Interahamwe

The Interahamwe (Kinyarwanda, meaning "those who stand/work/fight/attack together") is a Hutu paramilitary organization. The militia enjoyed the backing of the Hutu-led government leading up to, during, and after the Rwandan Genocide.

Interahamwe: Organization and history

Robert Kajuga, ironically a Tutsi, was the President of the Interahamwe. The Vice President of Interahamwe was Georges Rutaganda. The Interahamwe was formed by groups of young people of the MRND party. They carried out the Rwandan Genocide acts against the Tutsis in 1994. The Interahamwe formed Radio Mille Collines, the genocidal radio station which was used to broadcast where the Tutsis were fleeing.

Following the invasion of the Rwandan capital Kigali by the Tutsi Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF), many Rwandan civilians and members of the Interahamwe fled to neighbouring countries, most notably to what at the time was Zaire, now Democratic Republic of Congo, and Tanzania. The Sudan welcomed former Interahamwe to Juba, and in March 1998, Colonel Tharcisse Renzaho, the former prefect of Kigali, and Colonel Ntiwiragabo, the former Rwandan Presidential Guard commander, arrived in Juba from Nairobi to organize them. It has been nearly impossible to bring the Interahamwe to justice because they did not wear uniforms or have a clearly organized group of followers. They were the neighbors, friends and co-workers of Tutsis. Throughout the war, members of the Interahamwe moved into camps of refugees and the internally displaced. There the victims were mixed in with the enemy and to this day it cannot be proven who killed who.

During the war, millions of Rwandan Hutu refugees fled to Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), along with many members of the Interahamwe, Presidential Guard, and the Rwandan Government Forces (RGF). Following the recruitment of significant numbers of Congolese Hutu the organization took the name Armée de Libération du Rwanda (ALiR). With the Kagame regime still in power, members still take part in border raids from the refugee camps.

Origin of the name Interahamwe

The name Interahamwe can be translated as "Those who work together". Interahamwe can be broken up this way: Intera is derived from the verb gutera, meaning "to work". The hamwe means "together" and is related to the word rimwe for "one".

English speakers usually pronounce it as /ˌɪntərəˈhɑːmweɪ/, though it is pronounced [inheɾahamwe] in Kinyarwanda. However, Rwandans sometimes, when speaking English will pronounce it in the English manner. The difference can be observed by listening to Paul Rusesabagina in the Return to Rwanda feature of a Hotel Rwanda DVD, and to the translator for a survivor of the Nyarubuye massacre in "Frontline" Ghosts of Rwanda. In Hotel Rwanda, the name is consistently erroneously spelled and pronounced as "Interhamwe".

Interahamwe and Prosecution

Leaders of the Interahamwe have been primarily prosecuted through the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, sitting in Arusha, Tanzania. The tribunal has convicted at least 41 persons, often with life sentences, including former interim Prime Minister Jean Kambanda and Georges Rutaganda. Fugitives have been captured and prosecuted in other countries, including Jean-Marie Vianney Mudahinyuka (a.k.a.“Zuzu”), an Interahamwe leader jailed in the United States and awaiting deportation. Source-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interahamwe

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