Historical Dictionary of Rwanda
Blessed with natural beauty and rich vegetation, Rwanda is often called the 'land of a thousand hills' (le pays des mille collines). A proud people, the Banyarwanda (Rwandans) possess a centric view of the world, believing that Imana (God) favors Rwanda, as conveyed through the saying 'Imana yirirwa ahandi igataha i Rwanda' (God spends the day some place else but goes back home to Rwanda to sleep) and the fact that Rwanda means 'the universe.' However, this idyllic view of Rwanda sharply contrasts with the sad history of ethnic strife that has unfolded in the country since the 1950s: the 1959 Hutu Revolution followed by years of anti-Tutsi pogroms, undemocratic regimes, the civil war of 1990-1994, and, more significantly, the April-July 1994 genocide against the Tutsi and Hutu who opposed the killings. This new edition of Historical Dictionary of Rwanda, through its chronology, introductory essays, appendixes, maps, bibliography, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on important persons, places, events, and institutions and significant political, economic, social, and cultural aspects, provides an important reference on this central African country.
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Contents
Editors Foreword
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ix |
Acknowledgments
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xi |
Readers Note
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xiii |
List of Acronyms and Abbreviations
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xv |
Maps
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xxiii |
Chronology
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xxvii |
Introduction
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xxxix |
THE DICTIONARY
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1 |
Appendix A Rwanda at a Glance
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177 |
Appendix B Bami Kings of Rwanda
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181 |
Appendix C Presidents of Rwanda
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183 |
Appendix D Prime Ministers of Rwanda
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185 |
Bibliography
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187 |
About the Author
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229 |
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Common terms and phrases
1959 Hutu Revolution 2003 Constitution African Agathe April April–July 1994 genocide army attack Bahutu Belgian colonial administration Belgium Bizimungu Bugesera Burundi Butare Catholic Church civil coup d’état Défense Democratic Republic Démocratie Développement MRND elections ethnic extermination extremist Forces Armées Rwandaises former prefecture French gacaca courts German Gisenyi Gisenyi and Ruhengeri Gitarama Grégoire Kayibanda human rights Hutu and Tutsi Hutu Power Hutu Revolution Interahamwe interim government International Criminal Tribunal July Juvénal Habyarimana Kibuye Kigali Kigeri killed Kingdom of Rwanda Kinyarwanda Léon MDR-PARMEHUTU ment military militia Mille Collines Mouvement Révolutionnaire National MRND Msgr Musinga mwami Ngeze Nyanza ofprint Patriotic Front RPF Paul Kagame percent population President Juvénal Habyarimana Province Radio region Republic of Congo Ruhengeri Rwan Rwanda ICTR Rwandan government Rwandan Patriotic Front Rwandan refugees Rwigema soldiers Tanzania Théoneste Bagosora tion Tribunal for Rwanda Tutsi ubuhake Uganda UNAMIR United Nations University of Rwanda Yuhi