Akazu
The Akazu (Kinyarwanda: small house ) was an influential Hutu clan from the north-western prefectures of Rwanda (Ruhengeri and Gisenyi), which consisted mainly of relatives and friends of the former President Juvénal Habyarimana and his influential wife Agathe Habyarimana .
The members of the Akazu occupied important positions in politics, business, science and society within the Hutu regime under President Habyarimana (1973–1994). Their families were considered privileged to have access to secondary schools, universities, and jobs.
Akazu members are believed to have played a central role in the radicalization of the Hutu power movement in the early 1990s, which led to the genocide of 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu in 1994 .
Members of the Akazu were founding members of the CDR (Coalition for the Defense of the Republic) , which was initially regarded as the hardliner wing of the ruling MRND ( Mouvement républicain national pour la démocratie et le développement ) and eventually split off as a separate party to support the radicalization of the “ Hutu -Power "movement. In addition, members of the Akazu were instrumental in founding the radio station Radio-Télévision Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM) and the radical newspaper Kangura , which were essential propaganda organs of the movement and through hate propaganda against Tutsi and the RPF ( Rwandan Patriotic Front ) had a decisive influence on the mobilization for the 1994 genocide.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Stephen Ellis, Gerrie Ter Haar; Worlds of Power, New York, Oxford University Press, 2004, p. 141