Timeline
Timeline
9 May 1994
Rwandan army chief of staff Colonel Ephrem Rwabalinda is received at the military cooperation mission in Paris by General Huchon, who says, “it is necessary to provide all the evidence proving the legitimacy of the war that Rwanda is waging, so as to turn international opinion in its favour and be able to resume bilateral cooperation. Meanwhile, the French military cooperation service is preparing measures to save us”. Encrypted communication equipment is provided to allow regular and confidential contact between Paris and Kigali.
Refugees continue to return to Rwanda. In three days, 500 people cross from Tanzania back to Rwanda. The returnees tell Radio Muhabura that they had run away from the massacres committed by the MRND militia. A mortar shell lands in Amahoro Stadium and kills one UNAMIR soldier.
8 May 1994
RPF official says in an interview on Radio France International that the RPF’s main objective is to stop the ongoing genocide in Rwanda and to establish law and order in the country. RPF also insists that it will not negotiate with a self-imposed government made up of killers but will continue to fight until it is defeated. However RPF also says that there are specific individuals in the Rwandan army with who they could hold talks.
7 May 1994
John Shattuck, the US Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, meets RPF leaders in Kampala, Uganda to deliver a message from US President Bill Clinton. The message describes the massacres in Rwanda as the worst in the recent history of the world, and advises that the US contacts the UN Assistant Secretary in charge of human rights who will be visiting Rwanda next week.
6 May 1994
The President of the UN Security Council writes to UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali asking for “contingency planning with regard to the delivery of humanitarian assistance as well as support to displaced persons in Rwanda.” The European Union agrees to send a delegation to countries bordering Rwanda that received Rwandan refugees. The mission will be to evaluate the problems of refugees, to see what they need most and assess the risks they refugees face. The President of EU, Theodole Pangros, says the EU categorically refuses to send troops to Rwanda.
5 May 1994
The RPF writes to the UN Security Council to condemn the genocide in Rwanda and asks it to set up a tribunal to prosecute those who committed these crimes since October 1990. UNAMIR starts negotiations with the Interim Government to evacuate survivors trapped in Hotel des Mille Collines.
4 May 1994
Major General Paul Kagame says in a radio interview on Voice of America (VOA) that the RPF objects to any UN intervention force because it has no meaning in the situation prevailing in Rwanda. UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali appears on the American ABC television news program “Nightline” and says there is “a real genocide” in Rwanda. The UN High Commission for Human Rights announces on Voice of America that it will be visiting Rwanda and the sub region in the next few days to assess the situation and to see what action can be taken.
3 May 1994
Radio Uganda reports that Lake Victoria is awash with the bodies of genocide victims from Rwanda. UN Under Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Hoff Hernan says a task force will be set up composed of as many countries as possible. Some will provide logistics and others troops to deploy to Rwanda. The RPF categorically opposes the deployment of any UN Peacekeeping Force in Rwanda, arguing that the appropriate time for the UN force to have intervened was three weeks ago when the UN had a presence in Kigali but failed to protect civilians. The RPF also points out that anyone who was a potential victim has either died or fled the country – there are no people for the UN to protect. Pope John Paul II issues a strong condemnation of the genocidal slaughter in Rwanda.
2 May 1994
In an interview on Radio France, Jean Marie Vianney Ndagijimana, the Rwandan Ambassador to France, condemns his own government for being responsible for the current massacres in the country. Oxfam delivers a letter to British Prime Minister John Major urging military intervention in Rwanda.
1 May 1994
An armed gang including members the Interahamwe militia storm an orphanage in Butare town killing 21 orphans and 13 Red Cross volunteers. There is a mass exodus of Rwandan refugees to Tanzania and Burundi. Many of them are perpetrators of genocide. Augustin Ngirabatware, Interim Government Minister of Planning, meets Senegal’s President Abdou Diouf and delivers a message that he also delivered to the presidents of Gabon and Togo. The French Government gives audience to Foreign Minister Jerome Bicamumpaka of the Interim Government.
30 April 1994
After taking control of the town of Rusumo close to the Tanzanian border, the RPF issues a statement that it is categorically opposed to the proposed UN intervention force because “intervention at this stage can no longer serve any useful purpose as far as stopping the massacres is concerned.”