Rwandan Genocide: Lessons Learned
Event description
In 1994 between half a million and 800,000 people were killed in Rwanda, as extremist militias targeted the Tutsi minority. Paul Kagame, today's president, has been hailed as a saviour, the man who stopped the killings. But massive question marks remain over the role his rebel group played in both the run up to the genocide and its aftermath, and the authenticity of his government's commitment to ethnic reconciliation is open for question.
Have the wrong lessons been learned?
Michela Wrong has spent nearly three decades writing about Africa, first as a Reuters correspondent based in Cote d'Ivoire and former Zaire, and then as the Financial Times Africa correspondent, based in Kenya. Previous books include “In the Footsteps of Mr Kurtz”, the story of Mobutu Sese Seko, “I didn’t do it for you”, focussing on Eritrea, “It’s Our Turn to Eat”, an examination of Kenyan corruption, and “Borderlines”, a novel set in the Horn of Africa. Her latest book, “Do Not Disturb”, is a critical assessment of the Rwandan Patriotic Front and President Paul Kagame.
This is a free public event organised by UC's Department of Political Science and International Relations and the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. If you have any questions please contact serena.kelly@canterbury.ac.nz