BY GEORGE KAGAME
The Executive Secretary of the National Commission charged with preventing genocide ideology in Rwanda Jean de Dieu Mucyo has called for increasing the capacity of the media in the country so as to eliminate the "still prevalent" genocide ideoelogy in Rwanda 14 years after over one million people were killed in what experts say is Africa's worst human catastrophe.
Speaking to the press in his Kacyiru based office Mucyo said; "the media is crucial. It was used by the Genocidal regime prior to 1994 in a campgain to promote genocide ideology. We need to increase its capacity today to fight the ideology."
Mucyo's appeal comes exactly a year after a parliamentary investigation found alarming cases in the country's formative education system where students were divided according to their ethnic groupings. The report released by a six man commission headed by Donatille Mukabalisa in December 2007 found schools especially in the Northern Province allegedly promoting genocide ideology "registering 97 percent cases of the ideology."
In Gakenke one secondary school was said to have lists of Tutsi students to be killed drawn up. However school administrators say no one has so far been killed on the said lists. In this same school students were made to wear different uniforms according to their ethnic group, books and poems inciting hatred. The headmaster of the school then said the uniforms were supplied by the Fund for Genocide Survivors'-FARG a charge that students at the school denied.
At the release of the report, members of Parliament in the previous term put the then minister of Education Dr. Jean D'arc Mujawamariya under alot of pressure, she was questioned by the house along with her deputy Joseph Murekeraho. Both were accused for doing little to stop the spread of the ideology. The report disclosed that" genocide ideology" was detected in 84 of the 637 secondary schools in Rwanda IN 2007.
Mucyo said today the media was essential in promoting an open and frank society were citizens discussed freely issues relating to the Genocide; "we need to promote an open society culture among Rwandans where people talk freely instead of going to their homes to indoctrinate their children with the evil ideologies of genocide."
He said that government has since set up a national framework covering all layers of the local government structure to help in sensitizing Rwandans against the ideology saying that all institutions in the country were responsible for fighting genocide ideology; "its our duty but all institutions in the country must work hard. There's a national advisory council to fight genocide ideology in the country headed by the President Paul Kagame, the council has a wide outreach to the grassroots administrations."
Mucyo said that it was now important to sensitize local administrations to advise the citizens so that they can tour local Genocide memorials as the current norm of coming to Gisozi was not necessary; "there should be literature written by locals about hat happened in their localities. This way children will be discouraged from the ideology at an early age if they knew that he genocide was organized even in their (children) areas." He added that places of social interaction were the leading centres for the dissemination of Genocide ideology and only the media could contribute to ending this hate propaganda.
Stephen Rangira a veteran teacher in Kigali said; "Most journalists in the country are young, they are not very familiar with the country's geopolitical and socio-econmic history. Many need much training in covering issues such as genocide ideology and its multi faceted manifestations,"
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