RTLM propaganda: the democratic alibi

Jean-Pierre Chrétien
December 28, 2010

Among the testimonials of partici- ding expansion and recruitment propa-

pants in the Rwanda genocide gathe- ganda », written by a Butare intellec-
red by journalist Jean Hatzfeld is this tual and later found by the team hea-
passage : Killing is very discouraging ded by human rights researcher Alison
if you must decide to do so yourself Des Forges (1999 : 65-6). The Muc-
... but if you are obeying orders from chielli manual explains – without mo-
the authorities, if you are adequately ral or ideological expectation – the me-
conditioned, if you feel pushed and pul- chanisms of mass conditioning and mo-
led, if you see that the carnage will bilization required to create a mass
have absolutely no adverse effects in movement. It describes methods for
future, you feel comforted and revita- moulding a good conscience based on
lized. You do it without shame ... We indignation toward an enemy percei-
envisaged this relief with no reluctance ved as a scapegoat. It describes such
whatsœver ... we were efficiently condi- tactics as « mirror propaganda » or
tioned by radio broadcasts and advice « accusations in a mirror », the no-
we heard. (Hatzfeld 2003 : 85) tion of ascribing to others what we our-
This psychology of killers perpetra- selves are preparing to do. The good
ting mass slaughter makes the most conscience would legitimize collective
sense not when it is seen as some action based on widespread certainty
kind of exotic, ethnocultural way of of being on the side of the strongest
thinking, but rather when situated and the just. In other words, the collec-
among the methods of an eminently tive action would be the embodiment
modern propaganda. The psychology of the “people”.
is explained in a handbook written by The fascination that some geno-
French psychosociologist Roger Muc- cide organizers displayed for Mucchiel-
chielli (1972), Psychologie de la Pu- li’s work is quite understandable. All
blicité et de la Propagande : Connais- the ingredients for such conditioning
sance du Problème, Applications Pra- existed in Rwanda : a low literacy rate,
tiques. A training handbook in the a proclivity for a unanimous partisan
field of humanities designed for psycho- approach surrounding moralistic asser-
logists, facilitators and leaders, it can tions, a well-established potential sca-
be found along with the rest of Muc- pegoat in the Tutsi minority and endu-
chielli’s works in the library of the Na- ring references to the ’majority people’
tional University of Rwanda, Butare. (rubanda nyamwinshi).
The handbook inspired a note « regar- From an ideologic point of view,

1
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this sociœthnic populism entailed the exploited by Radio-Télévision Libre

preeminence of the « Hutu people », des Milles Collines (RTLM) highlights
whose absolute right was based on the its obvious inclination to play on two
fact that this community constituted fronts. The first is associated with ra-
the majority (perceived as homoge- cist ardour against the Tutsi « co-
neous). The right was also based on ckroaches » and the second pertains
the assertion of the community’s indi- to the legitimacy of the elimination of
genous character, in contrast with the these « cockroaches » by the « majority
so-called foreign nature of the Tutsi people ». The first front, which is eth-
community (also seen as naturally ho- noracial, surfaces when journalists use
mogeneous). epithets such as « dogs » or « snakes »
From the early 1960s, this ideology when referring to Tutsi, accusing them
had infiltrated all spheres of public life of cannibalism and mercilessly welco-
in Rwanda, evolving from a distinc- ming their disappearance. It is also ap-
tive pre-colonial and colonial history parent when journalists start theori-
and the subsequent process of decolo- zing about the primacy of ethnic consi-
nization. It is impossible here to re- derations, about the final battle of the
view the details of twentieth century Bantu and Hima-Tutsi and about the
Rwandan history ; however, it seems need to eliminate people who do not
important to recognize that the roots have an identity card at checkpoints.
of the extremist propaganda that pre- In fact, the « interethnic » aspect of
pared and accompanied the genocide the conflict was emphasized near the
are twofold. First, the propaganda is end of the massacres and in the after-
set within a traditional socioracial po- math of the genocide as growing awa-
licy that had been refined for a genera- reness of international disapproval set
tion. Second, changes within Rwanda’s in. When he was questioned in Goma
political and social conditions in the in July 1994, Gaspard Gahigi, editor-
generation since independence meant in-chief of RTLM, invoked his right to
that, after 1990, the sense of belon- speak about the « ethnic problem » as
ging among the Hutu was no longer this problem led to the « humanita-
the sole factor leading to political mo- rian catastrophe » that was then un-
bilization. As a result, this propaganda folding in the refugee camps in eas-
was grounded in the sheer efficiency tern Zaire. On 3 July 1994, Kantano
of its arguments (combined with suf- Habimana, the most popular journa-
ficient provocation and violence) and list host on RTLM, was still advising
became a tool for disqualifying all his audience to « keep this small thing
opponents and for uniting the Hutu in your heart », meaning the intent
masses around the so-called Hutu Po- to eradicate the arrogant and ferocious
wer movement, thus facilitating « re- « hyenas » (Chrétien et al. 1995 :
cruitment and expansion ». From then 317).1
on, the use of democratic language be- When the French Operation Tur-
came a « technology » designed for to- quoise reached Rwanda in June, RTLM
talitarian mobilization, under the guise dispensed advice from « our intellec-
of freedom of speech – the democratic tuals » on the need to legitimize, for
alibi. the benefit of these foreign friends,
A review of the propaganda themes the role of barriers during « a war ».
 3

The station also advised of the ne- tano Habimana was defending the lo-
cessity to approach foreign journalists gic of Hutu Power to fight the logic
with great caution. « Today, everyone underlying the Arusha accords. « This
knows that it was an ethnic war »’ Ga- Rwanda is mine. I am of the majority.
higi explained on 15 May 1994 (Chré- It is I, first and foremost who will de-
tien 1995 : 137). In other words, racism cide, it is not you. »
is either coded or benignly portrayed The aim of this thesis regarding
as natural, in accordance with ethno- Hutu majority is very clear : to achieve,
graphic beliefs prevailing among Euro- through propaganda methods identi-
peans. According to this way of thin- fied earlier, a massive and violent mo-
king, hatred was quite natural between bilization of the Rwandan Hutu in sup-
these ethnic groups, public anger was port of extremist factions, such as the
spontaneous and authorities did eve- Coalition pour la Défense de la Répu-
rything in their power to prevent the blique (CDR), which was the soul of
worst from happening. This would be- RTLM. On 3 April 1994, Noël Hiti-
come the central theme of information mana spelled it out very clearly :
campaigns led by those who had close « The people are the actual shield.
ties to the genocidal regime and over- They are the truly powerful army ...
saw the refugee camps of Kivu between On the day when people rise up and
1994 and 1996. don’t want you [Tutsi] anymore, when
In the months preceding the geno- they hate you as one and from the bot-
cide – from October 1993 to April 1994 tom of their hearts, when you’ll make
– and during the slaughter in April them feel sick, I wonder how you will
and May 1994, the essential reference is escape. »
that of the majority people and the le- Hence, it was freely recognized that
gitimacy of self-defence against a « feu- the systematic slaughter of Tutsi was
dal clique ». The reference normalized legitimate : « The proof that we will
the massacre perpetrated by the ma- exterminate them is that they represent
jority, which becomes an expression of only one ethnic group. Look at one per-
democratic anger. « If the Hutu who son, at his height and physical features,
represent 90 per cent in our country look closely at his cute little nose and
... if we can be defeated by a clique then break it, » Kantano Habimana
of 10 per cent, the Tutsi population, it proclaimed on 4 June 1994 (Chrétien
means that we have not demonstrated 1995 : 193). As early as 13 May, he ob-
our full strength, » said the leader of served :
MRND, Joseph Nzirorera, on 28 May « The Tutsi are very few. They
1994 (Chrétien 1995 : 118-19). Just were estimated at 10 per cent. The war
two weeks earlier, on 14 May, Kantano must have brought them down to 8 per
Habimana talked about the fact that cent. Will these people really continue
« the small-size family in Rwanda » is to kill themselves ? Do they not risk ex-
that of the Inkotanyi [the RPF guer- termination if they persist in this sui-
rillas symbolizing all the Tutsi] ... « It cidal behaviour of throwing themselves
is a minuscule group descending from against far more numerous people ? »
those we call Tutsi. The Tutsi are few, (Chrétien 1995 : 205)
estimated at 10 per cent, » he ad- Three days later, Habimana pro-
ded. Already, on 23 March 1994, Kan- claimed the expected victory of the
 4

« Sons of the Cultivators » (Benesaba- of the periodical Kangura, was trying

hinzi, meaning the Hutu) who « slowly to do : to restore the logic of sociora-
exterminate » their enemies. These cial mobilization, which had been so ef-
types of declarations of war, label- ficient 30 years earlier.
ling the disappearance of the Tutsi As Parmehutu did in the 1960s,
a « mass suicide », were widespread. the extremists in 1993-94 likened their
They weave together the notions of de- actions to those that took place du-
mographic strength, the certainty of ring the great European revolutionary
victory and the good conscience of a and liberation movements, such as the
citizen’s struggle. As it had claimed French Revolution. For example, on
since October 1993, RTLM aimed to 17 June 2004, just as the French go-
« tell the truth » – the truth of numbers vernment had announced its plan to
and the truth of right. Georges Ruggiu, intervene, Kantano Habimana compa-
Belgian announcer for French-language red « the final war in progress » to
broadcasts on RTLM, calmly explai- the French Revolution (Chrétien 1995 :
ned at the end of June that, as repor- 331). On 30 June, Georges Ruggiu, re-
ted by Radio France International, 50 ferring to the « furious population »,
people killed in a commune merely re- stated : « Has Robespierre not done
present 9 per cent of the population of exactly the same in France ? » (Chré-
the commune, which is « approximately tien 1995 : 204). On 3 June, RTLM
the proportion of individuals who might editor-in-chief Gaspard Gahigi awai-
have helped the RPF ». In other words, ted international assistance, which he
their eradication was normal. Hence, equated to the Normandy landings of
we should be talking about the « me- 1944 (Chrétien 1995 : 331). It would
dia of genocide » rather than the « hate also be appropriate to consider the di-
media » because they were conveying vine justifications that were invoked,
and justifying cold and deliberate pro- whereby God, the Holy Family and the
paganda. Virgin Mary were all mobilized for the
The democratic alibi that this pro- sacred cause of the Hutu people (Chré-
paganda so busily sustains is also dis- tien and Rafiki 2004 : 283).
cernible in historical references. For This calculated populism was desi-
example, on 23 May 1994, RTLM, via gned to « awaken » the Hutu masses.
Ananie Nkurunziza (closely associated It also served to comfort the usual
with the police and acting as an in- biases that prevailed in France and in
tellectual analyst), linked the prevai- Belgium, notably within democratic-
ling circumstances with all that hap- Christian circles and also among lef-
pened in Rwanda between 1959 and tists, about the nature of the Rwandan
1967, that is, the way in which a so- regime. In Western media there is an
called « social » revolution had been apparent intertwining of ethnographic
accompanied by populist movements analysis (atavistic antagonisms, etc.)
against the Tutsi (including the acts of and a « democratic » interpretation
genocide of December 1963 to January of « majority power », to the extent
1964, perpetrated in Gikongoro). In his that during the 1980s, President Ha-
view, these acts arose from « a realiza- byarimana was often portrayed as a
tion » or « an awakening ». That is pre- democratic state leader, a representa-
cisely what RTLM, pursuing the work tive of the Hutu majority. Other fac-
 5

tors defining democratic culture (hu- French army, alludes to « popular exul-
man rights, respect for minorities, re- tation », « the relief of villagers » and
fusal to recognize the exclusion of com- the concern of « Rwandan authorities »
munities, rule of law, social justice) to « track down the enemies of the
were considered to be ancillary under nation who threaten the population »
the tropical sky. (Hélène 1994). On 4 July, French mis-
Georges Ruggiu’s biography is sionary Father Maindron, even though
mainly the account of a young Third he had witnessed events in the Kibuye
World activist who, when he first lan- region, declared to a French journa-
ded in Kigali, compared the suburbs of list that the killing was « a sponta-
the capital to the Brazilian favelas he neous popular rage » (Luizet 1994).
had visited.2 In Belgium, he had had He was echœd by the prefect of Cyan-
the opportunity through the social- gugu, when he talked to French sol-
Christian movement to mingle with diers about « legitimate self-defence ...
Rwandan militant students who were against an enemy from within » (Smith
members of the sole party (MRND). As 1994).
if spontaneously, without possessing an What is manifest today is the ob-
extensive knowledge of Rwandan his- vious continuum from the propaganda
tory, he adhered to the dogmas of the devised by RTLM through to current
majority people and of a democracy theses denying the genocide. In fact,
that in his view would be set back these viewpoints do not attempt to
by the Arusha compromise. His popu- deny the massacres, but rather to jus-
list beliefs almost naturally connected tify them in terms of « ethnic hatred »,
with the racial ideology of the extre- « spontaneous rage », « legitimate po-
mists with whom he associated. pular uprising » or « international dis-
From a broader standpoint, we information ». An editorial by Jacques
know that this belief was also brought Amalric (1994) was prescient :
forth by President Mitterrand to vin- « Are we next going to lend cre-
dicate France’s steadfast support for dence to Capitaine Baril’s utterances,
Habyarimana and later for the Kam- who would have Tutsi being respon-
banda government, including the Ope- sible for their own extermination ...
ration Turquoise endeavour. When sur- We can fear the worst, after hearing
veying the French written press in May the content of some private conversa-
and June 1994, one notices that various tions, supposedly held confidentially :
articles printed in Le Monde, Libéra- “Things are not as simple as you be-
tion or Le Nouvel Observateur com- lieve. It is not a question of all inno-
bine ethnographic factors (under the cents on one side and culprits on the
« old demon » of Hutu-Tutsi anta- other.” »
gonism) with suggestions of « popu- In fact, racist propaganda wea-
lar defence ». One Belgian media re- ring the mask of democracy – the
port plainly condemned the « sanctio- common thread of extremist media –
ned racism » prevalent in Rwanda and was also voiced by official channels
within a number of the country’s Wes- and managed to find assent, whether
tern partners (Cros 1994). On 26 June, through distraction or genuine conver-
reporter Jean Hélène from Le Monde, sion, among Western partners. This
who was on site in Cyangugu with the would largely explain why it took two
 6

months to clearly identify, in Western ned in our book les médias du génocide
media, the nature of the events taking (Chrétien et al. 1995), we indicated the
place in Rwanda. The president of Mé- appropriate page number.
decins Sans Frontières very adequately 2 Ruggiu, G. Dans la tourmente
summarized the situation : « Neither rwandaise. Unpublished journal. 127
France, nor the international commu- pp. This journal was presented as evi-
nity gave themselves the means to cha- dence to the International Criminal
racterize the genocide and to promptly Tribunal for Rwanda on 16 June 2003
assume its implications » (Biberson as exhibit no. K0269165-K0269292.
1994). REFERENCES
Alfred Grosser (1989) wrote : « No, Amalric, J. 1994. Génocide et neu-
it is not true that the slaughter of Afri- tralité. Libération, 5 July.
cans is felt in the same way as is the Biberson, P. 1994. Rwanda : le
slaughter of Europeans. » This rings piège humanitaire. Le Figaro, 15 July.
terribly true in the case of Rwanda. Chrétien, J.P., J.F. Dupaquier, M.
Although this could be blamed on a le- Kabanda and J. Ngarambe. 1995.
vel of indifference toward far away tra- Rwanda : les médias du génocide. Kar-
gedies, more likely it is due to signi- thala (with Reporters Sans Frontières),
ficant exotic ethnographic factors that Paris, France.
still hinder a more sensible perception
Chrétien, J.P. and U. Rafiki. 2004,
of African societies. But first and fore-
L’église de Kibeho au Rwanda, lieu de
most in this case, it is because of the
culte ou lieu de mémoire du génocide
effectiveness of modern propaganda –
de 1994 ? Revue d’histoire de la Shoah,
propaganda that was well thought out,
181, July-December (Génocides lieux
constructed, refined and of unyielding
et non-lieux de mémoire) : 277-90.
efficiency, both within and outside the
Cros, M.F. 1994. Un racisme de
country. This propaganda succeeded in
bon aloi. La Libre Belgique, 1 June.
camouflaging genocide and making it
appear to be a vast democratic mobili- Des Forges, A. 1999. Leave None to
zation, consequently trapping an entire Tell the Story : Genocide in Rwanda.
population. Human Rights Watch and the Inter-
NOTES national Federation of Human Rights
1 The RTLM broadcasts cited in Leagues, New York, NY, USA.
this article were transcribed from tape Grosser, A. 1989. Le crime et la mé-
recordings used during preparation of moire. Flammarion, Paris, France.
expert testimony for the Media Trial in Hatzfeld, J. 2003. Une saison de
2002 by J.F. Dupaquier, M. Kabanda, machettes. Le Seuil, Paris, France.
J. Ngarambe and J.P. Chrétien. The Hélène, J. 1994. Liesse chez les Hu-
tapes that remain are part of the docu- tus, soulagement chez les Tutsis. Le
mentation of the International Crimi- Monde, 26-7 June.
nal Tribunal for Rwanda. We have no- Luizet, F. 1994. Le ’journal de guer-
ted variations in the numbering of the re’ du père Maindron. Le Figaro, 4
tapes between 2000 and 2002. Thus ci- July.
tations are based on the date of broad- Mucchielli, R. 1972. Psychologie de
cast and the name of the journalist. la publicité et de la propagande. Les
When the transcripts were also mentio- éditions ESF, Paris, France.
 7

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