The Centre for Conflict Management started in 1999. It was the brainchild of the Director of the National University. Now the National Univeristy’s Vice-Rector Butera is the director of CfCM. The Centre’s aim is to understand the causes of genocide. Particularly why intellectuals planned and participated in it. The Centre was launched with the help of $US 300,000 from UNDP.
CCM’s work
The Centre has tried to tackle and disprove arguments that the genocide was solely caused by spontaneous anger of the Hutu after the death of President Habyarimana. The Centre has analysed various explanations of the genocide. They have looked at the root causes of the genocide: questions of citizenship and over population. They have also examined the social and psychological problems related to trauma. CfCM conducts research into people’s attitudes towards Gacaca: they found that there were differences of opinion between educated and non-educated Rwandans. Also geographical trends: in the North of the country Gacaca is not popular, whereas in the South it is. From these findings they looked specifically at the role of Gacaca in national reconciliation. Alice Karekezi heads the Gacaca department.

CCM’s challenges
Mr Ntaganda explained that there are several challenges faced by the Centre. Capacity building: allowing participants to gain PhDs in foreign institutions. They are also very focused on maintaining people-centred research: it is not easy to know the needs of the Rwandan population. It is important to make the research relevant. The Centre aims to expand research to other regional conflicts (e.g. the DRC). External and internal problems are interrelated.

Mr Ntaganda said Gacaca is a dynamic social reality and opinions of it will be changing. He believes the Gacaca is a good thing but it will also lead to tensions, psychological problems and exacerbation of conflict. It may also force people to lie before the courts and lead to human rights abuses. For these reasons the Gacaca process has to be closely monitored. In answer to the allegations that some judges are perpetrators he said it is very hard t find anyone without a bad background. The system requires 25,000 judges and it is not easy to find so many clean people.

The Centre works with different government institutions including the NURC. They are also working with the Constitution Commission, Human Rights Commission and the Ministry of Justice. He also said they use epistemology to break prejudice. Research is done using Kiyirwanda. They aim to produce qualitative and quantitative research. One of the problems they face is that people are tired of being asked questions about identity and ethnicity.

We asked Mr Ntaganda whether the funding CCM received from the Ministry of Justice meant they ran the risk of lacking objectivity. He answered that the majority of funding came from international institutions and governments. He added that all the results collected from their studies were show to the people who participated. They are all translated into Kiyirwanda.

The Centre is working in partnership with the University of Berkley, USA looking at Education for Peace within communities that have experienced conflict such as Rwanda or Bosnia. Since 1994 no history has been taught in schools (and there is only one course at the university). This is because history was manipulated by power in the past. Now people are looking at how to have an objective history. CCM with the Ministry of Education, NURC and civil societies are working on what the teaching of history should and should not include.

The significance of identity differs between the rural and the elite. The rural population do not identify themselves in terms of ethnicity except during a period of crisis. The neighbourhood is the means of survival so ethnicity is not so important. The educated elite on the other had think according to their ethnic identity.

Mr Ntaganda stated that is recognised by many scholars that the international community left the Rwandan population in the hands of murders and perpetrators of genocide. He said that the international community primarily came to Rwanda in 1994 to aid their nationals to escape the country. After the genocide the international community tried to help Rwanda, but they did so ineffectively. Much money was spent on issues that were not the central problems of the Rwandan community. However the failures of the international community should not be an excuse for the Rwandans not to rebuild their own country. Rwandan people have a duty to rebuild their country without the help of the international community. Rwandan people do not trust the international community or the ICTR.

We asked Mr Ntaganda whether Rwanda had a plan to strengthen the international community so that it would act to prevent genocide in the future. He answered that genocide is a crime of a state not a crime of the people. The international community is too weak – it does not have the tools to prevent future genocide. Peacekeeping forces are not designed to prevent genocide.

Never Again expressed a wish to work with CCM in future projects. Mr Ntaganda said that the Centre would be happy to collaborate, perhaps in publishing joint research. He added that the Centre has internships that international students are invited to apply for