The Contribution of Women to Peace and Reconciliation

Oct. 18, 1959: Supporters of the manifesto of 1957 create the Party
for Hutu Emancipation (Parmehutu)
Nov. 1, 1959: “The Rwandan All-Saints Day”: For the first time, the
Hutu massacre Tutsis in Rwanda. These massacres will be called
the “Revolution of 1959” – a revolution assisted by Jean-Pierre
Harroy, the last governor of Ruanda-Urundi.
The Parmehutu “social revolution” results in the massacre of Tutsi
and the flight into exile of thousands of them, particularly to Burundi,
Uganda and Congo-Kinshasa. No justice is done, for everything
is supervised by the authorities.
July 30, 1960: The Parmehutu wins more than 70% of the vote.
Oct. 26, 1960: Formation of the first provisional government;
Gregoire Kayibanda becomes Prime Minister.
Jan. 28, 1961: Abolition of the monarchy, its Kalinga emblem is replaced
by a red, yellow and green flag with the letter “R”, and a
republic is proclaimed. Dominique Mbonyumutwa is elected provisional
President of the Republic.
Sep. 25, 1961: Legislative elections and a referendum on the old and
the new regimes are held under the auspices of the UN, under disputed
conditions; they confirm the proclamation of January 28, 1961.
Independence: The First Republic
At the time of independence, as people in all African countries mobilized
to remove the colonial regimes, in Rwanda, the Hutu forces hunted the
Tutsi, whom they considered their colonizers. The killings continued, and
the exile of the Tutsi survivors continued. Those who could not leave
the country suffered exclusion in all aspects of life. Tutsi children were
excluded from school, those who could, struggled to change their identification,
with Tutsis trying to buy Hutu identity cards. The children of
those who succeeded would have the opportunity for access to education.
But in the minds of their Hutu neighbours, they were still Tutsis,
and would be exterminated like the others during the genocide. The First
Republic was established through the exclusion of the Tutsi, the second
surpassed it.
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