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Belgium Is Not Rwanda
Written by: Andrew Stroehlein
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Blaming the media is an easy game every politician plays, but here in Belgium, it has just taken a step -- more like an enormous leap -- too far. After spending ages trying to form a government with no success, Yves Leterme, the Flemish Christian Democrat leader, lashed out at French-language state broadcaster RTBF, comparing it to Radio Mille Collines in Rwanda.
While Leterme's general state of frustration may be somewhat understandable -- today marks six months to the day since the general election in June, and still Belgium has no new government -- that can be no excuse for throwing perspective out the window as he did in an interview with Flemish newspaper Het Belang van Limburg on Saturday. It is an insult to the intelligence of the Belgian public and to the victims of Rwanda.
During the Rwandan genocide in 1994, the private radio station Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines was the "Hate Radio" inspiring Hutus to kill Tutsis en masse, using terms like "final war" and calling on listeners to "exterminate the cockroaches". The broadcaster was not just an appendage of the genocide; it was its nervous system, relaying commands and directly inciting murders.
Comparing the textbook example of media driving violent conflict to RTBF and the political discord in Belgium today is lunacy. Leterme may be angry with the Belgian broadcaster and may even blame it and its "political agenda" for complicating his attempts to form a government over the past half year. But please, let's not get crazy. This is Belgium 2007, not Rwanda 1994.
In fact, you'd hardly notice this country is going through much of a crisis at all. The schools still work well, the trash continues to be collected twice a week, the taxes are still too high, and the beer is as good as it ever was. The public debate in the media seems very calm and reasoned -- RTBF has even invited Leterme to discuss his comments on air. People are concerned about the future of their country, and indeed it may even split some day (I hope not though), but there is zero possibility of violence. And no one is encouraging it, least of all the media here.
The Association of Professional Journalists of Belgium has strongly condemned Leterme's comparison, and Belgian Radio and Television Minister Fadila Laanan has called it "abominable". Indeed.
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2 responses to “Belgium Is Not Rwanda”
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Journalist Andrew Stroehlein is Director of Media and Information for the International Crisis Group, the conflict resolution organisation, where he promotes responsible coverage of current and potential conflicts and helps draw attention to forgotten wars around the world.
13 Dec 2007 10:42:15 GMT
take care there is no (longer) a Belgian Radio and Television and Miss Lanaan is "just" the minster of Culture at the the French Community (see http://www.cfwb.be/) so you should better understand her "reply"
anyhow the world has other urgencies and crises to solve than this Belgian "political" comedy/operette24 Dec 2007 17:59:48 GMT
Dear Stroehlein:
I have just read your text as we know that to find a way out of the crisis the Belgian king has had to ask the former Prime Minister to manage a government to work for a couple of months. During that time, it is expected that both sides of the protagonists will agree on different points. This is a "good compromise" that will permit the kingdom to face different daily political issues. However, in spite of such a way out, one can not avoid questioning the whole process and Leterme's failure to organize a government. I agree with you that he should not compare Belgium to Rwanda; there is not any common measure. Apart from the fact that they are on different continents, two different people, cultures, and history, the observers are likely to question Belgium on many other details. The crisis that the kingdom has gone through leads many intellectuals to trying to find out what may be wrong and may oppose so violently the two most important communities of Belgium. As outside observers, we have the opportunity of visiting the kingdom and comparing different communities. I personally believe that there are situations to understand in going as far back as to the students' revolution of 1968. There are some other situations that could be explained in the very nature of Belgium as a country and going further in the past. However, for the sake of conciseness, let us simply consider 1968. The reasons that had pushed the government to subdivide educational institutions seemed a solution at that time, but in the long run they are a basic element of division and opposition. I visited Belgium during the Bologna system application and was in training. I noticed that Francophone Universities through students that I interviewed - were quick to agree with the system and change. Flemish students did not seem to be in a hurry at all. Some even told me that they did not wish dealing with the "lazy" institutions. This is only an example that may not fit the point but that should call on politicians to notice that there are many points opposing the community here above mentioned and that should be addressed in order to avoid a bigger crisis - if not the end of the kingdom - in the long run. Apart from the University environment quite familiar with me, you will find that Flemish do their best to learn easily and quickly French whereas the other community neglects Flemish - this can be illustrated by Miss Belgium who is unable to speak any Flemish at all. As an outsider, I can testify that the only interest - and a couple of daily dialog conversations - has not only opened doors, but mainly the hearts of Belgians I have had the opportunity to visit in their different communities. If there is a temporary solution today, it is time politicians consider solution for the long run. They should give much attention to identities as well as to bridges to these identities. In the same way, more important bridges should link communities. Another consideration should be given to building up a common vision of external politics. There are many examples where Belgian external politics is split according to the interest of the protagonists taken separately. In order to play fully its role in Europe and in the world, Belgium has to survive. At the light of such a short excursion, one may understand Leterme's anger, anxiety, disappointment and slip to using a bad an example. Nevertheless, all the same, a toll for more attention for a better future has to be heard and given priority.