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Full-Text Articles in Political Science
Retributive Justice: The Gacaca Process In Rwanda, Sandra F. Joireman, Allison Corey
Retributive Justice: The Gacaca Process In Rwanda, Sandra F. Joireman, Allison Corey
Political Science Faculty Publications
After decades of cycling violence between Hutu and Tutsi groups in Rwanda and Burundi, violence peaked in 1994 with a genocide of Tutsis in Rwanda, during which the Hutu majority slaughtered 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutus, leaving the country with 120,000 accused génocidaires awaiting trial. Rwanda's gacaca courts were established as a response to the backlog of untried genocide cases. These courts disturbingly distinguish between genocide and war crimes committed during the same era, trying only those accused of genocide. This article argues that the gacaca process will contribute to the insecurity of all Rwandan citizens in the future, since …
Justice For A Genocide?, Sandra F. Joireman
Justice For A Genocide?, Sandra F. Joireman
Political Science Faculty Publications
In Rwanda today it is considered poor manners to cry at funerals. Public grieving for the death of a single person is thought to minimize the grief people felt after the genocide when many people lost entire families. That genocide was eight years ago and to date little has been done to bring the perpetrators to justice. The newly established gacaca courts are meant to rectify this situation and assess the guilt or innocence of some of the tens of thousands of people now held in Rwandan jails.