The definition of Genocide can be found in Article II of the 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention and in it acts of Genocide are categorised into five main areas. The reason for this was to make it easier to identify the victims and the perpetrators. The definition seems to hold all the essential elements but it is clear that this definition is sorely lacking in some part. It is reasonable on the part of the United Nations to narrow down the sphere of Genocide but their reluctance to broaden their definition over the years is unacceptable. An issue of great contention is the exclusion of the victims of political genocide. The two case studies that are to be discussed deal with issues of ethnic genocide as well as political mass killings.
Rwanda in 1994, in the eyes of the international community, was clearly in the throes of mass genocide. The victims were clear and the perpetrators were clearly marked. In 1975 Cambodia however, a case of genocide could not be so easily proven. Although the perpetrators were acknowledged, the victims could not be plainly targeted. Why is this? Why are political massacres not covered under the law of Article II? The situation in Rwanda and Cambodia share many of the same characteristics of
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It is argued that the mass killings that took place in Cambodia were only partial genocide. “Khmer Rouge policy and practice also, and substantially achieved, the dissolution and elimination of religious and ethnic and racial minority groups” . In this three cornered politico military struggle, the Tutsi and Hutu civilians became political pawns. It was thought that the aim of the genocide was to eliminate anyone who sought political reform. Tutsi were given privileged positions in administration while the Hutu were not. Many also had a key role in persuading (at gunpoint) Hutu civilians to kill their Tutsi neighbours. This lore was not a spontaneous concept, “it was the Belgian colonial state that provided the crucible within which ethnic identities were reshaped and mythologised” . This means perhaps that the perpetrators had the man power as well as the political power to carry out their plans. They built prisons to interrogate and execute their victims. There were many triggers that set off the mass killings in Rwanda and Cambodia, one of which was the manipulation of myth and the distortion of political ideology. Hutu government constantly propagated the myth of how unworthy Tutsi were of Rwandan citizenship to maintain power. There must also be a contrast of purity and corruption as was propagated in Cambodia whare the political body tried to eliminate the corrupting agent. In Nazi Germany, these lines which separated Aryan from Jew, Black and Homosexual were clear. 10,000 Vietnamese, 90,000 Cham and 215,000 Chinese were killed” .
The Genocide that took place in Cambodia was so systematic it was shocking.
Approximate Word count =
2107
Approximate Pages =
8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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