The Role of the Media in the Rwandan Genocide
- The power of media
- The Rwandan genocide exposed the deadly influence of media.
- Radio in particular was weaponized to incite hatred, coordinate killings, and turn words into tools of mass violence.
- Media as an instrument of genocide
- Kangura magazine and Radio-Télévision Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM) were central propaganda outlets.
- They spread anti-Tutsi hatred long before and during the genocide.
- These outlets fueled extremist ideology, normalized violence, and mobilized perpetrators.
Media in Rwanda
- Kangura Magazine
- Published twice monthly from 1990 onwards, with editions in two languages.
- Each issue printed 1,500–3,000 copies, financed by military and MRND elites, and produced using government presses.
- RTLM Radio
- Began broadcasting in July 1993, first reaching only the Kigali area.
- Expanded to nationwide coverage in early 1994.
- Took advantage of Rwanda’s strong oral tradition and high radio ownership (about 1 radio for every 10–15 people).
- Reach and Influence
- It remains difficult to fully measure the impact of Kangura and RTLM during the genocide, both in print and over the airwaves.
Case Study: The April 21, 1994 RTLM Broadcast (Nyamirambo, Kigali)
- Content of the Broadcast
- On April 21, 1994, RTLM broadcasters explicitly named Tutsi individuals hiding in the Nyamirambo district of Kigali.
- They urged listeners to “find and exterminate the cockroaches.”
- The broadcast provided specific locations and directions to militias and civilians, effectively turning the radio into a real-time death list.
- Link to Genocide
- This broadcast was cited as direct incitement to genocide during the ICTR trial of Ferdinand Nahimana, RTLM’s founder.
- Witnesses testified that Interahamwe militias moved into Nyamirambo after the broadcasts, killing those named or suspected of being Tutsi.
- The immediacy of the broadcast and the killings that followed showed a clear causal link between RTLM propaganda and mass violence.
- ICTR Findings
- The ICTR Trial Chamber concluded that this broadcast exemplified how RTLM “used its platform as a tool for the mass murder of innocent civilians.”
RTLM and the Rwandan Genocide
- Initial RPF Attack (April 1994)
- The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) shelled the RTLM radio station in Kigali during the first week of the genocide.
- They targeted it because RTLM was central in spreading propaganda and inciting mass killings.
- Despite the attack, RTLM resumed almost immediately using mobile transmitters on vehicles, which kept propaganda running throughout the 100 days of genocide.
- Relocation After Kigali Falls (July 4, 1994)
- When the RPF captured Kigali, RTLM operations shifted to Gisenyi (near the Zaire border) and later into Zaire itself.
- Exiled members of the interim Hutu government continued broadcasts, spreading hate speech, mobilizing militias, and issuing threats against returning refugees and the RPF.
- These broadcasts prolonged regional instability and obstructed post-genocide reconciliation efforts.
Why didn’t the international community intervene the pro genocide media?
- UN and US Failure to Jam RTLM
- Despite knowing RTLM’s central role, the UN and US failed to jam the station.
- Reasons included the high cost ($8,500 per hour), legal concerns about free speech, and political hesitation, particularly after Somalia.
