Role of the media Notes

The Role of the Media in the Rwandan Genocide

The Rwandan genocide was fueled by extremist propaganda, deeply rooted ethnic tensions, and orchestrated violence, with media tools like Kangura magazine and RTLM radio playing key roles in inciting hatred.

Kangura Magazine

1. Origins and purpose
   1. First published in 1990, Kangura (meaning “Wake it up” in Kinyarwanda) was a semi-official magazine.
   2. It was created to counter RPF narratives and incite hatred against the Tutsi.
   3. Modeled after Nazi propaganda techniques, it spread the ideology of Hutu Power and portrayed Tutsi as enemies of the state.
2. The Hutu Ten Commandments (1990)
   1. In December 1990, Kangura published the Hutu Ten Commandments.
   2. These rules promoted Hutu supremacy and warned against personal or professional relationships with Tutsi.
   3. They labeled Tutsi as deceitful and dangerous, branding any Hutu who engaged with them as a traitor.
   4. The commandments were central to dehumanizing the Tutsi and justifying violence.
3. Content and incitement
   1. The Hutu Ten Commandments called for the complete political, social, and economic exclusion of Tutsi.
   2. They branded Hutu who associated with Tutsi as traitors.
   3. The text warned against relationships with Tutsi women, prohibited business with Tutsi, and urged Hutu unity against a supposed Tutsi threat.
   4. One of the clearest calls to violence read: “The Hutu must stop having mercy on the Tutsi.”
   5. This document institutionalized fear and dehumanization.
4. Leadership and influence
   1. Led by editor Hassan Ngeze, Kangura became a major voice of hate speech.
   2. It promoted racial division, exaggerated the Tutsi threat, and advocated their exclusion from Rwandan society.
   3. The magazine was closely aligned with the MRND regime and helped lay the ideological groundwork for genocide.

Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM)

1. Origins and purpose
   1. Created in 1993, RTLM was a highly influential Hutu Power broadcaster.
   2. With widespread radio ownership and a largely illiterate population, it became an ideal tool for spreading anti-Tutsi propaganda and inciting violence.
2. Reach and influence
   1. Around 60% of Rwandan households owned a radio at the time of the 1994 genocide.
   2. This made RTLM extremely influential, as it spread propaganda and incited violence on a large scale.
   3. The station’s reach into rural areas and accessibility to ordinary citizens amplified its role as a powerful tool for hate speech and mobilization during the genocide.
3. Incitement and coordination
   1. RTLM broadcast lists of targets, hiding places of Tutsi, and urged listeners to take action.
   2. It normalized killing, inflamed ethnic hatred, and guided militias during the genocide.
   3. Samantha Power, in her book A Problem from Hell, described killers as often armed with both a machete and a radio.
4. Aftermath and accountability
   1. After the genocide, RTLM staff were convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) for incitement to genocide.
   2. RTLM was recognized as a key tool that transformed hate speech into mass murder.
   3. It echoed the role of Nazi media such as Der Stürmer.