A People Betrayed: The Role of the West in Rwanda's Genocide, Second - Softcover

Melvern, Linda

4.11

179 ratings by Goodreads

9781848132450: A People Betrayed: The Role of the West in Rwanda's Genocide, Second

Softcover

ISBN 10: 184813245X ISBN 13: 9781848132450

Publisher: Zed Books, 2009

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Events in Rwanda in 1994 mark a landmark in the history of modern genocide. Up to one million people were killed in a planned public and political campaign. In the face of indisputable evidence, the Security Council of the United Nations failed to respond.

In this classic of investigative journalism, Linda Melvern holds governments to account, showing how individuals could have prevented the killing and didn't do so. The book also reveals the unrecognized heroism of those who stayed on during the genocide, volunteer peacekeepers and those who ran emergency medical care.

Fifteen years on, this new edition examines the ongoing impact of the 1948 Genocide Convention and the shock waves Rwanda caused around the world. Based on fresh interviews with key players and newly-released documents, A People Betrayed is a shocking indictment of the way Rwanda is and was forgotten.

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About the Author:

Linda Melvern is an investigative journalist who has investigated and written about the 1994 genocide in Rwanda for more than twenty-five years. She was a consultant to the Military One prosecution team at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

Review:

Praise for the first edition:

"Melvern offers a vivid picture of the role of Western nations in abetting, ignoring and allowing Rwanda's genocide."--New York Times Book Review

"Linda Melvern has written a compelling description of the most dramatic aspects of the genocide."--Astri Suhrke, International Affairs

"Lifts the lid on the international community’s failure to prevent the genocide. Outlines how the slaughter was aided and abetted by international indifference, loans and weapons deals."--Geoff Cumming, New Zealand News

"Quite extraordinary: precise, and yet overwhelming; a fine balance in the face of depravity... Linda Melvern has written an extraordinary account of the Rwanda genocide, and the shocking failure of the West to lift a finger... What Melvern demonstrates so powerfully is that where Western geopolitical interests are absent, Western morality and 'civilised' concerns are nowhere to be found ... A brave and compelling book."--Richard Falk, Princeton University

"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."--Lt-.General Romeo Dallaire, Force Commander, UN Assistance Mission for Rwanda, (UNAMIR) 1994

"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."--Glenys Kinnock, MEP

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