Food for thought

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2003/dec/04/pressandpublishing.radio

This article is more than 20 years old

Journalists jailed for inciting Rwandan genocide

Two Rwandan journalists have been sentenced to life in prison and a third to 35 years for their roles in fuelling the 1994 genocide in which 800,000 Tutsis and Hutus were murdered.

The sentencing ends a landmark three-year trial that highlighted what became known as the "hate media" during the tragic period in the African country's history.

The international criminal tribunal for Rwanda, which is being held in Tanzania, heard how the media played a major role in inciting extremists from the Hutu majority to carry out the 100-day slaughter of ethnic Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus.

"This tribunal has set an important precedent that says if the media in this day and age uses their power to attack an ethnic group or racial group, they will have to face justice," the chief prosecutor, Hassan Bubacar Jallow, told Reuters.

He said the use of "hate media", which acted as propaganda outlets, helps explain how ordinary Rwandans - even children and grandparents - were influenced to participate in the killings.