Post-conflict Media intervention type 4 and 5
Genocide on Trial is a multi-phase media project launched to bring information to Rwandans on both the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and their own justice system. The basic rationale for the project is that peace and reconciliation will only be possible in Rwanda when those who suffered sense that justice has been done. The first phase of the project was the production of a documentary film, The Arusha Tapes, which focused on several trials that had been prosecuted at the International Tribunal. During the second phase, a series of newsreels are produced which provide additional information on the efforts to bring the accused to justice, and also examine the reactions of Rwandans to these efforts. A new newsreel of this genre is produced bi-monthly, so that the Rwandan public have access through the films current information on justice being rendered, and have an opportunity to voice their concerns and opinions through the series. A third dimension not yet implemented, is the production of a documentary film which traces the process of Gacaca, a community based justice initiative, in Rwanda from the elections of community judges, the training of these judges, and the initial trials. This film will be toured throughout the country in the same manner as the currently produced newsreels.
When a society has been torn apart by a trauma of the magnitude of the genocide that occurred in Rwanda in 1994, how is it possible to move on? No one knows the answer for certain, but one organisation, Internews, believes that it can contribute to the reconciliation process by providing the Rwandan public with information on the slow process of bringing those accused of complicity in the murder of some 800,000 Rwandan citizens to justice. Internews, an international non-profit organisation that supports open and independent media in emerging democracies and conflict zones world-wide, developed a multi-phase media project called Genocide on Trial to bring information to Rwandans on both the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and their own justice system.
By capturing and bringing the work of the ICTR to Rwanda, Genocide on Trial aims to lay the foundation for a genuine nation-wide dialogue on justice, at all levels of Rwandan society. The process seeks especially to give voice to those who feel excluded from current judicial proceedings.
The media environment
There is some irony in the fact that Internews is attempting to work toward
reconciliation through a media project, because radio played a crucial role
in the 1994 genocide. Radio Tele Libre Mille Collines was used as a vehicle
to stir up ethnic hatred and to encourage Hutus to kill their Tutsi neighbours.
Several of those associated with the radio station are now on trial or awaiting
trial, accused of complicity in the crimes committed in 1994.
For the most part the broadcast media now operating in Rwanda are state-controlled and operate in an atmosphere of suspicion as a result of the past abuses. Radio Rwanda is a state-owned network, broadcasting in English, French, Kinyarwanda (the dominant Rwandan language)and Swahili. Television Rwandaise (TVR), also state-owned, reaches more than 60 per cent of the country. In June 2002 a law was passed that allows for the licensing of private radio and TV stations. Foreign broadcasts, including Voice of America, Deutsche Welle and the BBC can also be heard in the capital, Kigali.
Since 1994, more than fifteen newspapers, primarily weeklies, have begun publishing, but they are subject to government-imposed restrictions, and as a result, they tend to exercise self-censorship. There is no daily newspaper in the country and virtually no access to newspapers in the rural areas. Two news agencies also operate in Rwanda -the Rwanda News Agency which is pro-government, and Orinfor, a government information agency.
Phase one: the Arusha Tapes
The first phase in the project was the production of a documentary film called
The Arusha Tapes, which focuses on several trials that have been concluded at
the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. The film puts the process into
context by also including footage from the 1994 genocide, and providing background
information on genocide during World War II, the creation of the United Nations,
and the 1995 establishment of the ICTR by the UN Security Council.
"In Rwanda, reconciliation cannot take hold until people believe that justice is being served," says Mark Frohardt, Africa regional director for Internews. "Because Rwandan citizens get so little information about the ICTR, there tends to be a focus on the negatives and an ongoing sense that the international community is not serious about genocide in Africa. What we are doing here is making it possible for Rwandan citizens to make informed evaluations of the justice process and register their views with those responsible for implementing justice both at the national and international levels." An integral part of the Internews project has been to screen The Arusha Tapes throughout Rwanda. The documentary has been driven around Rwanda in a video- equipped van and screened for audiences assembled by civic organisations. And the film has been shown not only to survivors living in Rwandan towns and village, but has also been screened in Rwandan prisons where approximately 120,000 people accused of complicity in the murders await trial. Well over 120,000 Rwandans have seen the film. Until the film had been shown, the reactions, confessions, defiance, indifference and remorse of those on trial had never been seen by most Rwandans.
Internews says that the act of witness, response and reaction is central to the project of Genocide on Trial, and the production team has documented these largely unprecedented occasions, in which Rwandans have engaged both the events of the genocide and the international effort to prosecute those responsible for them. Audience feedback has been gathered at every screening, with videotaped interviews of audience members as well as written documentation of their comments. The film was directed by South African filmmaker Mandy Jacobsen, with funding (approximately $500,000) provided by USAID, the government of Canada, the Office of War Crimes Issues within the U.S. Department of State, the Open Society Institute, the Soros Documentary Fund, the Samuel Rubin Foundation, and additional individual donors. "The project aims to lay the foundation for an ongoing, nationwide dialogue on justice at the grass roots level" says Jacobson.
Two members of the documentary crew were genocide survivors: consulting producer Louise Mushikiwabo, who now serves as president of the Rwandan's Children Fund, a US-based organisation raising funds to assist Rwandan high school teenagers orphaned by the genocide, and the field producer, Eugene Cornelius, who later worked for the Rwandan ministry of Justice on a programme to educate Rwandan citizens about the traditional court system called Gacaca.
The Arusha Tapes presents footage from the trials of several high officials, including former prime minister Jean Kambanda, who pleaded guilty to charges of genocide and was sentenced to life imprisonment, George Rutaganda, former vice-president of the Hutu-dominated Interahamwe militia and Clement Kayishema, a former provincial governor, as well as several lower ranking Rwandans - two mayors, two businessmen, and a local militia leader.
The film also provides some basic information on the scale of the genocide to people, including those who fled, went into hiding, or lived in areas less affected by the genocide, who may not have ever realised just how brutal the massacres of 1994 were.
The film was produced in Kinyarwanda, with versions also available in English. One of the primary goals of The Arusha Tapes is to give Rwandans a firsthand knowledge of the justice process at the UN court, which has been viewed with considerable scepticism by many Rwandans. A lack of news and information about events in Arusha has only increased that scepticism. Another aim of the film is to encourage debate on Rwanda's own justice system, including the community based Gacaca approach, which is now being used to expedite the huge backlog of cases against those accused of involvement in the 1994 crimes. Under Gacaca, the genocide suspects will be taken to the areas where they allegedly committed the crimes and be tried by a committee of respected village elders. "Ordinary people want to be engaged in the process of justice, but they know very little," says Eugene Cornelius. "I believe this project can be a tool to help us come to terms with the genocide. We are all living in its aftermath, whether we like it or not, and the ignorance and the silence about all that is going on do not help us in dealing with what happened."
One Rwandan who has in fact been critical of the decision to establish the ICTR outside of Rwanda, was nonetheless supportive of the effort to bring information about the tribunal to Rwanda. "I'm especially excited about the project because it will let people know of the international community's interest," said Aloisea Inyumba, former executive secretary of the National Commission for Unity and Reconciliation and current prefet for Kigali-Rural Province, after attending one of the first screenings of the film. "The educative process is very important and Internews' project enables that. People had reservations about the tribunal ... For those who have suffered genocide here, it's important to know the international community has contributed."
Follow-up: Rwanda and justice
In the present phase of the project, Internews produces bimonthly newsreels
to document various aspects of the justice process involving the 1994 genocide,
to bring that information to the Rwandan public, and to stimulate further discussion.
The newsreel series, call the 'Rwanda and Justice' series, focuses on various
aspects of the justice process: some of the earliest trials under the Gacaca
system; a trial in the Rwandan justice system where 33 defendants faced charges
at the same time; interviews with officials managing the ICTR witness protection
programme, the ICTR president, the chief ICTR prosecutor, the vice president
of the Rwandan Supreme Court, the Rwandan justice minister, and a defence attorney
representing one of the accused at the ICTR, the issue of rape as a genocide
crime, and several important cases heard before the Tribunal. It also shows
reactions of viewers who had seen The Arusha Tapes.
When viewers have raised questions during one newsreel, the producers attempt to answer those questions in subsequent newsreels. "This has created an ongoing dialogue," says Mark Frohardt, adding "Rwandans feel increasingly well-informed and empowered with the information that they have on the justice system."
Stage three: feature length documentary
The final stage in the project, still to be implemented, is to produce a feature-length
documentary on the Gacaca process, which follows the implementation and actual
trials of Gacaca during its first year. It will highlight responses from Rwandans
observing and participating in the difficult process of achieving justice and
healing the wounds of Rwanda's painful past.
Resources
www.cidcm.umd.edu/inscr/mar2/rwanda.htm (Minorities at Risk (MAR) project, Michael Dravis, 2/2/96, updates by Anne Pitsch (July 1997, July 1998)
www.africaaction.org/bp/ethcen.htm Talking about 'Tribe': Moving from Stereotypes to Analysis; Background Paper, Africa Policy Information Center, November, 1997
www.internews.org/activities/ICTR_reports/ICTR_reports.htm
www.cpj.org Committee to Protect Journalists. Country Reports: Rwanda. Committee to Protect Journalists: December 31, 1998
www.state.gov/www/global/human_rights/1999_hrp_report/rwanda.html US Department of State
1999 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Rwanda. Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor/U.S. Department of State: February 25, 2000
www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/NEH/rw-comm.html University of Pennsylvania/African Studies Center
Publishing and Press: Rwanda. University of Pennsylvania/African Studies Center: 1999
www.rnw.nl/realradio/dossiers/html/hateradioafricame.html Radio Netherlands
Counteracting Hate Radio. Radio Netherlands: August 23, 2000
www.freedomforum.org/news/2000/06/2000-06-02-05.asp The Associated Press. Journalist Sentenced for 'Hate Radio' Broadcasts. The Freedom Forum Online: June 2, 2000
http://www2.sn.apc.org/africa/ Jensen, Mike
AISI-Connect National ICT Profile: Rwanda. AISI-Connect Database: 1999