A People Betrayed - 4th Edition by Linda Melvern (Hardcover)

About the Book

The 1994 genocide against the Tutsi claimed the lives of one million people. Today, troubling questions remain about how, inthe face of indisputable evidence of the ongoing genocide, the governments on the UN Security Council failed to intervene. Following thirty years of research, including analysis of recently declassified government archives, this newly revised and expanded edition of Linda Melvern's classic investigative journalism shows how policymakers continue to refuse to properly acknowledge their responsibilities under international law--back cover.

Book Synopsis

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 Félicien 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.

Review Quotes

Linda Melvern has written a compelling description of the most dramatic aspects of the genocide.
Praise for Previous Editions, Astri Suhrke, International Affairs

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

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

About the Author

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.