How was propaganda used in the rwandan genocide

It is estimated that some 200,000 hutu, spurred on by propaganda from. Over the course of approximately 100 days from the assassination of juvenal habyarimana and cyprien ntaryamira on april 6 through midjuly over 500,000 people were killed, according to a human rights watch estimate. Approximately one million of people, mainly in tutsi, were killed during the rwandan genocide, which lasted for 12 weeks in 1994. Radio propaganda and genocide concordia university. The rwandan audiotapes of the international monitor institute imi records are comprised almost entirely of the transcripts of radio broadcasts translated from kinyarwanda into french and english. Evidence from the rwandan genocide, looks at the impact of radio television libre des mille collines rtlm, a key media outlet for the hutuled government, on violence and killings of the tutsi minority. In this paper, i will be examining the role of radio as propaganda in the rwandan genocide, focusing on the rhetoric of the two primary radio stations, radio rwanda and the rtlm. Hutu remembered the slaughter of tens of thousands of hutu by tutsi in neighboring burundi in 1972, 1988, and in 1991 and dreaded killings on a similar scale by.

Nov 11, 2008 genocide introduction in 1994 rwanda experienced the worst genocide in modern times. Broadcasters used increasingly dehumanising language to speak about the tutsi minority. From april to july 1994, over 800,000 tutsis and moderate hutus were. During the 1994 rwandan genocide, radio broadcasts played an important role in inciting ordinary citizens to take part in the massacres of their tutsi, and. In the rwandan and bosnian genocides, serbs and hutus were influenced greatly by the voices of the perpetrators and through dehumanization of bosnian muslims and tutsis in the media. Americas secret role in the rwandan genocide news the.

Introduction is a lack of basic education a necessary condition for propaganda to be effective. The media participated in a structured attempt to use media to influence awareness, attitudes, or behavior. The propaganda section of the human rights watch report, for example, provides some indepth analysis of how the media in rwanda was used and played a role in the genocide, and how propaganda was employed in a variety of ways. Propaganda from usually turkish or armenian sources that relate to the armenian genocide or to other aspects of ottomanarmenian history. The rwandan genocide, also known as the genocide against the tutsi, was a mass slaughter of tutsi, twa, and moderate hutu in rwanda, which took place between 7 april and 15 july 1994 during the rwandan civil war.

On april 6, 1994, hutus began slaughtering the tutsis in the african country of rwanda. The 1994 rwandan genocide was an event unique in the speed of killings and widespread participation of ordinary citizens in carrying out the massacre. Economist david yanagizawadrott used an econometric analysis of prosecution rates and radio coverage and found that approximately ten percent of the participation in the rwandan genocide can be attributed to radio broadcasts, corresponding to an estimated 50,000 murders. Apr, 2019 the governments propaganda machinery had carried out its task meticulously. The united states did almost nothing to try to stop it u. Rwanda genocide of 1994, planned campaign of mass murder in rwanda that occurred over the course of some 100 days in apriljuly 1994. The use of propaganda in the rwandan genocide is central to the genocide being able to happen at all. In the rwandan genocide, the main source of antitutsi propaganda was the radio station radio television libre des mille collines. In a study we conducted for the politics of genocide, we found that the 1994 mass killings in rwanda were referred to as genocide more frequently than in any other theater of atrocitiesi. Propaganda played a critical role in the implementation and execution of the 1994 rwandan genocide. Four weeks later, all the demons descended on rwanda. This paper investigates the role of mass media in the spread of violence by estimating the e. Approximately one million of people, mainly in tutsi, were killed during the. When president habyarimana was shot, the station called for the extermination of the cockroaches, referring to the tutsis.

Propaganda in the bosnian and rwandan genocides genocide. The rwandan genocide was a genocidal mass slaughter of the tutsis by the hutus that took place in 1994 in the east african state of rwanda. Similarly, yanagizawadrott 50 shows that the main radio station broadcasting propaganda during the rwandan genocide significantly increased participation in violence. Estimates suggest that in just 100 days, conflict between the hutu majority and tutsi minority resulted in the killing of between 500,000 and 1. In june 1993 a new radio station called radiotelevision libre des mille collines rtlmc began broadcasting in rwanda the station was rowdy and used street language there were disc jockeys, pop music and phoneins. Much of the propaganda is from modern sources and indicate inconsistencies in the message of the propagandists. Hate radio antitutsi articles and graphic cartoons began appearing in the kangura newspaper from around 1990.

Two major radio stations transmitted hate propaganda to the illiterate masses radio rwanda, and radio television des milles collines rtlm. Debate continues about the medias role in driving rwandas. On the eve of the tenth anniversary of the rwanda genocide, the school of journalism and communication at carleton university in ottawa hosted a oneday symposium on march 2004, entitled the media and the rwanda genocide. Rwandan media played a key role in fomenting ethnic divisions and sowing the seeds of mass slaughter in the years leading up to and the 100 days of the 1994 genocide. How was the radio station rtlm used as a political tool for the hutu extremists. Propaganda and practice hrw report leave none to tell the. Apr 04, 2019 media caption bbc news reports show how the story of the genocide emerged. Through the use of propaganda and constant political maneuvering, habyarimana, who was the president at the time, and his group increased divisions between hutu and tutsi by the end of 1992.

The governments propaganda machinery had carried out its task meticulously. The radio station rtlm, allied with leaders of the government, had been inciting hutus against the tutsi minority, repeatedly describing the latter. The term became ingrained in the public sphere as almost every single kangura edition, hate radio rtlm and outspoken politicians claiming to. Genocide introduction in 1994 rwanda experienced the worst genocide in modern times. The intensive propaganda campaign fueled and funded by hutu extremists successfully spread hate speech that would prove remarkably essential and effective before, during, and. The rwandan genocide, also known as the genocide against the tutsi, was a mass slaughter of tutsi, twa, and moderate hutu in rwanda, which took place between 7 april and 15 july 1994 during the rwandan civil war in 1990, the rwandan patriotic front rpf, a rebel group composed of tutsi refugees, invaded northern rwanda from their base in uganda, initiating the rwandan civil war. Oct 25, 2006 the propaganda section of the human rights watch report, for example, provides some in depth analysis of how the media in rwanda was used and played a role in the genocide, and how propaganda was employed in a variety of ways. Coming to terms with the genocide has not been easy for the rwandan people. The rwandan genocide was a nationwide extermination campaign led by the countrys government and members of the hutu political elite. What propaganda was used in the sudan genocide answers. This article investigates the role of mass media in times of conflict and statesponsored mass violence against civilians. This thesis demonstrates that this enemy image was created through the use of different propaganda techniques that resemble the seven characteristics that spillman and.

The intensive propaganda campaign fueled and funded by hutu extremists successfully spread hate speech that would prove remarkably essential and effective before, during, and after the genocide. Apr 04, 2016 while the grounds for their policy of genocide is the concept of jihad, the tools used are pure propaganda and a meticulously built brand. Propaganda in the rwandan genocide thomas hauschildt junior fellow, humanitarian intervention centre matthew lower junior fellow, humanitarian intervention centre this year marks the 20th anniversary of the beginning of the rwandan genocide. During the 1994 rwandan genocide, radio broadcasts played an important role in inciting ordinary citizens to take part in the massacres of their tutsi, and moderate hutu, neighbours. Both prior to and during the rwandan genocide, the radio station radio television libre des mille collines rtlm was used as an instrument to create a tutsi. The rwandan genocide serves as a stark reminder how little the international community has learnt from the horrors of the holocaust. Dec 03, 2014 a 2014 paper published in the quarterly journal of economics, propaganda and conflict. The problem at stake that will guide the writing of this thesis is. Genocide is an essentially contested concept that is hard to define. The hutus used newspapers and radios to spread their hate of the tutsi to other hutus. In the years leading up to the 1994 genocide against the tutsi, the government used all its propaganda machinery to spread bigotry and hatred of the tutsi. The drum was both a usual signal of attack and the instrument used to keep all the dancers moving to the same rhythm. We use a unique villagelevel data set from the rwandan genocide to estimate the impact of a popular radio station that encouraged violence against the tutsi. They used harsh words to describe the tutsi and used fear of the tutsi to generate hate which they, the hutus, would further stir up to get hutus to mass.

Apr 28, 2014 rwandan media played a key role in fomenting ethnic divisions and sowing the seeds of mass slaughter in the years leading up to and the 100 days of the 1994 genocide. As the brutal killings continued, the world stood idly by and just watched the slaughter. A group of tutsi exiles formed a rebel group, the rwandan patriotic front rpf, which invaded rwanda in 1990 and. That was the propaganda that claimed a life of millions. The genocide was conceived by extremist elements of rwandas majority hutu population who planned to kill the minority tutsi population and anyone who opposed those genocidal intentions. These are the broadcasts which aired in 1994 during the rwandan genocide, which took place from april through early july of that year and in which 800,000 tutsis. In order to discuss the source of the rwandan genocide it is important to analyse the nature of the concept so that it can be applied with the aim of establishing why the genocide took place when it did and whether an ancient ethnic hatred was the origin of the rwandan genocide. In fact, after the nazi holocaust and the rwandan genocide, international tribunals convicted media professionals of international crimes. Hate radio prepared the rwandan people for genocide by. Lasting 100 days, the rwandan genocide left approximately 800,000 tutsis and hutu sympathizers dead. While the grounds for their policy of genocide is the concept of jihad, the tools used are pure propaganda and a meticulously built brand. Ambassador to the united nations samantha power, writing in 2002. Rwandan genocide took place in 1994 and it clearly depicts the way the radio was used as a tool of propaganda. The construction of hutu identity and the demonization of tutsis in rwandan radio had a direct impact on hutu participation in the genocide and their perception of tutsis.

It is considered the most organized genocide of the 20th century. Apr 01, 2019 in the weeks prior to the april 1994 genocide the station ramped up its antitutsi, prohutu propaganda. Broadcasters used increasingly dehumanising language to. The source of the mass murder stemmed from ethnic, political, and gendered divisions, that were all emphasized via media propaganda.

The rwandan genocide in the propaganda system, 20 year later the real news books, edward s. The results show that the broadcasts had a significant impact on participation in killings by both militia groups and ordinary civilians. This paper investigates the role of mass media in the spread of violence by estimating the effects of propaganda disseminated via radio during the 1994 rwandan. The genocide was conceived by extremist elements of rwanda s majority hutu population who planned to kill the minority tutsi population and anyone who opposed those genocidal intentions. During the 1994 genocide, rwandan women were subjected to sexual violence on a massive scale, perpetrated by members of the infamous hutu militia groups known as the interahamwe, by. How islamic state uses propaganda in the service of genocide.

The paper investigates these issues by estimating the e. Oct 20, 2014 the united states did almost nothing to try to stop it u. Through the use of propaganda and constant political maneuvering, habyarimana, who was the president at the time, and his group increased divisions between hutu and. When the presidents plane crashed, propaganda and media were used effectively and efficiently to blame the tutsis.

Over the course of approximately 100 days from the. Rwanda shows how hateful speech leads to violence the atlantic. A 2014 paper published in the quarterly journal of economics, propaganda and conflict. Isis, out of all terrorist organisations, was the first to use modern communication technologies social media, the internet so consistently and on such a wide scale to promote its activities. How it played a role in the rwandan genocide in april of 1994, the genocide of more than 800,000 hutu and tutsi people in rwanda began. We use a unique villagelevel dataset from the rwandan genocide to estimate the impact of a popular radio station that encouraged violence against the tutsi minority population. Radio propaganda during the rwandan genocide planet news. Yet it is an open question whether and how propaganda that explicitly encourages violence against a certain group can, in fact, directly induce violence against that group. Media caption bbc news reports show how the story of the genocide emerged. This article investigates the role of mass media in the spread of violence by estimating the effects of propaganda disseminated via radio during the 1994 rwandan genocide. Hutu extremists used propaganda to breed ethnic tension within rwanda and to mobilize hutus to participate in the killing. Both prior to and during the rwandan genocide, the radio station radiotelevision libre des mille collines rtlm was used as an instrument to create a tutsi enemy image. In the weeks prior to the april 1994 genocide the station ramped up its antitutsi, prohutu propaganda. It was used to set the scene for the mass killing frohardt and temin 2003b.