Role of The Media in The Rwandan Genocide

ESSAY TITLE: ROLE OF THE MEDIA IN THE RWANDAN
GENOCIDE.
INTRODUCTION
Rwanda a country of thousands hills, full of beauty and well known for the genocide that took
place in 1994.The genocide in Rwanda marked a turn for the worst for Rwanda as a country.
Twenty seven years down the line and yet some of the Rwandan people have not yet healed from
the events and massacres of the genocide.
This essay will be focusing on the role the media played in the genocide both locally and
internationally. The essay is structured to show how the Rwandese people and the international
community were informed of the genocide that as taking place in Rwanda. That will include
radio broadcasting, newspaper publishing and naming, interpreting and reporting. In looking at
those ways how the media was used during the genocide I will also focus on Radio Television
Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM) and the Kangura newspaper.
Radio broadcasting
Radio stations were a widely trusted source of disseminating information among the Rwandan
people as most the citizens of Rwanda could not read and write as such they believed that the
radio told the truth. Most radio stations in Rwanda began in the 1990s where the ratio was one
radio to thirteen people. With increase in availability of radios in 10s it was no doubt that it
played a major role on the people of Rwanda through entertainment, discussions and
information.
In 1993 a new radio struck the airwaves Radio Television Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM)
which was launched by the members of the Interahamwe group. The name of the radio meant
thousands hills free radio and television. It was a new sound and in no time it became the most
loved and popular radio station in Rwanda. Every bar, homes, offices, on roads and even taxis all
tuned to RTLM. RTLM played a major role in inciting against violence and hate propaganda.
The radio managed to grow seeds of hate among the Hutus and encouraging them to killing the
Tutsis. The radio station disseminated hate, prepared the people for the violence coming. Some
weeks before April 1994 the radio station broadcasted more of hate propaganda against the Tutsi.
It mobilized the Hutus against the Tutsis. Samantha Power a researcher and war correspondent
said that often the killers carried a machete together with a transistor radio. This is evidenced in
the movie titled hotel Rwanda. The radio station referred to the Tutsis as tall tress hence it
mobilized the cutting down of tall trees. Alison Des Forges, a historian, wrote that during the
periods of the violence government leaders used the radio station to promote violence by giving
specific direction on how to conduct the killings. However, there is still a debate going on as to
whether really the government leaders used the radio station to promote violence by giving
specific direction on how to conduct the killings. However, there is still a debate going on as to
whether really the radio station RTLM incited violence and hate or were they just implying the
fear of a coming genocide.
Newspaper publishing and naming
Here we focus on the Kangura newspaper. The newspaper was described as the most extremist
paper by civil servant who was in charge of monitoring private press. Some of the readers also
described it as the bell of death. It was both published in two languages Kinyarwanda and
French. Due to its extremist nature it was widely read and those who could not read we translated
and interpreted for. As such news from the paper could spread as fast as bush fire. Everyone
everywhere could talk about, hold discussions about it.
Instances where the newspaper propagated towards violence is evidenced in the 1991 issue of
November. The cover of the paper posted a question as to what weapons will be used in killing
the cockroaches (inyenzi). An answer was provided still on the cover with a picture of machetes.
Also on the first page was a picture of the first president of Rwanda and another leader of the
Hutu revolution of 1959. Below the pictorial was a statement that asked how about re-launching
the 1959 Hutu revolution so as to conquer the Tutsis?
The newspaper also used cartoons and articles that incited hatred against the Tutsi an example
was the February 1993 issue which stated that a cockroach could not give birth to a butterfly.
This implied that since cockroaches can’t change as such also the Tutsis cannot change they will
always be wicked.
When it comes to the naming we see both the newspaper and the radio used names in referring to
the Tutsis. Tutsis were given names ranging from inyenzi meaning cockroaches because they
moved at night. They were also called the tall trees. The radio would often refer to cutting down
of the tall trees meaning the Tutsis. The naming technique which was widely used undermined
the Tutsis and also dehumanized them.
Interpreting and reporting
From the start of the genocide, the Rwandan government failed in disseminating information on
the events that were taking place in Rwanda to the international community.the Rwandan
government fed the international community false information as to what was going on in
Rwanda. The government portrayed the genocide as normal ethnic clashes as was the norm in
Rwanda. As such the international media, news channels relayed the genocide in Rwanda as an
ethnic blood bath where Hutus were mercilessly massacring the Tutsis. This had a negative
effect as the people of Rwanda were not able to get help from the international community. The
government used the Rwanda radio and RTLM to relay false information. Some of the foreign
correspondents did not believe it to be tribal clashes and often referred to it as “an orgy of
violence”
At the end of May the UN interviews condemned the events going on in Rwanda. The secretary
General, Boutros Ghali, of the UN then stated that they were all accountable for the failure from
the Africans to the international community as they did not try to show the real events of the
genocide.
Conclusion.
From the above we see that the media played a great role in the genocide in Rwanda. We see
how the media prepared the Hutus for violence how it incited hate towards the Tutsis. From all
this we get to learn how the media can play a big part in initiating violence.
Rwanda provides an important reflection study on the use of media as a source of initiating and
propagating violence.
REFRENCES.
Alison Des Forges and Des Forges Alison Liebhafsky (1999). Leave None To Tell The Story:
Genocide in Rwanda.
Chretien, jean-Pierre (1995), Media and Propaganda in Preparation for and during the Rwandan
Genocide
Hotel Rwanda full movie
From recording of RTLM broadcasts, October 17th to 31st 1993
Allan Thompson statement by Kofi Annan; The Media and the Rwanda Genocide

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