After the Rwanda Investigation Bureau paraded Mr. Paul Rusesabagina who is suspected of crimes related to terrorism, most of the western media have failed to correctly report the story – in at least trying to avoid biases.
The arrest of Mr. Rusesabagina – mostly known to have inspired the Oscar-winning movie Hotel Rwanda – has been the headline in all the Rwandan news outlets for the past two days. This news also appeared in the world's most popular newspapers, such as the New York Times, Washington Post, The Guardian, to name a few.
However, the western media chose to cover the story in a biased way, while putting aside good and neutral analysis of the matter.
Paul Rusesabagina, The Hero
In all the stories published in the western media, from The Times to the Washington Post, CNN, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, etc., one key phrase kept surging. Mr. Rusesabagina, the Hotel Rwanda hero that saved thousands of Tutsis and Hutu during the 1994 genocide against Tutsi has been arrested.
Although they correctly referred Mr. Rusesabagina’s role in inspiring the Hotel Rwanda movie, they purposely chose to present him just like in the movie: A selfless man and a Hero, as though the movie was their sole source of information.
Most of the western media failed to mention – or at least going a bit deeper – about the stories of those who survived in the Mille Collines Hotel – the real name of the hotel that inspired the movie Hotel Rwanda, where more than a thousand people survived the genocide that was aiming at eradicating the Tutsi population in Rwanda.
Thanks to the successful portrayal of Mr. Rusesabagina as a hero and savior in Hotel Rwanda, he received in 2006 the U.S. Medal of Freedom – America's highest civilian medal – from the then U.S. President George W. Bush.
At the exception of the New York Times, which slightly talked about Ibuka’s view on the matter – the umbrella organization of the genocide survivors – in its 798 words long piece, others did not take the courage to do so.
In the different books and testimonies that were later published by those who survived the genocide inside the Hotel Milles Collines, Mr. Rusesabagina was generally presented as an opportunist. A man who instead of caring about the lives of those who had found refuge in the hotel placed under his leadership, was doing mere business, and trying to make money out of it.
One of the books written based on the stories of the survivors is entitled Testimonies: Inside Hotel Rwanda by Edouard Kayihura and Kerry Zukus. In the book, Mr. Wellars Bizumuremyi, the then hotel receptionist, said that “The Hotel Boss had ordered that no refugee should be charged for food, rooms.” “When Mr. Rusesabagina arrived, he disobeyed and started doing the contrary”, he added.
Ms. Ancilla Mukangira – who was then working with a German NGO and later saved and brought to the hotel by the famous peacekeeper captain Mbaye Diagne – mentioned that “Rusesabagina had ordered that every meal will be charged 500 francs.”
The “Hero” role famously attributed to Mr. Rusesabagina by the western media, and their failure to mention the other part of the story should raise suspicions. It is not clear whether they did it on purpose, in an aim to build their next argument; Mr. Rusesabagina, the government critic.
The arrested man was Kagame’s government critic
Although there is nothing wrong with this statement, as Mr. Rusesabagina was indeed a government critic, it seemingly aims at confusing the readers. The media somehow show that Mr. Rusesabagina's opposition to Kigali is the main reason for his arrest.
As the Rwanda Investigation Bureau mentioned in its statement, Mr. Rusesabagina is accused of serious crime, including terrorism, arson, kidnap, and murder.
Mr. Rusesabagina founded and presided over the armed rebellion National Liberation Front FLN that was under his party MRCD – The Rwandan Movement for Democratic Change. FLN was behind the 2018 armed attacks in Southern Rwanda that left three civilian people killed and 19 others injured.
Being a government critic does not make Mr. Rusesabagina a man above the law, especially when there are serious charges against him, such as those related to terrorism activities.
The western media's failure to mention the number of the Rwandans that died as a result of the FLN attacks may be seen as a way to avoid to talk about – or to hide – the serious crimes that Mr. Rusesabagina is charged with.
Moreover, it seems that all that the western media care about – at least in Rusesabagina’s case – is showing how much of a fierce government opponent he was, without valuing the Rwandan lives that may have been lost as a direct result of his decisions.
Mr. Rusesabagina’s shadowy past
A lot of things have been said about Mr. Rusesabagina’s role as a savior of the more than 1,200 lives inside the Mille Collines Hotel. This story is known across the world thanks to Terry George's movie Hotel Rwanda. However, other stories about Mr. Rusesabagina's alleged role as an informant for the then Rwandan Armed Forces, as well as his monetization of the hotel’s shelter for the refugees are also well documented.
In a 2007 interview, the genocide convict Valérie Bemeriki – an infamous journalist who called for Hutus to kill the Tutsi on the genocidal media channel RTLM – revealed that Mr. Rusesabagina was the person who was providing most of the information on what was happening inside the hotel to the genocidal forces. Furthermore, Mr. Rusesabagina allegedly provided names of the refugees who were inside the hotel to the genocidal media RTLM.
Ms. Bemeriki went on to say that Mr. Rusesabagina was also providing information about the Tutsi refugees who were in the nearby St. Famille catholic parish, St Paul and Celtar – places where most of the Tutsi had run to find shelter inside the Holy places. According to Ms. Bemeriki, Mr. Rusesabagina was spying for the Forces Armées Rwandaises FAR – the then Rwandan Armed Forces.
The “coincidence” by almost all the major western media in covering Mr. Rusesabagina’s arrest by only focusing on Mr. Rusesabagina’s savior role – as portrayed by Hollywood – as well as his Rwandan government criticism comes emphasizing how of little importance are the crimes committed against Rwandan civilians in their eyes (the west), as long as the criminals belong to the anti-government club.
The receipt of the U.S. medal of freedom does not put Mr. Rusesabagina above the law. However, most western media seem to have chosen to defend the Hollywood Hero at all costs, while at the same time turning a blind eye to his dark past.