Lessons from the Rwandan Genocide
By Robert Persaud
Guyana Chronicle
April 12, 2004
THIS is Easter and you are wondering why I am writing on a morbid subject: the genocide against the 800,000 Tutsis by the Hutu majority tribe in the Central African state of Rwanda. There are two simple reasons: last Wednesday marked the 10th anniversary of the genocide and the widespread international media attention would provide the necessary backdrop and Easter presents an occasion for deep reflections, especially on the Passion of Jesus Christ and the sacrifices he made for all humanity to live in peace and brotherhood.
POWER STRUGGLE BACKDROP
Rwanda has two main tribes - Hutus and Tutsis, the latter which make up only 9% of the population. Ten years ago, the world watched in awe and did next to nothing as 800,000 Tutsis were slaughtered with machetes by the Hutu majority. The international media, the United Nations and other bodies did hardly anything. A Canadian General working in Rwanda at the time termed the world's inaction as "criminal negligence."
Why was the massacre carried out? There are both historical and power-seeking reasons. The Tutsis were favoured as the ruling elite by the former Belgian colonial masters. This ended the year before Independence when the Hutu majority party won office. Before the Belgians departed in 1962, they established quotas: Tutsis who were only 9% of the population only got accesses to 9% of schools, salaried jobs, etc. The ensuing years saw the Tutsis minority being "ferociously discriminated" by the Hutu majority government. In the meantime, the Tutsis organised a Ugandan-based rebel army led by Paul Kagame, the current President. The Hutu government felt threatened. As The Economist describes: "Threatened by a mostly Tutsi army, some within the regime decided that the only way to hang on to power was to exterminate all Tutsis. Despite a peace accord in 1993, they (Hutu-controlled government) recruited and indoctrinated thousands of militiamen and imported enough machetes to give one to every third adult Hutu male. A pretext was found on April 6, 1994 when (the then President of Rwanda Juvenal) Habyarimana's aeroplane was shot down by unknown assassins." The next 90 days "of unspeakable terror that killed more than 500,000 Rwandan children, women and men beginning on 7 April 1994 stands as stark evidence of the depths to which human behaviour, unchecked by law, can descend," according to UNICEF.
MEDIA'S ROLE IN THE GENOCIDE
After the massacre, the United Nations Tribunal on the genocide was convened in Arusha, Tanzania. Revealing was the role of certain media entities in preparing for and fueling the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of Tutsis and those Hutus who spoke out against the carnage. In the months leading up to the genocide, certain journalists used both the electronic and print media to incite Hutus against the Tutsis. According to an Associated Press (AP) report: "A UN Tribunal convicted and sentenced a radio news director and a newspaper editor to life imprisonment for their role in promoting the 1994 Rwandan genocide, the first trial of media workers by an international court in more than 50 years." The story went on to add: "The convictions by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda were the first for broadcasters and publications promoting crimes against humanity since the Nuremberg trials of Nazi propagandists following World War II."
The three condemned media workers are Ferdinand Nahimana, founding director of a radio station, RTLM and director of Rwandan National Information Office; Jean Bosco Barayagwiza, an executive at RTLM radio; and Hassan Ngeze, former editor-in-chief of Kangura newspaper. The panel ruled that Nahimana was "fully aware of the power of his vitriolic broadcasts." According to one of the judges in handing down the sentence against Nahimana: "You may have been motivated by your sense of patriotism and the need you perceived for equity for the Hutu population, but instead of following legitimate avenues of recourse, you chose a path of genocide. In doing so, you betrayed the trust placed in you as an intellectual leader. Without a firearm, machete or any physical weapon you caused the death of thousands of innocent civilians."
Regarding Ngeze, the Tribunal was presented with excerpts of articles he wrote. "Let whatever is smouldering erupt", Ngeze wrote before the genocide. "It will be necessary then that the masses and their army protect themselves. At such time, blood will be poured. At such time, a lot of blood will be poured." The Judge in his ruling told the journalist that "instead of using media to promote human rights you used it to attack and destroy human rights." The Economist in its special edition to mark the 10th anniversary recalled: "A popular radio station (referring to RTLM) howled for blood."
HAWKS MUST TAKE NOTE
The shock and awe on the psyche of humanity caused by the genocide and more particularly the murderous role of sections of the media have generated much debate and soul searching. The world community is still reeling from its shame caused by just watching the massacre take place. Media organizations and watch groups and various UN bodies are using the Rwanda media contribution to the genocide as an example of how not to use the media. Criticisms of the media and calls for a higher degree of ethics and professionalism must be seen as preventative steps against the descent of the media anywhere, including preventing Guyana from going down that path. Certain television talk show hosts have been committing violations of ethics and attacking our national sense of unity that would evoke a stern look from the Arusha Tribunal Panel.
Guyanese have generally, demonstrated maturity and resisted all forms of instigation and provocation by divisive elements and unscrupulous political leaders. Our people's commitment to unity and non-violent means of resolving disputes is legend. We must not let our guards down as the agents (extremist lunatic fringe) of communal violence and strife are lurking even on some media outlets. We have the horrific lessons of Rwanda to ensure that we do not commit those mistakes in any size, shape or form. Those who use the media to instigate divisions and preach hatred must take note of the possible consequences of their action. There were no winners in Rwanda. Nor can they even be any winners in any such violent conflict. The hawks of division, wherever they exist in our midst, must be the object of attention of the Ethnic Relations Commission and all peace-loving Guyanese and forces. In remembering the victims of the Rwandan genocide, we must ensure that we forever stay clear of those horrors and destruction. And the media have a critical role to play in this national task.