A People Betrayed
The Role of the West in Rwanda's Genocide, Revised and Expanded Edition
4th Edition
Published on 25. July 2024
Book
Paperback/Softback
424 pages
978-1-350-40963-7 (ISBN)
Description
Following thirty years of research, including research into recently declassified government archives, this newly revised and expanded edition of Linda Melvern's classic of investigative journalism reveals how policymakers continue to refuse to properly acknowledge their responsibilities under international law. The new edition includes copious new material reckoning with the information that came to light during the 2022 trial of Felicien Kabuga, the alleged financier of the genocide. This new evidence feeds not only into a revised chronology and a wholly new section on the build-up to the genocide, but also into a new appendix that lists the six major genocide memorial sites in Rwanda along with now-incontrovertible details of the massacres that occurred there.
Throughout it all, Melvern reveals in unmatched detail the scale, speed, and intensity of the unfolding genocide, and she exposes the Western governments and individuals who could have prevented what was happening if only they had chosen to act. What emerges is a shocking indictment of how Rwanda was ignored in 1994 and of how it is misremembered in the West today-an indictment that renders all the more poignant Melvern's accounts of the unrecognised heroism of those who stayed on during the violence, from volunteer peacekeepers to NGO workers.
Throughout it all, Melvern reveals in unmatched detail the scale, speed, and intensity of the unfolding genocide, and she exposes the Western governments and individuals who could have prevented what was happening if only they had chosen to act. What emerges is a shocking indictment of how Rwanda was ignored in 1994 and of how it is misremembered in the West today-an indictment that renders all the more poignant Melvern's accounts of the unrecognised heroism of those who stayed on during the violence, from volunteer peacekeepers to NGO workers.
Reviews / Votes
The book is a meticulous work and offers a wealth of information ... Books like this are necessary foundations for understanding the genocide in Rwanda and contribute -even if not directly intended-to understandingthe overall political situation in the so-called "Great Lakes Region." * Peripherie [Bloomsbury translation] * Melvern offers a vivid picture of the role of Western nations in abetting, ignoring and allowing Rwanda's genocide. * Praise for Previous Editions, New York Times Book Review * Linda Melvern has written a compelling description of the most dramatic aspects of the genocide. * Praise for Previous Editions, Astri Suhrke, International Affairs * This is a devastating account of lies, deceit, complacency and tragic neglect.... Linda Melvern deserves our thanks for investing so much in breaking the silence and revealing the truth. * Praise for Previous Editions, Glenys Kinnock, MEP * An important book by an important investigative journalist. Linda Melvern gets us closer to the truth and the truth gets us closer to a better world. Only when we know how and why genocide happens, can we hope to stop it from happening again. What an achievement! * Praise for Previous Editions, Linda Polman, author of We Did Nothing: Why the Truth Doesn't Always Come Out When the UN Goes In * The best overall account of the background to the genocide, and the failure to prevent it...the investigation is hers, and hers alone. She discovered so much that we did not know. * Praise for Previous Editions, Lt-.General Romeo Dallaire, UN Assistance Mission for Rwanda * Melvern has written an extraordinary account of the Rwanda genocide, and the shocking failure of the West to lift a finger. A brave and compelling book. * Praise for Previous Editions, Richard Falk, Princeton University * A People Betrayed is a masterly and insightful reference for our understanding of international obligations in the prevention of genocide. * William Schabas, Middlesex University London * [A] magisterial study of the genocide. This book provides meticulously researched detail on the complicity of the international community. * Independent Catholic News * Melvern's book belongs to the truly weighty and impressive publications on the genocide of the Tutsi in Rwanda ... The author combines an impressive wealth of material with a sharp analysis of Western (and in part African) states and their organizations, drawing on access to documents that had previously not been available. She writes in a style distinguished by exceptional clarity, accessibility, and sobriety. * Archiv fuer Sozialgeschichte *More details
Edition
4th edition
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
3 bw maps
Dimensions
Height: 211 mm
Width: 140 mm
Thickness: 32 mm
Weight
540 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-350-40963-7 (9781350409637)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Linda Melvern
A People Betrayed
The Role of the West in Rwanda's Genocide, Revised and Expanded Edition
E-Book
07/2024
4th Edition
Zed Books Ltd
€19.99
Available for download
Linda Melvern
A People Betrayed
The Role of the West in Rwanda's Genocide, Revised and Expanded Edition
E-Book
07/2024
4th Edition
Zed Books Ltd
€19.99
Available for download
Previous edition
Book
03/2019
3rd Edition
Zed Books Ltd
€42.27
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Person
Linda Melvern has written regularly for the British press, and was previously a reporter for the The Sunday Times. For 20 years she has investigated and written about the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. A consultant to the Military One prosecution team at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), her archive of documents on the planning and preparation of the genocide was a part of the documentary evidence used by the prosecution. She is an Honorary Professor in the Department of International Politics at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth.
Content
Maps
Introduction to the 2024 edition
Introduction to the 2019 edition
1. Genocide, April 1994
2. The Past is Prologue: Rwanda 1894-1973
3. The Rwandan Patriotic Front
4. Akazu: The Oligarchy Ruling Rwanda
5. Peace in Rwanda? The Arusha Accords
6. Preparing the Genocide
7. The Hate Radio: Radio-Television Libre des Mille Collines
8. New World Order and High Hopes for a UN Success
9. Peacekeepers: The UN Arrives
10. Peacekeepers in Trouble: February-April 1994
11. The UN Security Council: 5 April 1994
12. Four Days in Kigali: 6-9 April 1994
13. The Genocide Exposed
14. The Secret Meanings of the Security Council
15. Genocide Spreads
16. The World Shuts the Door
17. For Valour
18. Starting from Zero: 18 July 1994
19. The Genocide Convention
Chronology
Appendix
Genocide Convention, 1948
Introduction to the 2024 edition
Introduction to the 2019 edition
1. Genocide, April 1994
2. The Past is Prologue: Rwanda 1894-1973
3. The Rwandan Patriotic Front
4. Akazu: The Oligarchy Ruling Rwanda
5. Peace in Rwanda? The Arusha Accords
6. Preparing the Genocide
7. The Hate Radio: Radio-Television Libre des Mille Collines
8. New World Order and High Hopes for a UN Success
9. Peacekeepers: The UN Arrives
10. Peacekeepers in Trouble: February-April 1994
11. The UN Security Council: 5 April 1994
12. Four Days in Kigali: 6-9 April 1994
13. The Genocide Exposed
14. The Secret Meanings of the Security Council
15. Genocide Spreads
16. The World Shuts the Door
17. For Valour
18. Starting from Zero: 18 July 1994
19. The Genocide Convention
Chronology
Appendix
Genocide Convention, 1948