Hungry for Truth, Peace and Justice

Rwanda: Media Distortion And Strangulation Of The Right To Freedom Of Expression

By TUBEHO TWESE, ASBL
Association for Rwandan Hutus and Tutsis Victims of Genocide
Brussels, Belgium
May 20, 2009

The BBC’s local-language radio service in Kigali has been suspended because of the statement made by Boniface Rutayisire that the bodies of Rwandans found floating in the waters of Lake Victoria, in Uganda, were those of Hutus killed by the RPF in 1994. It was not because of the “divisive and disparaging nature” of the BBC program that aired on April 25, 2009 as the Rwandan Information Minister, Louise Mushikiwabo, would like the World to believe.

On Saturday April 25, 2009 the Rwandan government suspended the British Broadcasting Corporation’s local-language radio service in the country saying it threatened the country’s national reconciliation.

With regard to this suspension of the BBC service in Kigali, the organization TUBEHO TWESE, ASBL, decided to explain to the public how the information about this issue has been distorted by the RPF regime in Kigali in order to put forward its malicious agenda.

We carefully examined the circumstances surrounding the suspension of the BBC’s local-language radio service (BBC-Gahuzamiryango) in Kigali, and noticed that the BBC programs might have been closed probably due to the statement that “the bodies of Rwandans found floating in the waters of Lake Victoria Lake Victoria in Uganda were those of Hutus killed by the RPF in 1994”. This statement was made by Boniface Rutayisire (Belgium), one of three guest speakers of the BBC program “IMVO N’IMVANO” that aired on April 25, 2009. The other two guest speakers were Faustin Twagiramungu (Belgium) and Dr Augustin Dukuze (Canada).

This reason is clearly expressed in the initial reactions of the Rwandan Minister of information , Louise Mushikiwabo, reported by the pro-government newspaper, The New Times of Kigali, just a few hours after the BBC programs went off the airwaves.

As the time went on, Rwandan officials downplayed talking about RPF crimes against Hutus during the Rwandan genocide in 1994. Instead, they switched from Boniface Rutayisire to former Prime Minister, Faustin Twagiramungu, in a passage that has absolutely nothing to do with RPF crimes against Hutus.

Urgent need for more clarifications

The news reports about the suspension of the BBC programs in Kigali began in The New Times of Kigali on April 26, 2009 by stating that the BBC has been closed because of “outrageous” statements made by one of the three guest speakers of the BBC’s local-language service on April 25, 2009. Indeed, Boniface Rutaysire said over the airwaves of the BBC that the bodies of Rwandans found floating in Lake Victoria in 1994 were the bodies of Hutus killed by the RPF.

In a few hours that followed this initial report from The New Times of Kigali, Radio Rwanda added statements from Faustin Twagiramungu without mentioning Rutaysire’s name apparently in order to not overwhelm the public opinion.

On Radio Rwanda, Boniface Rutayisire was referred to as "another speaker". Here is how a journalist on Radio Rwanda put it: "Another speaker, (whose name for some reasons was kept secret), reportedly said that during the genocide the bodies of Rwandans that got stranded on the shores of Lake Victoria were those of Hutus killed by the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), now in power".

This situation has raised several questions: did the journalists of Radio Rwanda not know that it was Boniface Rutayisire’s statement? I do not think so. According to The New Times of Kigali and the Rwandan News Agency they had already previewed that particular BBC program the night before. Therefore, the omission of Rutayisire’s name was intentional. The people who did it desperately expected to stifle RPF crimes against Hutus by manipulating the information that was available to them. Are the journalists of Radio Rwanda and the press in Kigali now able to shade some lights on this issue in order to help us understand better? Any input will be greatly appreciated

From April 25, 2009 the news reports about the BBC suspension in Kigali have been circulated around the world but only in the directions set forth by the masters in media manipulation.

Many foreign journalists that are sympathetic to the current RPF regime in Kigali are very uncomfortable talking about this issue. For how long will the three BBC’s guest speakers involved in this issue remain silent when we all know that their views have been unfairly attacked by the Rwandan government?

Fortunately, the British Government, in the voice of its Ambassador in Kigali, Mr Nicholas Cannon, acknowledged that there has been neither hatred nor genocide denial in any views expressed by the three guests speakers of the BBC Gahuzamiryango in its program "Imvo n'imvano" that aired on Saturday April 25, 2009.

“From the [Rwandan Government] translated transcripts of the particular program which was to be broadcast on April 25, 2009 there is completely no sign that it was fomenting hate or denying the genocide", said Mr Nicholas Cannon, Ambassador of the UK in Kigali.

With such statements from the UK Ambassador, the political marketing of the Rwandan genocide by the Kigali regime to the expenses of the Rwandan people may soon come to a glorious end. It clearly is becoming obsolete because the world has discovered that the RPF government uses such tactics to continuously oppress and silence many Rwandans. Indeed, such tactics consist in portraying political opponents as genocide ideologues, revisionists, or negationists. A genocide ideology that is punishable by sentences of 10 to 25 years in prison.

Obviously, as many people have discovered, the BBC suspension issue has proved very detrimental to the RPF regime in Kigali but very beneficial to people like Boniface Rutayisire and his companions whose views have unfairly been attacked by the Rwandan government.

TUBEHO TWESE, ASBL has transcribed the text of the BBC program “IMVO N’IMVANO” that aired on April 25, 2009. This text was sold in multiple copies like any other newspaper in Kigali City. It was amazing to see how delighted people jostled to buy copies from people who had already printed the text.

In our upcoming publications, we will explain how media manipulation is vibrant within Rwandan internet forums through disguised Internet users. We also will discuss in depth the impact of these media distortions at the international level.

It is our duty to inform the public about the Rwandan tragedy. The world needs to know the whole truth about such manipulations that are made by the RPF and its allies abroad.

© 2009 Copyrights TUBEHO TWESE, ASBL

Note:

Mr. Boniface Rutayisire is President of Association for Rwandan Hutus and Tutsis Victims of Genocide (TUBEHO TWESE ASBL) and President of International Committee for Victims of Rwandan Genocide (CIVHEMG) based in Belgium

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posted by Mamadou Kouyate @ 11:37 AM