Committing genocide by words alone?

The UN's ad hoc war crimes tribunal for Rwanda has convicted three Rwandan news media executives of genocide, sentencing two of them to life in prison and a third to a term of 27 years. "The power of the media to create and destroy human values comes with great responsibility," asserted the UN tribunal in its December 3 ruling. "Those who control the media are accountable for its consequences."

Two of the defendants, Ferdinand Nahimana and Jean-Bosco Barayagwiza, were founders of the RTLM radio station, which became notorious for inciting Hutu mobs against Tutsis during the mass killings of 1994. The third was newspaper executive Hassan Ngezc, who likewise was accused of actively inciting Hutus to acts of mass murder.

"In 100 days, an estimated 10 percent of the Tutsis in Rwanda were wiped out, along with many moderates among the Hutus, who make up a majority of the population," recalled the December 3 New York Times. "The efficiency of the killers, who chased down the Tutsis at roadblocks and in the streets with sharpened sticks, nail-studded clubs and grenades, surpassed even that of the Nazis, some historians contend."

Prosecutor Stephen Rapp hailed the ruling as "really a ground-breaking decision." "This is really going to change things," agreed fellow prosecutor Simone Monasebian. The December 4 Washington Times concisely described the precedent set by the UN tribunal: "With a trio of guilty verdicts yesterday, the UN ... has established that men armed only with words can commit genocide."

It's worth remembering that the UN's International Criminal Court (ICC), which is now in operation, claims the power to prosecute any individual anywhere on the planet charged with genocide or war crimes. Under the Rwanda precedent, it is conceivable that American journalists and media activists could some day be arraigned by the ICC for supposed acts of incitement.

It is also worth remembering that the UN's actions helped precipitate the Rwandan genocide. Prior to the massacre, the world body's peacekeeping force conducted a disarmament campaign that left the Tutsis helpless. And after Romeo Dallaire, the Canadian officer in charge of the peacekeepers, discovered the impending genocide, he was forbidden by his superior to take any action to prevent it. Dallaire's superior, Kofi Annan, went on to become UN secretary-general.