An invaluable and accessible primer - Rated 
If any interested person requires an 'in' to beginning to understand the complexities of this tragic and deeply disturbed region, then Gerard Prunier's book is probably where they should start. Whereas many commentators, including I regret Phillip Gourevitch, fail to grasp correctly the intertwined nature of the political and ethnic background to not only the Rwandan genocide of 1994 but also the subsequent wars in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Prunier negotiates the minefield carefully and considerately. The narrative he produces is indeed complex, but never convoluted, and at all times sensitive to the protagonists, and sensible to the needs of us all to understand the nature and origin of the crises in the region. In an age of UN impotence, Clinton's belated apology and the official French whitewash of their role in Rwanda, Prunier examines the role of international and foreign policy, as well as domestic Rwandan, Burundese and Congolese politics and ethnicity, in the shaping of the apocalypse of 1994. As DR Congo fights on, the Burundese peace process staggers forward, and the Rwandan government launches its own enquiry into the role of the French whilst continuing to execute genocidaires, one could do far worse than prepare oneself for present and future upheaval in the region by reading this excellent and accessible analysis by so skilled a political analyst and commentator.
Horrific yet brilliantly written - Rated
I take my cap off to Gerard Prunier who has written a magnificently detailed history on the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Unlike many books on Rwanda which simply read like travel guides or personal accounts, this book contains a very thorough history of Rwanda, from the the late 19th century, to the Lake Kivu crisis of 1996/97.
All important historical figures, such as the first president of an independent Rwanda, Gregiore Kayibanda through to Jean Kambanda and the leader of the Tutsi guerilla group the Rwandan Patriotic Front, Paul Kagame. There is alot of information to take in, but it is a rewarding read which is never dull for a moment throughout the book. But then again, I happen to be particularly interested in this region of Africa! :-)
A good informatiove book on a very difficult subject - Rated 
The book contains most of tha data useful to get an idea of the event of the Genocide in Rwanda in 1994 and of the complexity involved in the whole area of the Great Lakes. The crisis is still there even if the media stopped talking about it. My point is that history is usually manipulated to charge events with passion and Mr. Prunier, tries to keep out of this game as well as possible. He does so - and this is an answer to to those readers who finds it a pitty not to express emotions in this case - because he is aware of the hot climate in which this event is being regarded. Scholars, journalists, people, press and governements draw from the history of Rwanda and from the stereotypes of Africa not to explain what (the facts) happened in 1994, but to impose their own opinion every time, to justify their position. We had enough of this! I really appreciate that Mr. Prunier does his best in not participating to the emotional game. We need to set out the facts in a clear way, this is the only way to discuss. I can understand that it might be hard for someone, expecially for rwandese whose family suffered in the massacres to accept this "cold observer from the outside", still I would like to ask these people to recall all the occasions in which precisely emotional arguments created trouble in that little state in the middle of Africa, and in the world's politics...
|
