Case Study Country - Rwanda Germany was the colonial power in Rwanda until the end of world war one, when Rwanda was passed into Belgium hands until 1972, when it was given independence. The colonial powers further polarised society, creating an echelon of Tutsi elite whilst discriminating against the majority Hutus. This laid the foundations for decades of conflict. In Rwanda, power shifted between ethnic groups. The conflict can be seen as a scramble for political power in order to prevent discrimination of a particular ethnic group by repressing the other. In 1959, tens of thousands of Tutsis fled Rwanda following change in the balance in favour of the Hutu ethnic group. Between 1959 and 1973, power passed to a small group of Hutus originating from central Rwanda and led by Gregoir Kayibanda. His regime was overthrown in 1973 by a northern Hutu, Jevenal Habyarimana, who objected to the preferential treatment given to the central Hutus. Habyarimana s policies were also discriminatory, but this time in favour of the northern Hutus. This concerned the international community who placed pressure on Habyarimana to democratise. Meanwhile the Tutsi rebel army, the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA), invaded in 1990 in the first of many incursions into Rwanda. This is the point widely considered as the beginning of the most recent political and military conflict in Rwanda. Under intense international pressure, the Arusha Peace Accords were signed in 1992, between the RPA and the Rwandan government but peace did not hold. A plane carrying Habyarimana was shot down in April 1994 and it sparked a genocide in which one million Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed. Only the military victory of the RPA ended the genocide in which the international community is widely seen to have failed in their duty to intervene. Every person living in Rwanda was affected by the conflict that resulted in the death of one-eighth of the population and caused 1.7 million Hutus to become refugees. Since the conflict, Rwanda has made significant progress towards stabilising the economy. GDP growth was negative in 1994 but has since grown to about 6% in 2001. Inflation was 89% in 1995 and is now estimated to have dropped to about 4% in 2001. More than 20 PCM projects and 10 formal financial institutions are currently operating. Significant problems remain however, including 40,000 displaced people, continuing insecurity in the north-west of the country and limited inward investment and agricultural output.