''In Praise of Blood: The Crimes of the Rwandan Patriotic Front'' is a 2018 non-fiction book by Canadian journalist Judi Rever and published by
Random House of Canada
Random House of Canada was the Canadian distributor for Random House, Inc. from 1944 until 2013. On July 1, 2013, it amalgamated with Penguin Canada to become Penguin Random House Canada.
Company history
Random House of Canada was established i ...
; it has also been translated into Dutch and French. The book describes alleged
war crimes
A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hos ...
by the
Rwandan Patriotic Front
The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF–Inkotanyi; , FPR) is the ruling political party in Rwanda.
The RPF was founded in December 1987 by Rwandan Tutsi in exile in Uganda because of the ethnic violence that had occurred during the Rwandan Hutu Revo ...
(RPF), Rwanda's ruling political party, during its ascent to power in the 1990s.
Although many of the events described in Rever's book were already known to historians, the book is controversial. Praised for thorough investigation at considerable personal risk to the author, the book was also criticized for
sensationalism
In journalism and mass media, sensationalism is a type of editorial tactic. Events and topics in news stories are selected and worded to excite the greatest number of readers and viewers. This style of news reporting encourages biased or emoti ...
and relying on unreliable sources. According to historian
Gerald Caplan
Gerald Lewis "Gerry" Caplan (born 8 March 1938) is a Canadian academic, public policy analyst, commentator, and political activist. He has had a varied career in academia, as a political organizer for the New Democratic Party, in advocacy around ed ...
, the book "had an immediate, destabilizing influence on the world of orthodox Rwandan scholarship". Rever argues that, in addition to the
Rwandan genocide
The Rwandan genocide, also known as the genocide against the Tutsi, occurred from 7 April to 19 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. Over a span of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Gre ...
by
Hutu
The Hutu (), also known as the Abahutu, are a Bantu ethnic group native to the African Great Lakes region. They mainly live in Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda where they form one of the principal ethnic groups alongside the Tutsi and the Great L ...
s against
Tutsi
The Tutsi ( ), also called Watusi, Watutsi or Abatutsi (), are an ethnic group of the African Great Lakes region. They are a Bantu languages, Bantu-speaking ethnic group and the second largest of three main ethnic groups in Rwanda and Burundi ( ...
s, the war crimes against Hutus by the Tutsi-led RPF should also be labeled "genocide", an opinion that differed from existing historical narratives.
Background
In
Rwanda
Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...
, the two major
ethnic groups
An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, rel ...
are
Hutu
The Hutu (), also known as the Abahutu, are a Bantu ethnic group native to the African Great Lakes region. They mainly live in Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda where they form one of the principal ethnic groups alongside the Tutsi and the Great L ...
(85%) and
Tutsi
The Tutsi ( ), also called Watusi, Watutsi or Abatutsi (), are an ethnic group of the African Great Lakes region. They are a Bantu languages, Bantu-speaking ethnic group and the second largest of three main ethnic groups in Rwanda and Burundi ( ...
(14%). European colonial policies promoted and
racialized
Racialization or ethnicization is a sociological concept used to describe the intent and processes by which ethnic or racial identities are systematically constructed within a society. Constructs for racialization are centered on erroneous gene ...
the higher status of cattle-raising Tutsis over farming Hutus. European policies, including their support for a Tutsi monarchy, increased tension between the two groups. In the 1959
Rwanda Revolution
The Rwandan Revolution, also known as the Hutu Revolution, Social Revolution, or Wind of Destruction (), was a period of ethnic violence in Rwanda from 1959 to 1961 between the Hutu and the Tutsi, two of the three ethnic groups in Rwanda. The r ...
, a Hutu-led movement killed many Rwandan Tutsis and drove hundreds of thousands into exile.
Descendants of Rwandan Tutsis whose families had fled to
Uganda
Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...
gave armed support to a rebellion by
Yoweri Museveni
Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Tibuhaburwa (born 15 September 1944) is a Ugandan politician and Officer (armed forces), military officer who is the ninth and current president of Uganda since 1986. As of 2025, he is the third-List of current state lead ...
. Then in 1990, their Tutsi-led political and military force,
Rwandan Patriotic Front
The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF–Inkotanyi; , FPR) is the ruling political party in Rwanda.
The RPF was founded in December 1987 by Rwandan Tutsi in exile in Uganda because of the ethnic violence that had occurred during the Rwandan Hutu Revo ...
(RPF), challenged the Hutu-led government of Rwanda, setting off the
Rwandan Civil War
The Rwandan Civil War was a large-scale civil war in Rwanda which was fought between the Rwandan Armed Forces, representing the country's government, and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) from 1October 1990 to 18 July 1994. The war arose ...
.
Judi Rever is a Canadian journalist who has covered African affairs since the refugee crisis of the
First Congo War
The First Congo War, also known as Africa's First World War, was a Civil war, civil and international military conflict that lasted from 24 October 1996 to 16 May 1997, primarily taking place in Zaire (which was renamed the Democratic Republi ...
, which she covered for
Radio France Internationale
Radio France Internationale, usually referred to as RFI, is the State media, state-owned international radio news network of France. With 59.5 million listeners in 2022, it is one of the most-listened-to international radio stations in the world ...
. A three year stint as correspondent for
Agence France Press
Agence France-Presse (; AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency.
With 2,400 employees of 100 nationalities, AFP has an editorial presence in 260 c ...
(AFP) in
Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...
followed. Her work has also appeared in ''
Le Monde
(; ) is a mass media in France, French daily afternoon list of newspapers in France, newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average print circulation, circulation of 480,000 copies per issue in 2022, including ...
The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...
'' and elsewhere. She contributed the foreword to
Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza
Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza (born 3 October 1968) is a Rwanda, Rwandan politician who served as chairwoman of the United Democratic Forces of Rwanda, Unified Democratic Forces from 2006 to 2019. As an advocate for democracy and critic of Presiden ...
's 2017 book ''Between 4 Walls of the 1930 Prison: Memoirs of Rwandan Prisoner of Conscience''. In the book, Rever describes threats against herself and her family, some of which were reported in 2015 news stories documenting threats against Rever and four other Canadian critics of
Paul Kagame
Paul Kagame ( ; born 23 October 1957) is a Rwandan politician and former military officer who has been the President of Rwanda since 2000. He was previously a commander of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a rebel armed force which invaded ...
.
Content
''In Praise of Blood'' follows the timeline of a Canadian reporter who in 1997 stumbled on a big "story" about the RPF and later pursued it. The book describes events in Rwanda and
Zaire
Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...
(later the
DRC
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...
) that according to Rever's sources were crimes committed by the RPF during the rise to power of Kagame, now Rwanda's president. The book discusses several periods during which these events took place: the
Rwandan civil war
The Rwandan Civil War was a large-scale civil war in Rwanda which was fought between the Rwandan Armed Forces, representing the country's government, and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) from 1October 1990 to 18 July 1994. The war arose ...
including the 1994
Rwandan genocide
The Rwandan genocide, also known as the genocide against the Tutsi, occurred from 7 April to 19 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. Over a span of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Gre ...
(1990–1994); the counterinsurgency period in Rwanda (1994–1997); RPF participation in two Congo wars (
First
First most commonly refers to:
* First, the ordinal form of the number 1
First or 1st may also refer to:
Acronyms
* Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array
* Far Infrared a ...
and
Second
The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...
); and more recently, deaths of Rwanda dissidents. RPF massacres of Hutu civilians described in the book include Byumba, Kibeho, Karambi, Gabiro, Gikongoro.
The book's fifteen chapters follow the sequence of Rever's research, beginning when Rever was a young reporter traveling with humanitarian workers into the Congolese jungle to cover the
refugee crisis
A refugee crisis can refer to difficulties and/or dangerous situations in the reception of large groups of refugees. These could be Forced displacement, forcibly displaced persons, internally displaced persons, asylum seekers or any other huge ...
there, and tracing her later research parallel to events in her life, including her marriage and raising two daughters. Each chapter centers around one event, presented (according to Rever) as a cinematic scene.
Origins of the project
Chapters 1 and 2 cover 1997, beginning when Rever accompanied humanitarian aid workers into the jungles of
Zaire
Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...
. After meeting women and children who said they were Hutu refugees being hunted by RPF troops from Rwanda, Rever wonders why western countries did not step in to stop the violence. Based on her research, Rever concludes that western countries were less interested in helping refugees than in keeping the good will of Rwanda's new RPF government—first to get rid of
Mobutu
Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa za Banga ( ; born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu; 14 October 1930 – 7 September 1997), often shortened to Mobutu Sese Seko or Mobutu and also known by his initials MSS, was a Congolese politician and military officer ...
and later to exploit the Congo's resources.
In Chapters 3 and 4, Rever decides to spend time away from Rwanda with her husband and starts raising a family. In 2010, after she has the opportunity to interview war-crimes prosecutor Luc Côté about the recently leaked " UN mapping report" (a report on war crimes in the DRC), she resumes writing about Africa. The book then briefly catalogs some other RPF-related events that took place between 1998 and 2010, including French arrest warrants (2006), the
Second Congo War
The Second Congo War, also known as Africa's World War or the Great War of Africa, was a major conflict that began on 2 August 1998, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, just over a year after the First Congo War. The war initially erupted ...
(which Rever describes as a "looter's war"), and the Gersony report (leaked in 2010).
Full-time investigation after 2012
From 2012 onwards Rever devotes her career to a full-time investigation of RPF war crimes. Much of Chapter 4 recounts stories from Théogène Murwanashyaka (TM), a former RPF army officer who reached out to her in 2012 and became a major informant of her book. Unlike the RPF leadership, whose Tutsi families had fled Hutu rule to settle in Uganda, TM's family were what he called "interior Tutsis" – Tutsi families who had remained in Rwanda. TM came to believe that during the genocide "the RPF had sacrificed interior Tutsis" as a cost of gaining power. Both TM and Belgian
UNAMIR
The United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) was established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 872 on 5 October 1993. It was intended to assist in the implementation of the Arusha Accords, signed on 4 August 1993, w ...
commander
Luc Marchal
Colonel Luc Marchal is a retired officer of the armed forces of Belgium. He is known for being the senior officer in the Belgian peacekeeping contingent during the 1994 Rwandan genocide, as well as the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwand ...
, whom Rever interviewed, assert that the RPF could have done much to slow or stop the massacre of Tutsis by Hutus, but were more concerned with seizing power. According to Marchal, the goal was "to seize power and use the massacres as stock in trade to justify the military operations."
Each of chapters 5 through 9 covers a different aspect of RPF actions during the
Rwandan Civil War
The Rwandan Civil War was a large-scale civil war in Rwanda which was fought between the Rwandan Armed Forces, representing the country's government, and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) from 1October 1990 to 18 July 1994. The war arose ...
. Chapter 5 describes the RPF's use of military intelligence to destabilize the Habyarimana government and undermine the Arusha Peace Agreement. According to ICTR, these intelligence groups were responsible for most of the massacres of Hutu civilians attributed to the RPF. They successfully infiltrated Hutu political parties and the extremist militia during the early 1990s. Citing ICTR testimony, the book says that before and during the genocide, RPF members who had infiltrated Hutu militia fueled the genocidal violence, including helping to kill Tutsi civilians at roadblocks.
Chapters 6 through 10 describe alleged massacres of Hutus committed inside Rwanda by the RPF. Chapter 6, based largely on ICTR information, describes a 1994 massacre of Hutu peasants in
Byumba
Byumba is a city and sector in northern Rwanda and the capital of Gicumbi District. It is home to an SOS Children's Village. The city lies about , north of the capital Kigali. This location lies approximately , south of the International border w ...
's football stadium. Chapter 7, based largely on interviews, describes massacres of Hutus by RPF that allegedly occurred in Byumba's Karambi Trading Center,
Murambi
Murambi is a sector in the Rulindo district of Northern Province, Rwanda.
See also
* Murambi Genocide Memorial Centre
The Murambi Technical School, now known as the Murambi Genocide Memorial Centre, is situated near the town of Murambi in sout ...
, and near
Akagera National Park
Akagera National Park is a protected area in eastern Rwanda covering along the international border with Tanzania. It was founded in 1934 and includes savannah, montane and swamp habitats. The park is named for the Kagera River which flows along ...
, where, according to Rever's informants, dead Hutus were concealed from satellite photography by being first burned and then buried. In Chapters 8 and 9, the book describes events at
Giti
Giti Pashaei Tehrani (; sometimes spelt Giti Pashayi; June 13, 1940 – May 7, 1995) was an Iranian singer and musician. Pashaei was one of the most popular Iranian singers of the late 1960s and 1970s.
Biography
Giti Pashaei was born on June 13, ...
, where the RPF allegedly massacred Hutus but then created a cover story about what happened. Rever also describes the participation of some non-RPF Tutsis in killing their Hutu neighbors, saying, "In 1994, Rwanda was awash in fear, mistrust, and paranoia." Chapter 10 describes alleged RPF killings of Hutus inside Rwanda in 1996–1997, justified as "counterinsurgency" against Hutu genocidaires.
Chapters 11 and 12 deal with the
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR; ; ) was an international court, international ''ad-hoc'' court established in November 1994 by the United Nations Security Council in United Nations Security Council Resolution 955, Resolutio ...
(ICTR), an international court established by the United Nations Security Council to judge people responsible for the
Rwandan genocide
The Rwandan genocide, also known as the genocide against the Tutsi, occurred from 7 April to 19 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. Over a span of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Gre ...
and other serious violations of international law during 1994. In addition to its work identifying Hutu génocidaires who had committed war crimes against Tutsi, the ICTR gathered evidence of crimes by high-level RPF officers, but was then forbidden to indict RPF suspects. Instead, the ICTR was pressured by the US and the UN to hand over to Rwanda its evidence concerning RPF crimes. As a result, Rwanda prosecuted only two low-level soldiers for the killing on June 5, 1994 of several Hutu Catholic priests and a small child.
Chapter 13 presents the theory that the RPF, not Hutu extremists, shot down President Habyarimana's plane on 6 April 1994, using the ensuing chaos and mass killings to generate sympathy for its military campaign to seize power.
In Chapter 14 "Becoming a target", Rever describes threats against her safety and her family as she continues to publish articles criticizing the RPF. In 2015, she determines to fight back, by going to the press about the threats and by finishing the book.
Conclusions
Chapter 15 surveys a range of charges against the RPF beginning in 1991 and continuing to the 2019 conviction of
Bosco Ntaganda
Bosco Ntaganda (born 5 November 1973) is a Congolese former rebel leader and convicted war criminal. He was the former military chief of staff of the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP), a rebel that group operated in the No ...
for eighteen charges that included rape, murder, recruitment of child soldiers and sexual slavery of civilians. Rever criticizes many early reports from the 1990s as neglecting or even justifying deaths of Hutu civilians. Western nations, valuing Kagame's achievements as leader of Rwanda, remain donors and supporters despite the RPF's record on human rights.
The book's conclusion stresses that bad actions by the RPF do not in any way justify or diminish the horror of the Rwanda genocide against Tutsis, saying:
There is no part of this book that denies the genocide...There is no question that after Habyarimana's death, the
utu
Shamash ( Akkadian: ''šamaš''), also known as Utu ( Sumerian: dutu " Sun") was the ancient Mesopotamian sun god. He was believed to see everything that happened in the world every day, and was therefore responsible for justice and protection ...
/nowiki> hardliners chose genocide...But this book is not an examination of the dynamics of that 1994 genocide of Tutsis.
But she says that RPF "policy of ethnic murder" against Hutus should be considered a genocide as well.
Her final message is that Rwanda cannot have true reconciliation as long as its government enforces secrecy about crimes committed by the RPF.
While suspects of the genocide against the Tutsi were tried and convicted by the ICTR, the crimes committed by the RPF have been left unpunished.
Publishing history
The book was published by
Random House of Canada
Random House of Canada was the Canadian distributor for Random House, Inc. from 1944 until 2013. On July 1, 2013, it amalgamated with Penguin Canada to become Penguin Random House Canada.
Company history
Random House of Canada was established i ...
in March 2018. and in Dutch by
Amsterdam University Press
Amsterdam University Press (AUP) is a university press that was founded in 1992 by the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. It is based on the university press model and operates on a not-for-profit basis. AUP publishes scholarly and trade ...
in 2018. A French translation of the book was originally to be published by
Fayard
Fayard (complete name: ''Librairie Arthème Fayard'') is a French Paris-based publishing house established in 1857. Fayard is controlled by Hachette Livre.
In 1999, Éditions Pauvert became part of Fayard. Claude Durand was director of Fayar ...
in 2019, but this company withdrew after controversy. Subsequently published it in 2020 as ''Rwanda: L’éloge du sang'' (Rwanda: In Praise of Blood).
Reception
Mainstream reviewers
In Rever's native Canada, the book's launch got attention, and Rever became a frequent interview subject, both on the book's contents and on her methods for writing it. Both ''
The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...
'' and the ''
Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division.
...
'' published book excerpts.
One of the book's earliest reviews came in the ''
LA Review of Books
The ''Los Angeles Review of Books'' (''LARB'' is a literary review magazine covering the national and international book scenes. A preview version launched on Tumblr in April 2011, and the official website followed one year later in April 2012 ...
'', "The Insistence of Memory," where political scientist Kate Cronin-Furman described the Rwandan government's use of memorial events "to remind Rwandans and the world that the Tutsi are never safe and that whatever the Kagame regime does is necessary for their protection"; in this context, she called ''In Praise of Blood'' "explosive."
Helen Epstein
Helen Epstein (born November 27, 1947) is an American writer of memoir, journalism and biography. Born in Czechoslovakia, she lives in Lexington, Massachusetts, United States.
Biography Early life and education
Helen Epstein is the daughter of ...
, whose favorable two-part review for ''
The New York Review of Books
''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of ...
'' may have helped popularize the book, wrote that Rever's "sources are too numerous and their observations too consistent for her findings to be a fabrication." Epstein predicted, however, that the book would provoke significant pushback:
Versions of Rever’s story have been told by others. While all contain convincing evidence against the RPF, some are marred by a tendency to understate the crimes of the Hutu génocidaires or overstate the RPF’s crimes. But some, including the work of
Filip Reyntjens
Filip Reyntjens (born 1952) is professor emeritus at University of Antwerp. His academic training is in constitutional law, but he later pivoted towards the study of politics especially of the Great Lakes region of Africa.
Career
In 1975, while ...
, a Belgian professor of law and politics, have been both measured and soundly researched. Kagame’s regime and its defenders have dismissed them all as propaganda spouted by defeated Hutu génocidaires and genocide deniers.
Science journalist
Laurie Garrett
Laurie Garrett (born 1951) is an American science journalist and author. She was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism in 1996 for a series of works published in ''Newsday'' that chronicled the Ebola virus outbreak in Zaire.
Bi ...
, in a '' Lancet'' article sharply critical of Rwanda's leadership, called ''In Praise of Blood'' "expertly crafted, riveting, though often gruesome," calling it "excellent" both as journalism and as creative writing. Similarly human rights scholar Jeff Bachman" called the book "investigative journalism at its finest," considering it "the most in-depth account yet of suspected crimes committed by Paul Kagame and the Rwandan Patriotic Front".
Agnes Binagwaho
Agnes Binagwaho is a Rwandan politician, pediatrician, co-founder and the former vice chancellor of the University of Global Health Equity (2017-2022). In 1996, she returned to Rwanda where she provided clinical care in the public sector as we ...
and two other Rwanda-based academics criticized both Garrett's ''Lancet'' review and ''In Praise of Blood'', saying that the book "propagates inaccuracies about the catalysing event of the 100 days of genocide against the Tutsis, blames the victims, and does not accurately discuss the rebuilding and reconciliation that has since occurred in Rwanda."
''
Le Soir
''Le Soir'' (, ) is a French-language Belgian daily newspaper. Founded in 1887 by Émile Rossel, it was intended as a politically independent source of news. Together with '' La Libre Belgique'', it is one of the most popular Francophone newsp ...
'' journalist Colette Braeckman praised Rever for her on-the-ground investigation but criticized the book for examining only one side of the coin--saying that, for example, it fails to note that the women and children refugees Rever met in Zaire could have been "human shields" for armed génocidaires. Braeckman also faulted the book for ignoring decades of anti-Tutsi racism when explaining the genocide and the RPF's actions.
Scholarly
Political scientist
René Lemarchand
René Lemarchand (born 1932) is a French- American political scientist who is known for his research on ethnic conflict and genocide in Rwanda, Burundi and Darfur. Publishing in both English and French, he is particularly known for his work on t ...
called the book a "path-breaking inquest", "destined to become required reading for any one claiming competence on the Rwanda genocide". He praised Rever for thorough investigation and taking risks in order to gather as much information as possible. Scholar
Filip Reyntjens
Filip Reyntjens (born 1952) is professor emeritus at University of Antwerp. His academic training is in constitutional law, but he later pivoted towards the study of politics especially of the Great Lakes region of Africa.
Career
In 1975, while ...
said that the book fleshes out in "blood curdling detail" RPF violence that was already known in a general way.
Historian
Gerald Caplan
Gerald Lewis "Gerry" Caplan (born 8 March 1938) is a Canadian academic, public policy analyst, commentator, and political activist. He has had a varied career in academia, as a political organizer for the New Democratic Party, in advocacy around ed ...
criticized the book for "...too many unnamed informants; too many confidential, unavailable leaked documents; too much unexamined credulity about some of the accusations; too little corroboration from foreigners who were eyewitnesses to history." Both Caplan and
Linda Melvern
Linda Melvern is a British investigative journalist. Early in her career, she worked for ''The Evening Standard'' and then ''The Sunday Times'' (UK), including on the investigative Insight Team. Since leaving the newspaper she has written seven b ...
found it concerning that the book's acknowledgments included alleged genocide-deniers. Nevertheless, Caplan concluded "...Rever has reinforced the case against the RPF that had already been made and that left little doubt that the RPF under President Kagame is indeed guilty of war crimes, though not of genocide....I believe we all have an obligation to make this record better-known...
Political scientist
Timothy Longman
Timothy Paul Longman (born February 10, 1964) is a professor of political science and international relations at Boston University. A protege of Alison Des Forges, he is recognized as one of the top authorities on the Rwandan genocide and its lega ...
said that Rever's book was "sensationalistic" and "provides only limited new information about RPF abuses within Rwanda", although elaborating on some cases described earlier by
Alison Des Forges
Alison Des Forges (née Liebhafsky; August 20, 1942 – February 12, 2009) was an American historian and human rights activist who specialized in the African Great Lakes region, particularly the 1994 Rwandan genocide. At the time of her death, ...
. Longman contends that "No academic has yet written a well-researched and detailed account of RPF violence, most likely because doing the necessary research would be both prohibitively difficult and extremely dangerous".
Genocide
Linda Melvern
Linda Melvern is a British investigative journalist. Early in her career, she worked for ''The Evening Standard'' and then ''The Sunday Times'' (UK), including on the investigative Insight Team. Since leaving the newspaper she has written seven b ...
criticized ''In Praise of Blood'' as "a sensationalist book," singling out for criticism material related to the 1994 genocide against Tutsis, particularly what she called "the noxious claim" that RPF commandos "infiltrated Hutu militia and 'assisted directly in killing Tutsi at roadblocks.'"Claudine Vidal wrote that "Rever's work blurs the line between investigation and indictment," pushing toward a declaration that there was a second "genocide," but with Hutu victims. According to Vidal, "Journalists and social scientists should be calling for investigations equivalent to those carried out into the Tutsi genocide, rather than .. trying to apply a particular legal classification" Filip Reyntjens, responding to Vidal, gave his impression that the book's claim of "genocide" came from Rever's process of uncovering evidence, and was not the book's original or motivating argument.
Political scientist
Scott Straus
Scott Straus (born May 9, 1970) is an American political scientist currently serving as a professor of political science at the University of California, Berkeley. Strauss received a BA in English from Dartmouth College and a PhD in political scien ...
, like Vidal, criticized the book for accusing the RPF of "genocide," while (also like Vidal) recognizing "the mass violence committed against Hutu populations in the 1990–1999 period." Straus called ''In Praise for Blood'' "irresponsible" and stated that Rever's "title is unnecessarily provocative, her tone breathless and conspiratorial."
Yash Tandon
Yashpal Tandon (born 21 June 1939) is a Ugandan policymaker, political activist, professor, author and Intellectual, public intellectual. He has lectured extensively in the areas of International Relations and Political economy. He was deeply inv ...
criticized ''In Praise of Blood'' for overlooking the historical roots of the genocide against Tutsis. He questioned the book's "accusative approach" toward the RPF as a useful way forward in Hutu-Tutsi reconciliation efforts.
Researchers Helen Hintjens and Jos van Oijen contested the likelihood that the RPF had concealed their killings of Hutus by cremating tens or hundreds of thousands of victims in
Akagera National Park
Akagera National Park is a protected area in eastern Rwanda covering along the international border with Tanzania. It was founded in 1934 and includes savannah, montane and swamp habitats. The park is named for the Kagera River which flows along ...
. Specialists they consulted, including the
Netherlands Forensic Institute
The Netherlands Forensic Institute (Dutch ''Nederlands Forensisch Instituut'') is the national forensics institute of the Netherlands, located in the Ypenburg quarter of The Hague.
It is a agency of the Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security and ...
, concluded that the methods described by Rever "would certainly have left significant traces of mass murder," while two foreign observers saw no signs of "death camps" near the Gabiro army barracks.
Researchers Bert Ingelaere and
Marijke Verpoorten
Marijke Verpoorten is a researcher and professor at the University of Antwerp. She received a PhD in Economics from the University of Leuven. Her research has focused on development economics, economic causes of armed conflicts, global supply chai ...
criticized the book as suggesting that "there in fact were two genocides happening at the time: one against the Tutsi, and one committed by Tutsi fighters and civilians against the Hutu." Citing their own research into inter-ethnic trust in Rwanda, they asserted that "If there had been a double genocide, one would expect to see Hutu levels of trust towards Tutsis to reach the same depths as those of Tutsi towards Hutu."
In 2019, a group of sixty researchers and eye-witnesses including
Romeo Dallaire
Romeo Montague () is the male protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. The son of Lord Montague and his wife, Lady Montague, he secretly loves and marries Juliet, a member of the rival House of Capulet, through a prie ...
published an open letter to complain that Belgian universities invited Rever to give talks about her book without providing any rebuttal viewpoints, giving the impression that they supported her theories. In August, 2020, several organizations including Ibuka published an open letter to reproach Max Milo for publishing a French translation of the book, saying that it negated the Rwandan genocide by blaming Tutsis for the deaths of other Tutsis.
Rever says she is not a genocide denier because she accepts that the killing of Tutsi was indeed a genocide, but she is a " revisionist" because she questions existing historical narratives.
Death toll
Estimates of Hutu deaths from mass violence in the 1990s are much less precise than Tutsi death figures from the Rwandan genocide due to the greater timescale and geographic spread of the killings. Researcher
Alison Des Forges
Alison Des Forges (née Liebhafsky; August 20, 1942 – February 12, 2009) was an American historian and human rights activist who specialized in the African Great Lakes region, particularly the 1994 Rwandan genocide. At the time of her death, ...
estimated that the RPF killed 60,000 people in war crimes in 1994 and 1995. Historian
Gérard Prunier
Gérard Prunier (born 14 October 1942 in Paris
) is a French academic, historian, and consultant. He specializes in African history and affairs
—particularly the Horn of Africa and the African Great Lakes regions.
Biography
Prunier received a P ...
estimated that 100,000 Hutu were killed by the RPF in 1994–1995. Historian Roland Tissot argued that there were around 400,000 Hutus killed by the RPF between 1994 and 1998 (excluding disease and excess mortality), while Omar Shahabudin McDoom estimated several hundred thousand Hutu victims during the 1990s. Demographer
Marijke Verpoorten
Marijke Verpoorten is a researcher and professor at the University of Antwerp. She received a PhD in Economics from the University of Leuven. Her research has focused on development economics, economic causes of armed conflicts, global supply chai ...
guesstimate
''Guesstimate'' is an informal English portmanteau of ''guess'' and '' estimate'', first used by American statisticians in 1934 or 1935.
Quebec Writers' Federation
The Quebec Writers’ Federation (QWF) is a not-for-profit registered charitable organization representing and serving the English-language literary community in the province of Quebec, Canada.
QWF is a literary arts presenter, provides profession ...
awarded IPOB its 2018
Mavis Gallant Prize for Non-Fiction
The Quebec Writers' Federation Awards are a series of Canada, Canadian literary awards, presented annually by the Quebec Writers' Federation to the best works of literature in English language, English by writers from Quebec. They were known from 1 ...
, calling it "heartbreaking, chilling and necessary." The book also won the
Ontario Historical Society The Ontario Historical Society is a non-profit organization centred on the preservation of Ontario's history. It is governed by an all-volunteer board of directors, and its members include individuals as well as historical institutions from across t ...
's 2018
Huguenot Society of Canada The Huguenot Society of Canada is an organization which published the ''Huguenot Trails'' publication from 1968 to 2003. In 1985, it organized a conference to study Huguenot heritage in Canada.Harrison, ed., "Canada's Huguenot Heritage 1685-1985" (B ...
Award. This award is given for bringing "public awareness to the principles of freedom of conscience and freedom of thought." It was a finalist for the
Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction
The Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction is a Canadian literary award, presented annually by the Writers' Trust of Canada to the best work of non-fiction by a Canadian writer.
Canada's most lucrative non-fiction prize, the winner re ...
. The jury's citation called ''In Praise of Blood'' "an undeniably important story told by a remarkably brave writer." Canada's ''
The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...
'' listed ''In Praise of Blood'' in its 2018 top-100 list of favourite books. The ''
Hong Kong Free Press
Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP) is a free, non-profit news website based in Hong Kong. It was co-founded in 2015 by Tom Grundy, who believed that the territory's Freedom of the press, press freedom was in decline, to provide an independent alternativ ...
'' named the book of its "Ten Best Human Rights Books of 2018," but said the book should be "in the running for bad cover of the year: not only does the cover have nothing to do with its subject, it is part of that old tradition of equating Africa with big wild animals."
References
Sources
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Further reading
* Des Forges, Alison. Leave None to Tell the Story: Genocide in Rwanda ' – Human Rights Watch et FIDH – 1999 – .
* Rever, Judy. "The Legacy of RPF Violence and Why Rwandan Refugees Refuse to Return" (chapter in ''Repatriation, Insecurity, and Peace: A Case Study of Rwandan Refugees'' (Springer, 2020, ISBN 978-981-15-2850-7)
*