The Rwandan Genocide began on 6 April 1994, when a plane carrying President Juvénal Habyarimana was shot down over Kigali. This sparked one hundred days of brutal massacres throughout the country, and as the violence and fear escalated, the UN was called on to take action. The Triumph of Evil details the events that took place both in Rwanda and inside the UN that allowed over 850,000 people to lose their lives in one of the most horrifying genocides of the twentieth century. The book is based on the eye-witness account of Charles Petrie, a UN official called in to assist in the region, and it documents what he believes were the failings of the UN when it came to protecting its own staff. In particular, Petrie relates the sinister events that led to the murders of a number of Rwandan nationals who were working for the UN, and were due to be evacuated. Focusing on individual stories and experiences, he highlights how quickly terror can reign when disenfranchised groups are incited to violence under an oppressive system, and how even our most respected institutions can fail when political motivations muddy the waters.
Until this book was published in 1974, many of the letters in this book between Charles I Prince Rupert his nephew and the leading Royalist commander had never been published. From a mainly private collection, the letters give a fascinating insight into the stormy relationship between the monarch and his nephew. Also included are letters from the Royalist exiles, including the future King Charles II and letters to and from other notable figures of the time including Queen Henrietta Maria, Montrose and Oliver Cromwell. The period covered by the letters is the turning point of the Civil War and enables the reader to see the War through the eyes of those who participated in it. The letters have been edited in such a way as to illuminate to the full the personalities of their writers and the appropriate historical and personal context to the letters.
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