What caused the Rwandan Genocide? - Susanne Buckley-Zistel

Prevodilac: Milenka Okuka Lektor: Una Kavazović

For 100 days in 1994, the African country of Rwanda

Tokom stotinu dana 1994. godine, afrička država Ruanda

suffered a horrific campaign of mass murder.

je pretrpela jezivu kampanju masovnih ubistava.

Neighbor turned against neighbor as violence engulfed the region,

Komšija se okrenuo protiv komšije kada je nasilje zahvatilo region,

resulting in the deaths of over one-tenth of the country’s population.

rezultirajući smrću preko jedne desetine populacije države.

The seeds of this conflict were planted a century earlier,

Seme ovog konflikta je posejano vek ranije,

first when German, and later Belgian, colonizers arrived in the country.

prvo kada su nemački, a kasnije belgijski kolonizatori stigli u državu.

At the time, Rwanda was ruled by a monarchy of Tutsi,

U to vreme, Ruandom je vladala monarhija iz redova Tutsija,

one of the three ethnic groups comprising the population.

jedne od tri etničke grupe koje sačinjavaju populaciju.

Tutsi and the even smaller Twa communities were minority groups,

Tutsi i još manje zajednice Tva su bili manjinske grupe,

while Hutu composed the majority.

dok su većinu činili Hutu.

Many Hutus and Tutsi civilians were on good terms,

Mnogi Hutu i Tutsi civili su bili u dobrim odnosima,

but colonial powers encouraged political division.

međutim, kolonijalne sile su ohrabrivale političke podele.

Belgians enforced record keeping around ethnic identity,

Belgijanci su sprovodili dokumentovanje etničkih identiteta

and created a public narrative that cast Tutsi as elite rulers

i stvorili su javni diskurs koji je odredio Tutsije kao elitne vladare

and Hutu as ordinary farmers.

dok su Hutu bili obični seljaci.

Over time, this propaganda led to intense political hostility.

Vremenom je ova propaganda dovela do intenzivne političke netrpeljivosti.

And while colonial powers had largely withdrawn by 1959,

I, iako su se kolonijalne sile uglavnom bile povukle do 1959,

lingering anger motivated a Hutu revolt,

istrajni bes je motivisao pobunu Huta,

forcing many Tutsi leaders to flee the country.

terajući mnoge Tutsi vođe da pobegnu iz države.

Over the following decade,

Tokom naredne decenije,

Rwanda transitioned to an independent republic with a Hutu government.

Ruanda je postala nezavisna republika sa Hutu vladom.

This new administration argued that as the majority group,

Nova administracija je tvrdila da kao većinska grupa,

Hutu deserved exclusive access to political power.

Huti zaslužuju ekskluzivan pristup političkoj moći.

They excluded the Tutsi minority by appointing offices based on population

Isključili su Tutsi manjine, dodeljujući ministarstva na osnovu brojnosti naroda,

and prohibited the return of Tutsi families that had fled years earlier.

i zabranili su povratak porodica Tutsi koje su prebegle pre više godina.

Hutu extremists also circulated propaganda

Hutu ekstremisti su takođe širili propagandu

blaming Tutsi for the country’s economic, social, and political problems.

gde su krivili Tutsije za ekonomske, društvene i političke probleme u državi.

Discontent with their life in exile,

Nezadovoljni životom u egzilu,

a small group of Tutsi insurgents invaded Rwanda in 1990,

mala grupa Tutsi pobunjenika je izvršila invaziju na Ruandu 1990,

beginning a violent civil war.

pokrećući nasilni građanski rat.

The conflict lasted three years before it was resolved with a formal peace accord.

Konflikt je trajao tri godine pre nego što je razrešen formalnim mirovnim sporazumom.

But the war’s aftermath was rife with insecurity.

Međutim, posledice rata su bile ispunjene nesigurnošću.

While some civilians in both groups remained amicable,

Iako su neki civili u obe grupe ostali u prijateljskim odnosima,

the treaty intensified political polarization.

sporazum je intenzivirao političku polarizaciju.

And in 1994, when a plane carrying the Hutu Rwandan president was shot down,

A 1994, kada je oboren avion koji je nosio Hutu predsednika Ruande,

the conflict broke out anew.

konflikt je izbio iznova.

This time, Hutu officials had prepared a deadly response

Ovaj put, Hutu zvaničnici su pripremili smrtonosan odgovor

to ensure they stayed in power.

kako bi obezbedili ostanak na vlasti.

Working off a list of targets,

Određujući spisak meta,

government-funded Hutu militias flooded the streets,

Hutu milicija pod pokroviteljstvom vlade je preplavila ulice,

perpetrating acts of physical and sexual violence

vršeći činove fizičkog i seksualnog nasilja

against Tutsi political enemies and civilians.

protiv političkih neprijatelja i civila iz redova Tutsija.

Over the chaotic following months,

Tokom haotičnih meseci koji su usledili,

over 1 million Hutu civilians joined their ranks due to coercion,

preko milion Hutu civila se pridružilo miliciji što zbog prisile,

self-preservation, or the pursuit of personal agendas.

ličnog opstanka ili ispunjenja ličnih ciljeva.

Tutsi victims sought refuge at churches and schools

Tutsi žrtve su tražile spas u crkvama i školama

where they hoped international organizations would protect them,

gde su se nadali da će ih međunarodne organizacije zaštititi,

but no outside party came to their aid.

međutim, niko spolja im nije pritekao u pomoć.

UN soldiers who’d overseen the Peace Accord

Vojnicima UN-a koji su nadgledali mirovni dogovor

were instructed to abandon Tutsi civilians,

je naređeno da napuste Tutsi civile,

and UN leadership refused to acknowledge the genocide taking place.

a rukovodstvo UN-a je odbilo da prizna da je u toku genocid.

The violence didn’t end until mid-July,

Nasilje nije okončano sve do sredine jula

when the Tutsi army— who instigated the previous civil war—

kada je Tutsi vojska - koja je pokrenula prethodni građanski rat -

seized control of the country.

preuzela kontrolu nad državom.

By the time the fighting was over,

Do trenutka kada su borbe okončane,

roughly 800,000 Rwandans had been killed,

otprilike 800 000 Ruandanaca je ubijeno,

and only a small fraction of the Tutsi population was left alive.

a svega mali deo populacije Tutsi je ostao u životu.

In the months that followed,

U mesecima koji su usledili

there was no easy strategy for bringing the killers to justice.

nije postojala laka strategija da se ubice privedu pravdi.

The UN established a special tribunal in Tanzania to try the key perpetrators.

UN je osnovao naročit tribunal u Tanzaniji pokušavajući da stavi pod ključ počinioce.

But Hutu civilians from every level of society had committed atrocities

Međutim, civili Hutu iz svih nivoa društva su počinili zverstva

against their neighbors, friends, and even family members.

protiv svojih komšija, prijatelja, pa čak i članova porodice.

There were roughly 120,000 Rwandans awaiting trial,

Bilo je otprilike 120 000 Ruandanaca koji su čekali suđenje,

and inmates were dying from overcrowding and poor hygiene.

a zatvorenici su umirali od prenatrpanosti i loše higijene.

The new Rwandan government estimated it would take 100 years to prosecute

Nova vlada Ruande je procenila da će im trebati sto godina da procesuiraju

every accused civilian in national court.

svakog okrivljenog civila u nacionalnom sudu.

So officials determined the best path forward involved

Stoga su zvaničnici utvrdili da najbolji put napred uključuje

looking to the country’s past.

osvrtanje u prošlost države.

Rwanda has a traditional process

Ruanda ima tradicionalni proces

for resolving interpersonal conflicts called gacaca.

rešavanja međuljudskih konflikata koji se naziva „gaćaća”.

Roughly translating to “justice on the grass,”

Ugrubo prevedena kao „pravda na ledini”,

gacaca had long been used to address offenses within villages.

gaćaća je dugo korišćena za bavljenje prekršajima unutar sela.

Local witnesses would offer testimony

Lokalni svedok bi ponudio svedočenje

and could then speak for or against the accused.

i mogao bi da govori za ili protiv okrivljenog.

Then, appointed lay judges would determine an appropriate penalty

Potom, naimenovane sudije amateri bi odredili odgovarajuću kaznu

within the community’s means.

unutar mogućnosti zajednice.

In the hope of trying perpetrators more quickly,

U nadi da će ubrzati suđenje počiniocima,

the government adapted gacaca for their formal courts.

vlada je adaptirala gaćaće za svoje formalne sudove.

These hybrid trials had no professional attorneys or judges,

Ova hibridna suđenja nisu imala profesionalne advokate ili sudije,

and no evidence outside the spoken word

i nije bilo dokaza osim izgovorene reči

and a case file detailing the crimes of the accused.

i spisa predmeta u kom su detalji zločina okrivljenog.

All charges were then divided into four categories:

Sve optužbe su potom podeljene u četiri kategorije:

masterminding the genocide and committing acts of sexual violence,

planiranje genocida i izvršavanje činova seksualnog nasilja,

participating in the killings, physical assault,

učestvovanje u ubistvima, fizički napadi

or destroying Tutsi property.

ili uništavanje imovine Tutsija.

Those found guilty of the first two categories

Oni koji su proglašeni krivim u prve dve kategorije

were entered into the traditional court system,

prebačeni su u tradicionalni sudski sistem,

but the other crimes were assigned set penalties

dok su za druge zločine određene utvrđene kazne

which could be reduced if the accused pled guilty.

koje su mogle biti umanjene ukoliko bi okrivljeni priznao krivicu.

Beginning in 2002, thousands of gacaca courts convened every week.

Započevši 2002, na hiljade gaćaća sudova je predsedavalo svake sedmice.

The process proved faster than conventional courts,

Proces se pokazao bržim od konvencionalnih sudova,

but Rwandan opinion on the trials was mixed.

ali su stavovi u Ruandi povodom suđenja podeljeni.

Some didn’t want to accuse their neighbors in a community setting,

Neki nisu želeli da optuže svoje komšije u komšijskom okruženju,

and many potential witnesses were intimidated to prevent their testimony.

a mnogi potencijalni svedoci su zastrašivani kako ne bi svedočili.

Additionally, while the trial showed that not all Hutu participated in the killings,

Uz to, iako je suđenje pokazalo da nisu svi Huti učestvovali u ubistvima,

the courts only reviewed cases with Tutsi victims,

sudovi su jedino pregledali slučajeve sa Tutsi žrtvama,

ignoring the Hutu casualties incurred during the genocide

ignorišući Hutu žrtve koje su nastale tokom genocida

and the preceding civil war.

i građanskog rata koji mu je prethodio.

When the trials concluded in 2012,

Kada su suđenja okončana 2012,

the courts had convicted 1.7 million individuals.

sudovi su osudili 1,7 miliona pojedinaca.

For some families, these verdicts helped restore the dignity

Nekim porodicama su ove presude pomogle da vrate dostojanstvo

of those lost in the violence.

onim nestalim u nasilju.

For others, the trials were a decade-long reminder

Drugima su suđenja bila deceniju dug podsetnik

of a past they were desperate to leave behind.

na prošlost koju očajnički žele da ostave za sobom.