The Hutu-Tutsi distinction in Rwanda does not, in essence, refer to a race or a distinction between two nations or races from different backgrounds, but a classification that can be called a social status or caste system that exists between the tribes. The noble, wealthy or cattle-owning families and tribes who took part in the administration of the Kingdom were called the Tutsi, while the tribes and tribal members who served them and originally worked on agriculture and dependent on the land were called the Hutu. Tribal members who owned a few cattle based on the social culture existing in the Kingdom (before the colonial period, trade was made by barter, not with money in Rwanda) could transfer from being a Hutu to being a Tutsi. In addition, Hutus, who showed heroism during the wars and made great services to the Kingdom, were deemed worthy of the Tutsi title by the King.

The Berlin Congress, held among the European colonial states between November 1884 and February 1885, constituted a turning point in the context of the African geography, its people's fate, and the shaping of African countries' borders. The African geography was shared around a table where the European countries' representatives came together, and during the 'struggle for Africa' initiated in Rwanda; the part of German East Africa was turned into a colony. At the end of the 19th century, the German colonists started colonialism in the country by establishing despotism in Rwanda under the rule of King Kigeli Rwabugiri of Tutsi origin. The social structure and traditional administration of the Tutsi Kingdom, which existed in Rwanda during the German colonial rule, continued in form.

During the First World War, which broke out in 1914, Rwanda was invaded by the Kingdom of Belgium in 1916 and under the supervision of the agreements reached, and the League of Nations established as a result of the war, Rwanda was officially under the mandate of Belgium in 1919.

Rwanda Colonised as the Belgian Mandate and the Basics of Ethnic Tension

Having a say in the administration of Rwanda since 1919, Belgium has implemented various reforms in the administration of the country beginning from 1921 and started to govern the country directly with the governors it appointed. Within the framework of the reforms, the Tutsis, who were regarded as the 'natural leader of the country' by the Belgian administrators, were given great privileges in the country's administration, military, political, economic, education and social areas, while Hutus were almost treated as second-class people. With the great support of the church, which came to the country with the German colonialism and became established in the country with Belgian (Walloon, French origin in the first years) missionaries; Tutsis had a say in the administration, became rich economically, went to the best schools in the field of education, and achieved a socially superior status. On the other hand, Hutus were excluded from the state's ranks and had a lower level of living standards compared to Tutsis. Moreover, the compulsory and free-of-charge public service brought to the Hutu peasants has paved the way for deepening the social and economic difference between the two groups and the formation of hatred caused by social injustice.

Moreover, the Belgian mandate, by reducing the difference between the two social groups to a race-only difference and coming up with a theory that the monarchy in the country was a product of the intelligence and governance skills of the Tutsi and that, on the contrary, the Hutu people, who were weaker and shorter than the Tutsi in terms of physical traits, were in need of being ruled and governed; paved the way for the race-based division in the country. In 1932, this distinction was formalised, and the people of Rwanda had to have "Tutsi", "Hutu", or "Twa" written on their identity cards. Accordingly, about 85% of the country was designated as Hutu, 14% as Tutsi, and the remaining 1% as "Twa". Thus, the distinction that existed as a social caste was transformed into "the power competition of two completely different races". As a result, this outlook, where, on the one hand, there were the Tutsi who got quality education at good schools, lived in good conditions and raised their children at good schools and became wealthier, and, on the other hand, there were the Hutu who became poorer, were used as a free source of labour, and humiliated race-wise, were the first milestones on the road to the Rwandan genocide.

Belgium supported the Tutsi administration until the end of 1950s, which deepened the social segregation, injustice and the isolation of the Hutu from the state administration and social services. The independence movements that followed the Second World War encouraged the ruling Tutsi people to implement more independent policies and align with the Soviet Union. Furthermore, the Tutsi, who grew rich and developed in all areas, started to rise against the Belgian mandate government and bring the churches in Rwanda under their control through religious officials they raised. This also disturbed the Belgian government-backed European Christian religious officials in Rwanda and started to be perceived as a threat to the "Western hegemony" over the church.

The church became an important actor in the colonisation, Christianization of Africa and Rwanda, and thus easier governance of the country. The church, working together with the mandate government, was not only an authority in the religious sense, but also took on the task of shaping the society in the fields of education and health. The church and the Belgian mandate government, troubled by the aforementioned power competition, sent the pro-Hutu Flemish religious officials in place of the pro-Tutsi Walloon priests to Rwanda, started to gradually support the Hutu instead of the Tutsi, completely reversed the ruling order in Rwanda, and thus paved the way for a wave of social crisis and sentiment of revenge.

Independence of Rwanda, Policies Adopted, and the Road to Genocide

The Belgian government's "change of heart" about the Tutsi and its support for the Hutu in this regard was the trigger that set off a social movement that led to the establishment of a new order, called the "Social Revolution", in Rwanda in 1959. The Hutu, who rebelled against the Tutsi rule, demanded equal and just rule, and the Belgian mandate government took a step to turn the "Social Revolution" into a "game of power that changes hands between the two races" by transferring the right to rule the country from the Tutsi to the Hutu. From 1959 to 1962, during the events of the "Revolution", the Tutsi began to kill the Hutu people, and tens of thousands of Tutsi people had to migrate to neighbouring countries, European countries and the United States if they had the financial means. On July 1, 1962, Rwanda gained its independence and Grégoire Kayibanda, who distinguished himself as the "sole representative of the Hutu people" in the country, began to rule Rwanda as President.

Under the Kayibanda administration, the people's financial problems and poverty were tried to be covered by Hutu-Tutsi tensions in Rwanda, where people suffered from political and economic instability due to its overcrowded population, small land area, ethnic tensions, and insufficient underground resources. The administration system, which existed in favour of Tutsi before 1959 and was based on Tutsi monopoly in all areas of the country, was raised on the Hutu monopoly and anti-Tutsi stance. From then on, a new Hutu narration was created against the Tutsi narration made up by the Belgian colonialism, and this new trend became the official ideology of the state based on race. In line with this mindset, it was claimed that Hutus, who were the real owners and the majority of the country, deserve to rule the country on their own democratically, and the Tutsi who came from foreign countries and "occupied" Rwanda represented the previous administration and were a feudal tribe completely foreign to Rwanda. In this sense, it was argued that every Rwandan Hutu needed to defend their country against the Tutsi so that the "racial humiliation" experienced in the past would never happen again. This propaganda carried out by the state over the public for years was the only factor in receiving the support of the Hutu peasants for the genocide in Rwanda.

The administration of Kayibanda and Juvenile Habyarimana government overthrowing Kayibanda through a coup in 1973, put into use the mentioned idea as a tool in every economic, political and social crisis and problem, and always portrayed the Tutsi as the source of all these troubles. The state ignored the aggressive attitude, and bloody attacks occasionally carried out by Hutus, who became radicalised almost by the state's hand, against Tutsis.

The Tutsi fleeing the massacres and political pressure to neighbouring countries (Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo) endeavoured to form various resistance organisations and began to carry out several attacks on Rwanda through these organisations. As a result of these attacks, the ethnic tension in the country escalated, and the attacks on the Tutsi intensified. Tutsis, who had to leave their country, continued to become organised in the hope of returning to their country one day.

The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), which was established in October 1990 in Uganda, to liberate the Tutsis in Rwanda from the repressive regime and to return the Tutsi who took refuge in the neighbouring countries to their homeland, launched a sudden attack from the south of Uganda to the north of Rwanda. France, which has trained the Rwanda Armed Forces (Forces Armée Rwandaises - FAR) since the country's independence and provided political and economic support to the country, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (known as Zaire at the time) rushed to help Rwanda. The RPF's attack was repulsed, but the clashes also gave a trump card to the Habyarimana government in the context of intensive propaganda about how great the "Tutsi danger over Rwanda" was. The reinforcing army deployed by France in Rwanda continued to remain in Rwanda until the end of 1993 and then continued to train and arm the FAR, which trained militias that would later play an active part in the genocide.

Recovering after the mentioned defeat, the RPF continued to fight with the FAR through guerrilla warfare, thanks to the military and economic support it received from Uganda. The clashes in question continued from 1991 to 1993, and radical changes occurred in Rwanda during this period.

A new constitution also allowing for the establishment of new political parties in Rwanda was adopted on June 10, 1991. Up to this date, Rwanda was under a single-party administration, and all citizens were required to be members of this party. The new parties emerging after this amendment wanted to become a partner with the political power, yet the extremist Hutu nationalists within these parties later separated and established the militia organisation called the "Hutu Power" that would take part in the 1994 genocide. The Habyarimana regime also tolerated these parties' internal separation and the extremist Hutu nationalist "Interahamwe" and "Impuzamugambi" militia organisations that emerged with the mentioned militia to find more political support. These organisations were at the forefront of the initiation of the genocide, and in the propaganda activities carried out for the Hutus in the country to participate in the genocide.

Besides the developments that occurred, the "Arusha Peace Agreement (Arusha Accords)" also represents the last turning point on the path leading to genocide. President Habyarimana agreed to join the peace talks with the RPF due to the FAR that started to pull back against the RPF, and the pressure applied by France and other countries. The related negotiations and agreements made in the Tanzanian city of Arusha were conducted from July 1992 to August 1993, and an agreement was reached on all topics, including the declaration of a ceasefire by the RPF, performing democratic elections in Rwanda, and sharing the ministry seats in the cabinet with other parties in the country and the RPF, the readmission of Tutsi refugees in the neighbouring countries to Rwanda and solving the refugee issue, and the RPF's laying down its arms and merging with the FAR. Peace negotiations and the political demands of the RPF during this period deeply disturbed the extremist Hutu nationalists and militias, and the first seeds of the "final solution" plan, which envisaged the killing of all Tutsi to solve the "Tutsi issue" in the country, were sown during this period.

President Habyarimana continuously postponed the implementation of the conditions agreed upon in the peace talks, and thus the tension in the country escalated climbed to a great extent. Violence in the country began to escalate, and the civil war was likely to be retriggered. Even death lists were prepared for the "final solution" to be implemented against the Tutsi during this time. These lists also referred to those who were not against the Tutsis and RPF but opposed the Habyarimana regime and the "Hutu Power" as "moderate Hutus," and they received their share of the genocide.