According to Léon, the current Rwandan government "is trying to erase" the positive history left behind by his father's regime. Minister Bizimana responded, calling these statements lies, explaining that Habyarimana's rule was authoritarian, suppressing the people and even preparing and executing the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
Minister Bizimana backed his response with examples of actions taken by Habyarimana's government, including incidents before he came to power when he was Minister of Defense.
Minister Bizimana pointed out that from February to March 1973, Gen Maj Habyarimana, who was Minister of Defense and Police, collaborated with President Kayibanda Grégoire to expel Tutsis from secondary schools and universities, and to remove them from public and private sector jobs.
He referenced an article in Kinyamateka newspaper No. 23 from September 18, 1973, which revealed that between 1,600 and 2,000 Tutsis had been thrown out in this state operation known as "Déguerpissement" led by Kayibanda and Habyarimana.
Bizimana reminded Léon that when Habyarimana overthrew Kayibanda on July 5, 1973, he arrested more than 70 people from the previous government, imprisoning them in Gisenyi and Ruhengeri prisons, where they were tortured and secretly executed. He described the brutal treatment of political prisoners, such as forced starvation, lack of light, and other inhumane conditions.
The Minister emphasized that those who executed the orders of Habyarimana include Ruhengeri Prison Director Sembagare Théodomir, successively Théodomir Sembagare and Pierre-Désiré Cyarahani, as well as Joachim Ntibandeba, who ran Gisenyi prison.
He also recalled how Habyarimana imprisoned Kayibanda and his wife, and later had them killed, based on his orders. Minister Bizimana asked, 'Is this the peace of your father Habyarimana?'
Persecution of Colonel Kanyarengwe's family
In the late 1970s, Colonel Alexis Kanyarengwe, then Minister of the Interior and Employment, fled after being accused of attempting to overthrow Habyarimana's regime. Minister Bizimana explained that while Kanyarengwe was in exile, his family and friends were persecuted by the Habyarimana government, accused of sending him money.
He noted that Kanyarengwe's associates, including Bahintasi Claude and his brother Sinaruhamagaye Callixte, were imprisoned in December 1988, and Dr. Sebiziga Aloys was also imprisoned in May 1989 on the pretext of being the attending physician of Kanyarengwe's wife and children.
Bizimana emphasized that sending money to a relative in exile could not constitute an offence under the Rwandan Penal Code but these individuals were held in arbitrary detention for more than two years.
Unity was a dream
Minister Bizimana elaborated on the segregation policies of the Habyarimana regime, recalling that in September 1973, Col Kanyarengwe was tasked with ensuring that local leaders refused to allow Tutsis expelled from schools or jobs back into the education system or workforce.
Bizimana showed that between 1974 and 1977, out of 501 graduates from the National University of Rwanda, only 21, or 4.19%, were Tutsis, despite the fact that Tutsis were expected to be part of the student body.
He emphasized that from 1973 to 1992, no Tutsi had ever been appointed as the head of any of Rwanda's 10 provinces. However, in 1992, following the Arusha Accords and the introduction of a multi-party system, a single Tutsi, Dr. Habyarimana Jean-Baptiste, was appointed Prefect of Butare but was killed during the genocide.
Bizimana noted that even soldiers were prohibited from marrying Tutsi girls, and officers could not marry without the intelligence service first conducting an investigation to verify that he was not going to marry a Tutsi girl.
Minister Bizimana continued to explain that under Habyarimana, the Tutsi were restricted to low-level government positions, and ethnic discrimination led to a disproportionate number of people from regions like Gisenyi and Ruhengeri occupying high-level government posts.
He cited examples of exclusion from government roles with only a small representation holding menial jobs like driving, clerical work, and gardening.
Refugees were not welcomed back
Minister Bizimana explained that Habyarimana continued Kayibanda's policy of preventing Rwandan refugees from returning home. He forced refugees who had fled since 1959 to forfeit their property rights.
In December 1973, Habyarimana ordered Kanyarengwe and Bonaventure Habimana, the Minister of Justice, to sign a decree forbidding refugees from returning and denying them any claim to their property.
Bizimana mentioned that Habyarimana even imposed deadlines for the auctioning off of properties belonging to Rwandan refugees.
IGIHE
