MN Special - Counteracting Hate Media

This edition was recorded in a small village just outside Geneva, Switzerland. Hirondelle, the Swiss media foundation which had been running several post-conflict media projects organised a symposium. It focussed on what broadcasters could do to restore the peace in places like Burundi and Liberia. Hirondelle is still going, having since got the contract to build and maintain the Radio Okapi network in Congo. Once again, I believe that most of the sentiments in this programme are still valid today, even though the programme was compiled in July 1998. For a time there was also a hate media website maintained by Radio Netherlands which is referred to in the programme. We discovered that this site was also used as one of the references for researchers on the film Hotel Rwanda. I see the man at the centre of the film, Paul Rusesabagina, is still involved in a bitter feud with Rwanda's President, Paul Kagam. Allegations flared up again in October 2010.