Podcast Script Trials May and Tenley

Podcast Transcript

Exploring the Past with Tenley and May

Episode 38: “Dear White People, is not your personal Disneyland”

*Fade in a soft and light background music (non-copyrighted) that will stay on throughout the

entire podcast*

Tenley:

“Hello, and welcome to Exploring the Past with Tenley and May!

Your hosts are Tenley and May, two amatuer historians who like to learn about history in their free time and want to share it with you!

This is episode 38, and tonight's topic is “Dear White People, Rwanda is not your personal Disneyland.”

In this podcast, we take a look at Rwanda pre- and post the 1994 genocide. Using the case of Paul Rusesabagina, a man who saved hundreds of people during the genocide in 1994 and was recently arrested in Rwanda on charges of just a few months ago, we are looking at the and how both the international community and Rwanda have attempted to move forward through measures of transitional justice. We will give you some context on how events in Rwanda unfolded, how the International Criminal Tribunal for

Rwanda, also called ICTR, tried to move beyond the genocide and what lasting effects we see today - for the international community and for Rwanda domestically, guided by the case of Paul

Rusesabagina. We hope to tell the audience about major cases throughout the trial that set important precedents for , and will simultaneously highlight the shortcomings of the ICTR as a tool of transitional justice.

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We hope you enjoy this podcast!

Content Warning: Please be aware that this episode contains depictions of violence that may be disturbing or upsetting to our listeners.”

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*Audio clip from *

“Paul Rusesabagina : I am glad that you have shot this footage and that the world will see it. It

is the only way we have a chance that people might intervene.

Jack : Yeah and if no one intervenes, is it still a good thing to show?

Paul Rusesabagina : How can they not intervene when they witness such atrocities?

Jack : I think if people see this footage they'll say, "Oh my God that's horrible," and then go on

eating their dinners.”

*Fade back in background music*

Tenley:

“That was an audio clip from the movie Hotel Rwanda, which is based on events from the 1994 Rwandan Genocide.

The West has long upheld the Rwandan Genocide and the ICTR as an example of how to deal with post-conflict reconciliation through legal pathways. We learn about the numbers of indicted and convicted individuals and how the ICTR has set so many legal precedents for genocides, but let us take a closer look at how the West has gotten everything wrong - once again.

But first, some background: Following the assassination of President Habyarimana on April 6, 1994, the African country of Rwanda descended into civil war and genocide. Hutu

Page 2 of 11 Podcast Script Trials May and Tenley extremists and the Rwandan Armed Forces launched an extermination campaign against moderate Hutu and the entire ethnic minority. Today, the genocide is over, but ethnic tensions remain and the country (misspeaks country as company) suffers from a lack of stability.

This is exemplified by the recent imprisonment and charge of terrorism against Paul

Rusesabagina, a fierce opponent to the current government under President in

Rwanda that has been in place since the end of the genocide 27 years ago.1”

May:

“So, what was the Rwandan Genocide? For anyone who does not know, - and if you are a

Westerner, your knowledge will likely be limited on this - the Rwandan Genocide was a result of divisions between the country's two main ethnic groups, which were randomly created by

European colonizers.2 The Rwandan government, at the time controlled by extremist members of the Hutu ethnic majority, launched a systemic campaign to wipe out the Tutsi ethnic minority, slaughtering more than 800,000, eight zero zero zero zero zero, people over the course of a 100 days, according to the United Nations.3 Victims were predominantly , cockroaches as they were referred to, and that were protecting them, Hutus that were called traitors.

Rusesabagina’s role throughout the genocide and his ascent to a hero-like image is based on his mixed Hutu and Tutsi blood as well as the Tutsi ethnicity of his wife. He used his job as the manager of the Hotel des Mille Collines and his connections with the Hutu elite to protect the hotel's guests from massacre and offered refuge to many Tutsis, ultimately saving twelve hundred Rwandans.4 His story was later immortalized in the movie "Hotel Rwanda" with

American actor 's portrayal of Rusesabagina, and if you have watched this movie:

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Congratulations - You took one step towards learning how the international community has failed Rwanda and how it continues to be responsible, at least partially, for the genocide and everything that came after.”

Tenley:

“And what came after is what we want to delve deeper into today. The United Nations decided to establish an international criminal tribunal through Security Council resolution number 955,5 which came to be known as the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, or the

ICTR. It was based in , and charged with the mission of prosecuting individuals that commited war crimes and crimes against humanity during Rwanda’s genocide. The main purpose of this establishment was to quote: "put an end to such crimes and to take effective measures to bring to justice the persons (...) responsible for them" unquote. The ICTR was the first international court of its kind to prosecute high-ranking officials for violations of human rights and humanitarian law. Perhaps, the UN believed that creating such an international criminal justice mechanism would counter some of the responsibility that they had to shoulder for their failure to intervene before and during the genocide. After all, it was the UN who decided to pull out all of its people, instead of trying to stop the bloodshed that they could see coming; it was the UN who ignored the many cries for help from the Tutsis and watched passively as hundreds of thousands of Rwandans were murdered. Does the ICTR’s years of work in any way make up for the fatal negligence on the part of the international community? We don’t think so, but you should decide for yourself.”

May:

“Today we want to highlight three different cases that make the ICTR stand out internationally. One of the most remarkable cases that the ICTR sat on was on the role of the

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Page 4 of 11 Podcast Script Trials May and Tenley media, also known as the Media Case. The ICTR became the first international tribunal to hold members of the media responsible for broadcasts intended to inflame the public to commit acts of genocide. Radio transmissions were widely used to incite Hutus to betray their fellow countrymen. This trial was the first time since Nuremberg that the role of the media was examined as a component of international criminal law and included three defendants, two leaders of the local radio station and the leader of the Kangura newspaper. The three Rwandans were convicted on counts of genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, direct and public incitement to commit genocide, and crimes against humanity and sentenced to 30, 35, and 35 years. One of them has died while serving his sentence.6 Again let us not forget though the role that the West played in letting such atrocities happen. Western states, such as the US, the UK, or

France could have silenced such inciting radio transmission - but chose not to. Allison des

Forges reported extensively about the West’s negligence in a report for Human Rights Watch.7 So while Rwandans were prosecuted for their incitement, the West was not prosecuted for their negligence and shared responsibility.”

Tenley:

“Another remarkable case by the ICTR was the Akayesu (Ah- ka- ayesu) case. Jean Paul

Akayesu was a mayor in Rwanda during the genocide, and he used his position and power to aid in the of the Tustis people and Hutu moderates in his area. Not only was this the first time that an individual was convicted based on the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and

Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, but it also established rape as an act of genocide, and therefore it could then be prosecuted as a war crime. Rape as part of genocide had been largely ignored in war trials previously, and now found itself in the spotlight with this case. The

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Page 5 of 11 Podcast Script Trials May and Tenley presiding judge proclaimed quote: ‘We want to send out a strong message that rape is no longer a trophy of war’ unquote. And a strong message they sent - at least to Akayesu, who is serving life in prison in Mali after having been found guilty of nine counts of genocide, direct and public incitement to commit genocide and crimes against humanity for extermination, murder, torture, rape and other inhumane acts.8 In addition to the important jurisprudence generated from the

Akayesu trial, the ICTR also set two major precedents in the trial against Jean Kam-ban-da, the

Prime Minister of the Interim Government of Rwanda throughout the entire 100 days of genocide. Kambanda was brought before the ICTR in October 1997 and pleaded guilty to six counts of genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, direct and public incitement to commit genocide, complicity in genocide, and crimes against humanity - basically anything to do with genocide. Kambanda’s guilty plea and subsequent conviction marked not only the first time in international law that a Head of Government was convicted of genocide, but also that an accused person acknowledged his guilt for genocide before an international criminal tribunal.9 Like

Akayesu, Kambanda is currently serving life imprisonment in Mali. The last judgment by the

ICTR was announced on December 20, 2012.10 But what is left of this transitional justice mechanism? Was it successful? And for whom?

May:

“And this is where we get to the jist of it - because this international tribunal can be seen as only having served to reconcile the responsibility felt by the international community. The international community that decided to leave a state to fail, fully aware that ethnic tensions were growing to become fatal. How did it really help Rwanda to move forward?”

Tenley:

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“From the perspective of the ICTR’s international law legacy, there are many important milestones that were accomplished. The tribunal succeeded in bringing to justice military chiefs, politicians, journalists, and administrative leaders involved in the genocide. The ICTR also drafted a large portion of the legislation that serves as a model for other courts worldwide today.

The ICTR’s Attorney General said that these courts can continue the very important fight against impunity in our world.11 With its sister international tribunals and courts, the ICTR played a pioneering role in the establishment of a credible international criminal justice system, and produced a substantial body of jurisprudence on genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, as well as forms of individual and superior responsibility. The three cases we talked about have set important precedents for international law in convicting individuals of even the highest rank of acts of genocide and genocidal rape. These precedents have been implemented mostly by the International Criminal Court, whose establishment in 1998 was in part prompted by the ICTR.12 Perhaps the failure of the international community to stop the Rwandan Genocide has humiliated the international arena enough that they will to not ignore another genocide. But perhaps that’s also just the view of optimistic White people.”

May:

“For Rwanda, in fact, the legacy of the ICTR probably is very limited and its efforts toward reconciliation almost nonexistent. The tribunal was criticized for its lack of instituting reparations for victims and its location outside Rwanda.13 Though domestic proceedings were going on - and still are -, it can be seen as very problematic that the most prolific perpetrators were not prosecuted by Rwandans themselves. In a way, agency was taken away from this country in the process of recovering. Another criticism was that the tribunal handled a relatively

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Page 7 of 11 Podcast Script Trials May and Tenley small number of cases, while running on high operating costs. The trials were often lengthy and slowed down by bureaucratic processes. Most concerning though is how the ICTR served

Western interests, rather than Rwandan interests. The veteran journalist, Martin Semukanya, told the media company, Deutsche Welle, that the ICTR created, quote: “artificial justice.”14 The trials did not serve Rwandan reconciliation and transitional justice, but the advancing of the

Western-dominated international legal system. Few Rwandans know anything about the proceedings of the ICTR.15 No wonder then, that in the West we see the ICTR as groundbreakingly positive - it served the purposes the West was aiming for. Rosemary Byrne,

Senior Lecturer at Trinity College of Dublin, has talked about the risk of deep expectations followed by deep disappointments.16 In the ICTR’s case, the expectations were West-directed, the disappointments, in contrast, will be felt domestically by Rwandans. One such disappointment that came out of the ICTR is the lack of prosecutions of Tutsis of the militant Rwandan Patriotic

Front, who allegedly also committed crimes against humanity.17 This was the party in charge of

Rwanda post-genocide, which added a political sphere to the ICTR that should not have been there. This might have helped deepening the ethnic divisions that initially led to the genocide.

But let’s not be all negative… ’ Joshua Hammer, who has reported on Africa for decades recently wrote about what we are talking about now. Rwanda’s development has been remarkable. People have grown more prosperous and more literate.18 The

World Bank predicts that Rwanda could become a Middle Income Country by the year of 2035.19

In light of its atrocious past, such development indeed is noteworthy. But as all things are, this development does not have just one side to it. While economic development might have been

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Page 8 of 11 Podcast Script Trials May and Tenley impressive, political development is non-existent. Paul Kagame has stayed in power since the genocide and made it possible for himself in 2018 to serve a third term. Political discourse is virtually absent with Kagame having banned several opposition. While it is criminalized to deny the genocide, this seems to serve the ruling party, or ethnicity, the Tutsis.20 Such a stance further deepens the ethnic divisions that are forbidden to talk about. ”

Tenley:

“And this is why we need to talk about Paul Rusesabagina. He has called our attention to everything that has not been fixed in Rwanda since 1994. He stayed active in Rwandan politics from his exile abroad after the end of the genocide, and fiercely opposed the Rwandan Patriotic

Front, also known as the RPF, who has controlled the country since the end of the genocide. His recent arrest, in which he was basically kidnapped by Rwandan officials and flown into the country, has brought to light possible ambiguities about his character and definite ambiguities about the RPF and its president Paul Kagame, the group began ruling after the genocide but has not done a lot to improve the country in almost thirty years. Survivors from the Hotel Milles

Collines, the hotel Rusesabagina ran, have denounced Rusesabagina as an opportunist. They said that he extorted money from those seeking refuge and threatened to throw them out if they did not pay, which would have been a death sentence. Many of those interviewed by the NY Times alleged that much of the movie Hotel Rwanda, which is based on Rusesabagina’s actions during the genocide, is mostly artificial Hollywood propoganda.21 Whether such testimonies are genuine or are based on the propaganda that Kagame’s government has been advancing to create a new and negative narrative regarding Rusesabagina’s reputation is uncertain. What is certain, however, is that the political climate in Rwanda might look stable on the surface, but just like we

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Page 9 of 11 Podcast Script Trials May and Tenley see with Rusesabagina, not everything is how it seems. Rwandans continue to live in a state that is marred by political and ethnic instabilities, based on Western colonization and then subsequent non-interventionism. It is time for us to look at the ICTR and Rwanda nowaday more critically than the West has done in the past. We need to remain critical of the process - or lack thereof - of transitional justice in Rwanda after the genocide - particularly in light of the authoritarian characteristics that still continue to define Rwandan politics. Things still aren’t right, and the

West can’t take a rest. We need to keep our eyes open to the realities of this world.”

*Fade out background music*

*Audio clip from Hotel Rwanda*

Paul Rusesabagina: There will be no rescue, no intervention for us. We can only save ourselves.

Many of you know influential people abroad, you must call these people. You must tell them what will happen to us... say goodbye. But when you say goodbye, say it as if you are reaching through the phone and holding their hand. Let them know that if they let go of that hand, you will die. We must shame them into sending help.”

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Tenley:

“Thank you for listening to our podcast! Feel free to join us next week as we dive into the U.S. women’s suffrage movement of the early 1900s.”

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Bibliography:

● https://unictr.irmct.org/en/tribunal

● https://abcnews.go.com/International/paul-rusesabagina-called-hero-hotel-rwanda-now-a

ccused/story?id=76953569

● HRW Report - Leave None to Tell the Story: Genocide in Rwanda, March 1999

● https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/02/magazine/he-was-the-hero-of-hotel-rwanda-now-h

es-accused-of-terrorism.html?searchResultPosition=8

● Kendall, Sara et al. “Speaking of Legacy: Toward an Ethos of Modesty at the

International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.” The American Journal of International Law

110, no. 2 (2016): 212-232.

● https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-rwanda-arrest-justice-explaine-idUSKBN22U1

JI

● https://www.thoughtco.com/location-of-conflict-tutsis-and-hutus-3554918

● https://www.dw.com/en/ictr-a-tribunal-that-failed-rwandan-genocide-victims-and-survivo

rs/a-51156220

● https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-35070220

● https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/05/18/rwanda-major-step-toward-justice-genocide#

● https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/03/28/rwanda-justice-after-genocide-20-years#

● https://legal.un.org/avl/ha/ictr/ictr.html

● https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-54147759

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● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nglCttF3Gy8

● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psW7sLoNutA

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