Rwandan Bill Allows For Genocide Trials

After months of debate and revisions, Rwandan lawmakers have passed a bill that opens the way for the trials of more than 80,000 detainees accused of genocide.

More than 500,000 people were slaughtered in 1994 as part of the former militant Hutu government’s plan to rid Rwanda of Tutsis. Most of those killed were Tutsis and Hutu opponents of the plan. Hutus make up about 85 percent of the population of 7 million, Tutsis about 14 percent.

The killing continued until Tutsi-led rebels swept to power in July 1994, after government forces had looted the country and fled into exile in Zaire, Burundi and Tanzania.

More than 80,000 people have been accused of participating in the genocide and are imprisoned in overcrowded facilities. Some 1.6 million Hutu refugees remain outside the country, fearing retaliation.