
UNAMIR
United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda
UNAMIR 1
Established by Security Council Resolution 872/05 Oct 93, to assist in the implementation of the Arusha Peace Agreement
UNAMIR 2
Established by Security Council Resolution 918/17 May 94, to contribute to the security and protection of displaced persons, refugees and civilians at risk in Rwanda
UNCIVPOL
United Nations Civilian Police Division
UNDP
United Nations Development Programme
UNHCR
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
UNICEF
United Nations Children's Fund
UNITAF
Unified Task Force Somalia, to establish a safe environment for the delivery of humanitarian assistance
UNMO
United Nations Military Observer
UNOMUR
United Nations Observer Mission Uganda-Rwanda, treated as a Sector within
UNAMIR. HQ
in Kabale, area of operations was the Ugandan side of the Uganda/Rwanda border opposite the area under
RPF
control, to monitor the flow of men, arms and supplies from Uganda to the
RPF
in Rwanda, consisted of
MILOB
s
UNREO
The United Nations Rwanda Emergency Office, established to coordinate all humanitarian aid efforts for Rwanda
UN Protected Sites
Protected areas for people at risk (such as the Amahoro Stadium, the Meridien hotel, the King Faisal hospital, the Hôtel des Mille Collines, the Belgian camp at the Dom Bosco school)
General Uytterhoeven
Belgian Senior Military Officer, visited Rwanda at the same time as Minister Claes
Agathe Uwilingiyimana
Prime minister of the interim government,
MDR
Party, moderate Hutu, put in power 7 Apr 93, killed 7 Apr 94, known as Madame Agathe
Captain Robert van Putten
Dutch Aide-de-camp replaced Captain Willem de Kant, Feb 94
Valcartier
Home base of 5ième Brigade-Group, located outside Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
Vital points
Installations or locations considered to be mission-essential property that merits security, for example, airports, power stations, etc.
Butch Waldrum
Retired Canadian Air Force General, employed in
FOD
New York, visited
UNAMIR
5 Apr 94, caught on the ground during the events of 6â7 Apr 94, evacuated to Nairobi and established the air bridge to support
UNAMIR
Weapons-secure area/zone
The
RPF
and the
RPF
would secure their weapons and move them or armed troops only with
UN
permission and under
UN
escort
Colonel Clayton Yaache
Ghanaian Demilitarized Zone (
DMZ
) Sector Commander before 7 April, and later, after withdrawal to Kigali, head of the Humanitarian Assistance Cell in
UNAMIR HQ
during the genocide
Perhaps some of you who have read this book will be encouraged to study the Rwandan genocide in greater detail. The following is a list of books and reports that I recommend for their accuracy, the quality of their research and the way they present the facts. I emphasize that this is a personal reading list, which reflects my opinion and perspective.
The best brief history of Rwanda culminating in the genocide is the work by French social scientist Gérard Prunier,
The Rwanda Crisis: History of a Genocide
(New York, Columbia University Press, 1995). Prunier is a Rwanda scholar who has lived in the area and studied its people and their history in the depth that can only be achieved by a brilliant academic.
The best overall account of the background to the genocide, and the failure to prevent it, is Linda Melvern's
A People Betrayed: The Role of the West in Rwanda's Genocide
(London: Zed Books, 2000). I provided the author with information and consulted on some of the chapters; the investigative work is hers and hers alone. She discovered so much that we did not know, and her book remains one of the best sources available.
Two worthwhile works by American academics are Samantha Power's
A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide
(New York: Basic Books, 2002) and Michael Barnett's
Eyewitness to a Genocide: The United Nations and Rwanda
(Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2002). They give the reader an inside look at decision-making in the U.S. government and in the halls of the
UN
, using Rwanda as the case study. I strongly recommend both works for the reader who wants to better understand why no one came to help in 1994.