Kangura No. 56 Editorial Where Will Another United Nations Contingent Come From After the One Deployed Now Goes Home Empty-Handed ? [English translation] Hassan Ngeze Kangura, February 1994 Unamir troops will re- will quickly fade into oblivion with- turn after over thirty of out knowing it. That is why out of the over one hundred newspapers that them have been killed were founded, not more than five have survived. The only reason is that some It is usually said that we predict the take up the profession just to earn a future, but the present revelation by living, without conviction or love of the Kangura is categorical. We have al- profession. ways held that the journalist that the people need is one who is capable of analyzing the time, on the basis of his- How did the Inkotanyi tory, while contemplating the present and predicting the future. By so doing, newspapers cease to ap- he appreciates the good things and dis- pear? approves of the bad. This is how Kan- gura’s articles have become successful. We started the private press in 1985, But credit for the success of Kangura over nine years ago. We [Hassan Ngeze does not go only to a single individual and Vincent Ravi Rwabukwisi] were but equally to the behavior of the jour- the first to realize the need for a pri- nalists and those supporting the pub- vate press. On the spot, we found lication. publications like Kinyamateka, Dia- logue and other government newspa- pers. As we loved the profession, we How does the press were even undaunted by the danger succeed? we incurred, namely death and im- prisonment. With time, we continued Journalism is quite an arduous task. to teach the Rwandan population the If you plunge headlong into that pro- principles of democracy and how to fession without careful thought, you fight for their rights. 1 2 Going back to the private newspa- even if they are promoted and realize pers we mentioned earlier, their jour- that they no longer need you, they will nalists were not free, as they were in not even grant you audience at your the employ of others. So much was ex- request. Those are the sort of papers pected from those of us who were self- that publish things of which they are employed. not convinced. It happens for this cat- Following our imprisonment at the egory of papers to want to change their beginning of this war, several publica- style, but then they cannot find pa- tions were founded to sing the praises trons, as they are blamed for following of the R.P.F. by declaring that the no apparent trend. Those papers keep R.P.F. would win the war; that it switching their support from one per- had already won the war; that the son to the other. How then can anyone R.P.F. was the future of Rwandans; help you? that the majority was worth noth- Thus, someone who passed for a ing. Those newspapers kept on in- journalist will not even dare to read the sulting Habyarimana. Now that the old articles he wrote without adopt- truth has come to light, and the Hutus ing the content. It is therefore obvious have united as Kangura urged them that there is no honest politician. His to do, those newspapers serving the relationships are in terms of his inter- Inkotanyi have stopped appearing, in- ests. When his goals are not attained, cluding those that made it a point of he sets you at loggerheads with the insulting President Habyarimana. And people and, often, you die in his stead. the simple reason is that the insults are When you both stumble on a group of no longer needed. The days of even the people, they kill you and spare him. newspapers still appearing are num- When you are thrown into prison, he bered. does not visit you, nor does he visit the family you left behind. In politics it is give and take. Journalists and politi- cians Why are the United Na- One of the factors putting those news- tions forces blamed? papers out of business is that they were solely serving the interests of politi- As we have often said in Kangura since cians, without living up to people’s the signing of the Arusha Accords, we expectations When the politician fi- clearly stated the problem in Rwanda. nally attains his goals, he cannot even The problem in Rwanda is ethnic, give you a lift in his car. When the a problem between Hutus and Tut- money provided by the politicians to sis. The negotiators chose not to ad- fund your newspaper runs out, your dress the problem and spent their time paper will no longer appear. This is telling lies. What happened was that because you were not serving the inter- the Rwandan State declared to the ests of the population, but rather those whole world that there was no ethnic of the politicians. Besides the fact that problem in the country. The Inkotanyi they may be relieved of their functions, also lied by saying that there was no 3 ethnic problem within the R.P.F. But olate the Accords even before those in the private lounges, the negotiators who rejected them. Thus the problem traded lies, whereas each party was suf- between Hutus and Tutsis within the fering. We in Kangura like to say that P.L., M.D.R. and P.S.D. is putting the when two elephants fight, it is the [big- country to fire and the sword. How ger one?] that suffers. That is ex- is it possible for Ngurinzira and Nsen- actly how innocent peasants have got- giyaremye to be the first to condemn ten killed under Accords in which they the Accords they negotiated from be- had no hand. ginning to end? What should be done? Kangura said from the early stages of the war that the R.P.F. ought to acknowledge The international com- that it was talking on behalf of the Tut- munity was also led into sis and expose all the injustices com- mitted against them. Where necessary, error it should convene a Tutsi congress and compile a list of all the injustices com- The United Nations forces came to mitted against them. Regarding the Rwanda as an intervention force be- posts allocated in Arusha, it should tween two adversaries in conflict. be written in the instruments govern- The rules governing their presence in ing our State organs that the Tutsis Rwanda provide that the troops re- should occupy 40% of all the admin- turn to the troop-contributing coun- istrative positions, including the Army tries, should hostilities resume. This and 60% must go to the Hutus who are means that should war resume, the in the majority. It must also be stipu- Hutus and Tutsis would exterminate lated that for a party to be legalized, each other and the illiterate peasants membership should include both eth- would meet with an atrocious death. nic groups, the same applying to the The two signatories to the Accords party executive organs. Thus the prob- would be mutually decimated and mis- lem between Hutus and Tutsis would understanding would prevail owing to be resolved. ill-conceived accords. What is more, in that event, the signatories or those who negotiated the accords would perish in the fighting, whereas they did not fore- What is the crux of the see that the Arusha Accords were like matter? a house built on a steep slope. It could be destroyed with its contents at any We said that those taking part in the time. negotiations continued to tell one an- For this to be better understood, an other lies, by claiming that there were illustration is called for. It is like ask- no problems between ethnic groups in ing a seven-months-pregnant woman Rwanda and that the Arusha Accords giving birth in order to get a present must be entirely implemented. But upon the happy event, whereas it is we noticed that the signatories them- patent that a pregnancy comes to term selves were the first to violate the Ac- only after nine months. Both the preg- cords. As a matter of fact they vi- nant woman and the person promis- 4 ing a gift know that it is quite im- flow. All the Tutsis and the cowardly possible and that even if that hap- Hutus will be exterminated. The In- pened, there would be problems. Even yenzi would once more enlist Musev- if you raise objections and explain the eni’s support in attacking the Hutus, risks to them, they will fail to under- who will be tortured to death. The stand, as they believe you are saying tragedy would be as a result of the ill- so through jealousy because you have conceived accords. not got such a present. That is how people are secretly forcing Rwanda to hurriedly set up Conclusion a Transitional Government before the present problems are resolved and Of the Inyenzi, government or U.N. threaten to withhold aid if we failed Forces, nobody has raised those prob- to do so. In the example cited lems. Nobody has enough courage above, Rwanda is the pregnant woman, to ask that the Arusha Accords be whereas the United Nations and in- adapted to the present situation. If ternational community are the ones only they were reasonable, they under- promising to give the woman a gift if stand that a single day in Rwanda now she delivers at seven months. The root is equal to three years of age.