Podcast Summary: "The Role of the West in Rwanda's Genocide"

LSE Public Lectures and Events
Speaker: Linda Melvern (investigative journalist and author)
Date: May 6, 2009

Overview

This episode, part of the LSE Public Lectures and Events series, features investigative journalist Linda Melvern, whose work since 1994 has focused on uncovering the political machinations and international failures leading to the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Melvern discusses the explicit and implicit roles played by Western powers and the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in the lead-up to, during, and after the genocide, revealing endemic indifference, secrecy, and active obstruction of intervention that resulted in the deaths of up to one million people.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The UN, the West, and the "Betrayal" of Rwanda

• Early Warnings and Documentation:

  • Melvern introduces her work, notably access to hundreds of original UNAMIR (UN Assistance Mission for Rwanda) cables from Major Stefan Steck, highlighting the real-time knowledge in UN headquarters about the genocide’s progression and desperate pleas for intervention ([02:48]).
  • "Stec's cables were amazing and they showed how once the genocide began, daily situation reports sent from the tiny garrison in Rwanda clearly explained what was taking place." – Linda Melvern ([03:31])

• Ineffectual UN Peacekeeping:

  • UNAMIR’s weak mandate and lack of reinforcement sent "a clear signal to extremists that they could continue with their plans" ([04:54]).
  • The operation was characterized as "classic peacekeeping," ill-equipped for the environment.

• Deliberate Policy Choices by France, Belgium, UK, and the US:

  • These powers recognized the interim genocidal government for three months, refused to act, and later claimed ignorance ([09:32]).
  • "The Security Council simply did not care enough about Rwanda." – Melvern, referencing the Organization of African Unity ([07:16])

2. Failure of Accountability and Transparency

• Lack of Official Inquiry in UK and US:

  • UK and US governments have never held real debates or inquiries into their roles. Officials “claim and get away with” that they did not know what was happening ([10:57]).
  • Secrecy laws and “client privilege” (legal advice kept secret) insulate decision-makers from scrutiny ([12:45]).

• Minimization and Deferral of Responsibility:

  • UK officials argued Rwanda was not their concern ("no embassy, no interests"), shifting blame to the US or France ([14:20]).
  • British compromise actually prioritized withdrawal of UN forces after the genocide began ([16:14]).

3. Western (Non-)Intervention: The Sabotaging of Peacekeeping

• Obstruction of Reinforcement and Action:

  • US and UK blocked reinforcements, citing cost and logistical reasons, even as NGOs like Oxfam and Human Rights Watch lobbied for immediate action ([22:33]).
  • The US wanted “safe havens” outside Rwanda, a strategy Melvern and witnesses state would have left Tutsi vulnerable to massacre during transit ([28:16]).

• Downplaying and Ignoring Atrocity:

  • The Security Council, in early weeks, avoided substantive discussion of mass murder, instead focusing on military and logistical hair-splitting ([19:28]).
  • "While thousands of people were being hacked to death every day, ambassadors in the Security Council argued for weeks about military tactics." ([27:43]).

4. The "Hate Radio" and Methodical Nature of the Genocide

• Role of Propaganda:
  • Hate radio (RTLM) was directly used to incite and direct killings, naming targets on air. Even refuelling of corpse collection trucks was coordinated on national radio ([32:54]).
  • Despite clear evidence, the UN did not act to jam these broadcasts.

5. France’s Pivotal and Controversial Involvement

• Direct Military and Political Support:

  • France supplied arms and trained and embedded officers within Rwandan military and militias ([34:35]).
  • Declassified French archives revealed President Mitterrand as obsessed by “Anglophone plot” fears, interpreting the RPF’s advance as an Anglo-Ugandan conspiracy rather than a native refugee movement ([36:00]).

• Lack of French Accountability:

  • Despite multiple journalistic and parliamentary inquiries, full reckoning with France’s role remains elusive, shielded by presidential secrecy and fragmented investigative access.

6. Rwanda’s Devastation: Genocide’s Human and Social Toll

• Post-Genocide Ruins:

  • Melvern details the incomprehensible destruction: 50,000 remained of Kigali’s 300,000 residents; food and health infrastructure gone; 250,000 widowed, and up to 300,000 children killed ([37:16]).
  • "Most children felt they had no future. They did not believe that they would live to become adults." ([39:16])

• Ongoing Consequences for Justice and Reconciliation:

  • Many genocide suspects, including key financiers and planners, have found safe haven in African and European countries, facing little prosecution ([69:11]).
  • International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda handled only a subset of major cases; closure of the tribunal means impunity for most ([71:50]).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Western excuses:

  • "Of course we didn't do anything. Neither the press nor the public was interested." – Senior UK diplomat, reported by Linda Melvern ([14:35])

• On Security Council secrecy:

  • "There was eight hours of secret debate in the Council during which time our ambassador, the UK Ambassador, David Hannay, told the membership that if they called what was happening in Rwanda a genocide, they would be a laughing stock." – Linda Melvern ([45:00])

• On the impact of withholding the genocide label:

  • "It is for the want of petrol, not courage, that more people were not rescued." ([46:53])

• On accountability:

  • "The lack of accountability is absolutely extraordinary." ([45:39])

• On US/UK active sabotage:

  • "Lieutenant General Roméo Dallaire, the force commander, would conclude that they had done everything possible to sabotage the fulfillment of his mission… The selfish and racist policies of the UK and the US had aided and abetted genocide." ([11:51])

• On moral versus legal obligations:

  • "I did wonder why we need [Responsibility to Protect] when we have the Genocide Convention. ...I rather look to the Convention rather than the responsibility to protect." ([80:10])

Key Audience Q&A and Discussion Topics

1. Secrecy, Legal Obstacles, and Freedom of Information

• FOIA requests in the UK are routinely refused on grounds of international relations—likely referring to France ([52:00]).
• Melvern calls for more student and scholarly research to fill gaps left by official secrecy.

2. French Attitude and Persistent Tensions

• France's continued belligerence towards Rwanda (e.g., pursuit of warrants against Kagame allies) seen as cover for deeper complicity ([52:19]).
• Arrest of RPF figures in Europe partly viewed as judicial testing of controversial French inquiries ([70:45]).

3. European/Colonial Rivalries and Policy Paralysis

• Mitterrand’s and French attitudes toward Rwanda shaped by conspiracy theories about Anglophone plots, reinforcing French determination to support Hutu regime ([69:11]).
• EU is criticized for deferring to colonial-era spheres of influence—Britain deferential to France in Francophone Africa ([67:09]).

4. African Country Complicity and International Justice

• Thousands of genocide suspects reside in Africa and Europe; very few prosecuted.
• Kenya, for example, is believed to shelter major financiers like Felicien Kabuga, illustrating failures in international and regional cooperation ([68:34]).

5. Future Prevention: Responsibility to Protect (R2P) and Institutional Change

• Audience queries whether today’s international frameworks (EU's new defense policies, African Union’s evolving peacekeeping) would avert repetition ([77:33]).
• Melvern is skeptical: rivalries and lack of political will still trump institutional improvements.

Highlighted Timestamps

• 02:48–09:32 – Melvern’s research origins; the UN’s passive role and the extent of knowledge within the international community.
• 14:20–16:14 – UK official attitudes and policies shaping UN responses.
• 22:33–28:16 – Blocking of interventions, peacekeeper withdrawal and debates over “safe havens”.
• 32:54–34:35 – The orchestrated use of hate radio and logistics for genocide.
• 34:35–37:16 – French direct involvement; political paranoia and support for genocide planners.
• 37:16–39:16 – Genocide’s human cost and the shattered society Rwanda inherited.
• 44:22–46:53 – Security Council’s secret debates and the illusion of UN protection.
• 52:00–53:30 – Limitations of FOIA and persistent French secrecy.
• 69:11–71:50 – Ongoing challenges in prosecuting perpetrators and France’s political obsessions.
• 77:33–80:10 – Discussion on future prevention, R2P, and persistent doubts about institutional learning.

Conclusion

Linda Melvern’s session harshly indicts the Western powers and UNSC for their calculated, self-serving disengagement during the Rwandan genocide. She details the systematic concealment of facts, bureaucratic indifference, and ongoing lack of accountability within Western governments. The French role is described as uniquely direct and damaging, motivated by neo-colonial paranoia rather than humanitarian concern. Most damningly, she argues that neither legal mechanisms nor newly minted doctrines like R2P can guarantee prevention while political self-interest remains entrenched and unaccountable.

Recommended Actions:

• Support survivors through organizations like Ryico.
• Advocate for greater transparency and accountability in UK and international policy regarding atrocity prevention and prosecution.
• Push for prosecution of genocide suspects residing abroad via legislative reform or new legal channels.

Books Mentioned:

• "A People Betrayed" (Linda Melvern, 2000; update forthcoming at the episode date)
• "Conspiracy to Murder: The Rwandan Genocide" (Linda Melvern, available at the event)