In the brief period from 1990 to 1992, popular activism inside Rwanda combined with both diplomatic and military pressures from abroad to force the Habyarimana regime to accept limited political reforms. Growing out of the theological and organizational changes discussed in the previous chapter, church personnel and institutions played an essential part in fostering the growth of civil society in Rwanda and the emergence of the democracy movement that pushed for reform. At the same time, diverse elements within the churches challenged the authority of church officials themselves. Just as Habyarimana found it necessary to respond to public criticism both by offering limited reforms and by seeking to undercut his critics through intimidation and appeals to ethnic loyalty, church leaders, from the national to the local level, felt compelled to respond to their own critics by offering limited support for political and social reforms while simultaneously both continuing to back the regime and reasserting their authority within the churches. Ultimately, church officials, fearing the loss of their own power, offered tacit support to the policy that state officials used to regain the political initiative – scapegoating of Tutsi – a policy that finally culminated in genocide.

POLITICAL REFORM AND WAR

Seeds of Discontent

By preventing ethnic conflict, attracting international investment, and bringing economic growth, the Habyarimana regime was able to maintain strong popular support during its first decade in office.