- Butare Province
Butare was a province ("prefecture") of Rwanda prior to its dissolution in January 2006.
Butare city is the second largest city inRwanda and one of the nation's former twelve provinces. It is located in south-central region of the country and bordersBurundi to the south. It had a population of 77.449 as of January 2006.Description
Butare was situated in the south west of the country and bordered
Burundi . Its geography was in keeping with most of the rest of Rwanda, and was hilly compared to surrounding Tanzania, but not as mountainous as the North of Rwanda.Genocide
During testimony at the
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda investigating the1994 Rwandan Genocide , expertAndré Guichaoua referred to Butare as the "rebel province." Butare was the only prefecture to be run by aTutsi ,Jean-Baptiste Habyarimana , who actively opposed the genocide. Because it had a large Tutsi minority, prefectural politics were dominated by theParti Social Démocrate (PSD), rather than theMouvement Républicain National pour la Démocratie et le développement (MRND), from which the genocidalInterahamwe drew recruits. The Interahamwe in Butare were thus less numerous and less organized than their counterparts in the rest of country. When the country erupted into bloodshed following the death of PresidentJuvenal Habyarimana (no relation to the governor) on6 April 1994 , only Butare was untouched, with the notable exception of theNyakizu commune. Many Tutsis who fled the violence in other parts of country found haven in Butare.The calm lasted two weeks. Interim President
Théodore Sindikubwabo , himself a native of Butare, appointed a new governor on19 April in a ceremony in the prefectural capital. Governor Habyarimana was shortly thereafter arrested and killed. One of the next to die was formerQueen Rosalie Gicanda , described by the ICTR prosecution as "a historical symbol for all Tutsi".Paramilitary units and Interahamwe were then airlifted fromKigali , signaling the start of the killing. It has been suggested that theHutu government leadership were particularly concerned about Butare because so many of them were natives; besides Sindikubwabo, Prime MinisterJean Kambanda (the first person convicted by the ICTR), GeneralAugustin Ndindiliyimana (head of the Gendarmie), andPauline Nyiramasuhuko , the minister of women and family affairs were all born in Butare. Despite the fact that the genocide was delayed two weeks, 220,000 would be killed. This is more than 20% of the total and the highest by far of any prefecture.External links
* [http://www.minecofin.gov.rw/poverty_reduction/butare_pilot.htm Butare Pilot]
* [http://www.rwandatourism.com/kigali.htm Rwanda Tourism on Kigali and Butare]
* [http://www.magic-safaris.com/05_wherewhat/04_rwanda/butare.asp Information on Butare]
* [http://allafrica.com/stories/200502180725.html Butare, an 'Intellectual' Town That Outdid Itself, Even in Genocide] ,Hirondelle News Agency ,18 February 2005 ]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.