National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development

National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development
Mouvement républicain national pour la démocratie et le dévelopement
President Juvénal Habyarimana
Founder Juvénal Habyarimana
Founded 1975 (1975)
Banned 1994 (1994)
Succeeded by Forces for the Defense of Democracy
(not legal successor)
Headquarters Kigali, Rwanda
Newspaper Kangura
Hutu Power Radio (Radio)
Youth wing Interahamwe
Ideology Social conservatism[1]
Anti-communism[2]
Political position Right-wing to Far-right
International affiliation None
Colours      Black

The National Revolutionary Movement for Development (French: Mouvement Révolutionaire National pour le Développement, MRND) was the ruling political party of Rwanda from 1975 to 1994 under President Juvénal Habyarimana. Between 1975 and 1991, when it was known as the National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development (Mouvement républicain national pour la démocratie et le développement), the MRND was the only legal political party in the country. It was dominated by Hutus, particularly from President Juvenal Habyarimana's home region of Northern Rwanda. The elite group of MRND party members who were known to have influence on the President and his wife – as well as to be responsible for the planning of the Rwandan Genocide – are known as the akazu.[3]

History

The party was established by Habyarimana in 1975,[4] following his 1973 coup that ousted the first post-independence president Grégoire Kayibanda and the banning of his Parmehutu party, which had been dominated by Hutus from southern Rwanda.[5] The MRND succeeded the Parmehutu in its position of the dominant state party.[6] A new constitution was approved in a 1978 referendum, making the country a one-party state in which every citizen had to belong to the MRND.[7]

Presidential elections were held in 1978 with Habyarimana as the sole candidate. He was re-elected with 99% of the vote.[8] Parliamentary elections followed in 1981, with two MRND candidates contesting each of the 64 seats. Habyarimana was re-elected again in 1983 and 1988, whilst parliamentary elections were held under the same system in 1983 (with the National Assembly enlarged to 70 seats) and 1988.

The party's name was changed after the legalisation of opposition parties in 1991. The youth wing of the party, the interahamwe, later developed into a militia group that played a key role in the Rwandan Genocide.[6] After Habyarimana's death in April 1994, hardline elements of the party were among the chief architects of the genocide; the Coalition for the Defence of the Republic (CDR), which played a significant role, was originally a hard-line faction of the MRND that became a separate party.

After Rwanda was conquered by the rival Tutsi-dominated Rwandan Patriotic Front led by Paul Kagame, both the MRND and the CDR MRND was driven from power and banned in July 1994.[9]

Ideology

Habyarimana was described as relatively moderate,[10][11] though he (and his regime) are said to have used propaganda methods of the extreme right,[3] ethnically discriminating against the Tutsi (albeit less extreme than their predecessors),[11][12] advanced a conservative social agenda[1] and were anti-communist.[2]

Structure

The party had institutional structures that paralleled the government structures at each level, down to the sector and cell. Habyarimana was the president of the party, and as such was the only candidate for president of the republic. However, in a minor concession to democracy, voters were presented with two MRND candidates at Legislative Assembly elections. After the RPF invasion in 1990, members of the MRND created the magazine Kangura.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Bauer, Gretchen (2011). Sub-Saharan Africa. Women in Executive Power: A Global Overview (Routledge). p. 93. ISBN 9781136819155.
  2. 1 2 Butare-Kiyovu, James (2010). "Discovering and Addressing the Root Causes of Genocide in Rwanda". International Development from a Kingdom Perspective. William Carey International University international development series. WCIU Press. p. 159. ISBN 9780865850286.
  3. 1 2 Aspegren, Lennart (2006). Never again?: Rwanda and the World. Human Rights Law: From Dissemination to Application — Essays in Honour of Göran Melander. The Raoul Wallenberg Institute human rights library 26 (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers). p. 173. ISBN 9004151818.
  4. ↑ Aimable Twagilimana (2007) Historical Dictionary of Rwanda, Scarecrow Press, p117
  5. ↑ Mckinney, Stephanie L. (2012). Narrating genocide on the streets of Kigali. The Heritage of War (Routledge). p. 161.
  6. 1 2 Niesen, Peter (2013). Political party bans in Rwanda 1994–2003: three narratives of justification. Ethnic Party Bans in Africa (Routledge). p. 113.
  7. ↑ Twagilimana , p116
  8. ↑ Elections in Rwanda African Elections Database
  9. ↑ Robert E. Gribbin (2005) In the Aftermath of Genocide: The U.S. Role in Rwanda, iUniverse, p153
  10. ↑ Murphy, Sean D. (1996). Humanitarian intervention: The United Nations in an evolving world order. Procedural aspects of international law series 21. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 243. ISBN 0812233824.
  11. 1 2 Feher, Michael (2000). Powerless by Design: The Age of the International Community. Public Planet Series. Duke University Press. p. 59. ISBN 0822326132.
  12. ↑ Somerville, Keith (2012). Radio Propaganda and the Broadcasting of Hatred: Historical Development and Definitions. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 167.
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