|
by JJ Scott, MAIC
History
Ethnic conflicts have troubled Rwanda for over 50 years, resulting in
nearly continuous warfare and bloodshed. Prior to 1959, a monarchy led by
the minority Tutsi ethnic group dominated the region’s politics,
persecuting the majority Hutus. That year, the Hutus rebelled and
overthrew the Tutsi government before imposing a violent retribution on
thousands of Tutsi civilians, driving 150,000 of them into exile. The
children of these banished Tutsis formed the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF)
and returned to Rwanda in 1990, sparking a civil war. The RPF eventually
defeated the Hutu regime, but they first had to endure the genocidal
murder of nearly 800,000 of their Tutsi compatriots in April 1994.
The internal situation has settled down since a 1998 peace agreement was
signed, though Rwanda remains involved in several regional wars,
particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Also, small bands of
Hutu extremists periodically carry out raids and kidnappings within
Rwanda. Despite all of these potential barriers, the nation remains
committed to the reconciliation of its peoples and the rebuilding of its
political, economic and social institutions. In March 1999, Rwanda held
its first democratic local elections—a positive step in a country that
desperately needs reasons for optimism.
Landmine/UXO Overview
The Rwandan civil war resulted in a moderate landmine and UXO problem
within the country. Tentative estimates place the number of mines in
Rwanda around 50,000. Both the government and rebel groups employed
landmines haphazardly, resulting in minefields with indefinable borders.
Many suspected minefields in Rwanda are also farmer’s fields. The
government is hesitant to restrict access to such important lands, so they
do not fence these areas, leaving farmers to decide independently which of
their fields are too risky to enter. The northwestern and northeastern
regions of Rwanda were the most heavily contaminated by landmines after
the war, though much demining progress has been made in the northeast. As
in most former war zones, the UXO problem in Rwanda is at least as great
as the nation’s landmine problem, though sketchy statistics prevent
accurate UXO estimates.
Casualties
Rwanda has no central repository for landmine victim statistics; hence the
only available data comes from casualty records in registered medical
centers. To be included in these numbers, a victim would have to be lucky
enough to make it to a registered medical center and then be correctly
categorized by the statisticians. This almost assures that the official
casualty numbers (24 landmine casualties in 2000; four in January 2001)
are incomplete and do not include many landmine victims. Also, the
government of Rwanda provides no assistance to mine victims, instead
leaving this task to Handicap International (HI) and the Mulindi Japan One
Love Project.
Demining
The National Demining Office (NDO) is the coordinating body for all
mine action activities within Rwanda. The NDO’s sole economic sponsor is
the United States, which has provided over $14 million (U.S.) to the
demining program since 1995. Negotiations are currently underway between
the two nations to renew their aid agreement, which expired in June 2001.
All demining in Rwanda ceased between December 1999 and June 2000 because
of an explosives shortage. However, in the first seven months following
the resumption, deminers destroyed nearly 3,000 landmines and assorted
UXO. Overall, the NDO reports that they have destroyed 22,154 landmines of
the estimated 50,000 within the country. Deminers are concentrating on
clearing the northwestern portion of the country for resettlement,
development and tourism.
Reality Check
Though no group has placed landmines within Rwanda since 1998,
troubling reports are trickling out of the Democratic Republic of the
Congo indicating that Rwandan forces may be planting mines within that
nation; at the very least, the Rwandan military is assisting Congolese
rebel groups who are using landmines in their fight against the
government. Either of these allegations, if proven true, would be a
violation of Rwanda’s obligations under the Mine Ban Treaty, which the
nation ratified in June 2000.
Contact Information
Francis Kabucye
Rwanda National Demining Office
P.O. Box 1918
Boulevard de la Revolution
B.P. 28 Kigali
Rwanda
Fax: 250-70737
E-mail: fkabuyce@hotmail.com
|
