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Politics
Home›African Arguments›Politics›South Sudan: how hate radio was used to incite Bentiu massacres – By Keith Somerville

South Sudan: how hate radio was used to incite Bentiu massacres – By Keith Somerville

By Uncategorised
April 24, 2014
4883
3
Bentiu

The aftermath of violence in Bentiu, South Sudan.

The spectre of ethnically-motivated killings, and the use of ethnic rivalry or hatred to mobilize and incite one community against another, hangs over the conflict in South Sudan. Coming just weeks after the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, which will forever be associated with the use of radio to incite hatred and help direct genocidal killings, the UNMISS report that a rebel commander in Bentiu used the local FM radio station to incite hatred against Dinkas, Darfuris and other non-Nuer, sent a shiver down my spine.

In a country with an estimated 80 per cent illiteracy rate, South Sudanese are particularly reliant on radio as a means of getting news and of communicating information.  It reaches those who cannot read or cannot access or afford to buy newspapers. It can be listened to throughout the day alone, or in groups and can have a mass effect if used to generate fear, mobilize support or, worst of all, incite hatred of others.

The Radio Bentiu FM station is a key source of news for the population.  UNMISS said that the rebels had taken over the station and at times “broadcast hate messages declaring that certain ethnic groups should not stay in Bentiu and even calling on men from one community to commit vengeful sexual violence against women from another community”.  The UN mission roundly condemned the use of the radio to incite hatred and encourage killings or rape, though it did note that some rebel SPLA commanders had broadcast messages calling for unity and an end to “˜tribalism’. While UN radio stations and the Netherlands-funded Radio Tamazuj can be heard in Unity state, the local FM station is the key local outlet and so has a wide listenership in Bentiu.

Several hundred civilians were killed after the rebel occupation of the key oil town and most of the dead are believed to be Dinkas, Darfuris and a number of other Sudanese, deliberately targeted by sections of the rebel force as “˜enemies’.  At times the rebels have claimed that members of the Darfur Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and other groups from Sudan have been fighting alongside the South Sudanese army.  UNMISS in its statement on the killings specifically referred to the targeting of Darfuris and to the killing of at least 200 and the wounding of 400 non-Nuer civilians in a mosque.  There were even reports, the UN said, of Nuer being killed for failing to show their support for the rebels. Among the targets for attacks were the mosque, the hospital and a World Food Programme compound.  The UNMISS personnel in Bentiu managed to rescue hundreds of civilians and it says it is now protecting 12,000 civilians at its base – part of an estimated total of 60,000 being guarded throughout South Sudan.

The use of radio to call on rebels and Nuer, in particular, to attack Dinkas and other groups does bring chilling echoes of Rwanda and of the use of local radio stations – especially vernacular ones in Kenya and the DRC – to incite fear, hatred or violence against particular groups. These include the Banyamulenge in eastern DRC or Kalenjin against Kikuyu and vice versa during the post-election violence in Kenya in 2007-8 (a Kenyan radio editor and presenter, Joshua arap Sang, is currently in trial at the ICC for using radio as part of the incitement of hatred and violence). The spokesperson for UNMISS, Joseph Contreras, said in an interview on UN Radio in South Sudan that the use of radio to fan the flames of hatred was to be deplored and made a direct reference to the role of hate radio in Rwanda.

But South Sudan is not Rwanda and the ethnic/linguistic picture is more diverse and blurred.  Political and ethnic allegiances shift according to time and expediency.  There is also a very different media environment with various church, UN or foreign-sponsored radio stations broadcasting – in addition to the national radio based in Juba and smaller government FM stations in the main towns of each state.  The local FM stations are the ones most likely to be seized by government or rebel forcers as they capture towns – UNMISS says it is already aware that some stations have been broadcasting hate speech.  Mr Contreras called on all sides “to prevent the airing of such messages”. He added, though, that it was impossible to say what effect the messages in Bentiu had had on the course of the violence there after the rebel take over.

The media in South Sudan is more varied than in Rwanda in 1994 – when the only stations broadcasting in Kinyarwanda were the Hutu government-controlled Radio Rwanda, the Hutu Power-owned Radio Television Libre des Milles Collines (RTLM) and the Rwandan Patriotic Front’s Radio Muhabura.  These were supplemented by international broadcasters like the BBC, Radio France International and Voice of America, but none of these transmitted in the local language. In South Sudan, in addition to the national radio service in Juba and state stations in nine provincial capitals, there are over 30 FM or AM stations broadcasting locally, including the UN’s Radio Miraya, Radio Tamazuj, the Catholic Bakhita FM, and the USAID-funded Sudan Radio Service. Most broadcast in English and basic Arabic, though the local stations also broadcast in a number of vernaculars, such as Zande, Madi, Muru, Bari and Kuhu.

Reporters without Borders (RWB) ranks South Sudan as 111th out of 179 countries in terms of press freedom, compared with 170 for Sudan. But the role of independent journalists, newspapers and radio stations in reporting corruption has not been popular with President Salva Kiir’s government and journalists have suffered periodic harassment.  One leading commentator and thorn in the side of the government, Diing Chan Awuol, was shot and killed outside his home in Juba in December 2012. Awuol wrote columns for the Sudan Tribune and Gurtong websites and the newspaper “˜Destiny’ under the pen-name of Isaias Abraham.  There have also been arrests of leading journalists, such as Ngor Aguot Garang, the editor of Destiny, and his deputy editor in November 2011 for a critical piece on Salva Kiir’s daughter.

This harassment has not yet made South Sudan’s media into a clone of the state-controlled and intimidated media of the north, but Reporters without Borders said that a South Sudanese media expert had told them that “The authorities in Juba were brought up in the Khartoum school and now they are getting ready to put what they learned about repression into practice…Listen to the information minister. He tells us: “˜Watch what you write. Be patriotic…Unlike what happens in the North, the repression is not concerted, but high-handed actions, harassment, impunity and brutality are nonetheless the rule.”

Harassment has increased since the start of the conflict between forces loyal to the Salva Kiir government and those backing Riek Machar.  In recent weeks, the South Sudanese Information Minister, Michael Makuei, has warned reporters in Juba not to interview opposition leaders or spokespeople or face arrest or expulsion from the country. Makuei said broadcast interviews with rebels are considered “hostile propaganda” and “in conflict with the law.”  The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said the minister’s outburst followed a recent interview conducted by the Juba-based and independent Eye Radio with a rebel leader at the deadlocked peace negotiations taking place in Addis Ababa. Makuei said this sort of reporting was “disseminating poison”. The minister ordered journalists in South Sudan to convey “a neutral position that does not agitate against the government.”

There have been a number of cases of journalists being interrogated or arrested since the start of the conflict. On occasions the security services have seized newspapers such as the Juba Monitor and put pressure on Eye Radio to force the resignation of the editor, Beatrice Murail, who left Juba and returned to France as a result.  There have also been reports from the CPJ and the Inter Press Service that Nuer journalists are being viewed as potential enemies and supporters of Machar in government-controlled areas and similarly, as the conflict has ratcheted up ethnic tensions, journalists of Dinka origin are under threat in areas controlled by the rebels.

The well-known South Sudanese journalist Bonifacio Taban, who has himself been put under pressure by the government, told the CPJ in March that this situation is making it hard for journalists to report and dangerous, in particular, for those of Nuer origin to cover the story from the government side.  He said the tough stance of the government is making it more and more difficult for the local press to stay impartial. “The news in South Sudan is not balanced, it has become one-sided, the government side,” Taban told the CPJ.

In these circumstances, it is not surprising that when the rebels seize a town like Bentiu they quickly make sure they control the output of the local media, especially radio.  But as the conflict continues and killings escalate, along with the proliferation of both accurate or exaggerated/invented stories of atrocities, the chances of impartiality slipping into propaganda and then down the slope into hate broadcasting is very real.

Keith Somerville is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London; teaches at the Centre for Journalism, University of Kent; and edits the Africa – News and Analysis website (wwww.africajournalismtheworld.com).  His book Radio Propaganda and the Broadcasting of Hatred was published in 2012.

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3 comments

  1. Mary Myers 25 April, 2014 at 13:47

    Excellent, well-researched and thoughtful post. Thanks.

  2. Daniel Wuor Joak 25 April, 2014 at 14:11

    Dear Sir,
    I have read your article keenly and took notices of your concerns with regard to the ongoing killings in South Sudan which is inclusively attributed to the current war in the country. For an outsider like you, you really need to explore more in order not to base your conclusion by blaming one party in this tragic conflict without getting their version of the story. It very sad indeed to see innocents people being wantonly killed by either side of the conflicting parties – South Sudan government forces or the SPLM/A – In Opposition.
    For your information, what happened in Bentiu was not a deliberate massacre against unarmed civilians as you have strongely asserted and condemned in your article. It was a result of fighting between the two parties; government forces and their allies comprises of UPDF, JEM, SPLA – N on one hand against the SPLM/A – In Opposition forces. To the best of my knowledge, most of the civilians resided in Bentiu had infact evacuated the town since January 2014, when the rebels were dislodged by government and their allies forces. Those who reminded in the town sought sanctuary at UNMISS camp. The alledged Sudanese traders mainly from Darfur whose number ranging to 800 persons, in which 200 of them were intentionally massacred and 400 others wounded. This is completely baseless propaganda being hatched by those who have bad intentions against the rebels. Where on earth do you find a businessman in an area where there is no market to buy his goods? Because 8000 IDPs who ran to UNMISS compound in Bentiu for their own safety could not at all be potential customers to cover the goods brought to Bentiu by 800 traders.

    The so-called 800 Sudanese traders were indeed JEM and SPLA – N soldiers who were lured by government in Juba to come and protect their supply lines and to also protect oil installations where their host government in Juba promises them a share in oil revenue. The fighting in Bentiu started on 14th April and continued until 16th April, when the SPLA in Opposition briefly captured the town. UNMISS compound based at Rupkona on the other side of the bridge would have been an ideal place for those traders to get sanctuary there if they were indeed civilians as you acclaimed in your article. They were combat soldiers with civilians clothes as usual from JEM and SPLA-N, and at the same time using Masque as shield when the rebels apparently occupied the escaping way to UNMISS and had no any other way to escape the rebels onslaughts. Infact, the JEM and SPLA – N which you alledged to be civilians were fighting the rebels inside the Mosque. This is where two hundred of them died on spot and other four hundreds wounded. It was not the UNMISS who came to rescue but the rebels spared their lives. If they were intended to kill them all they would have done so at ease.

    Once again, the government force after recapturing of Bentiu in January this year, they intensively recruited civilians in Unity State mainly from Dinka of Abiemnom and Pariang to add them into their rank. The civilians were issued guns and ammonitions but not uniforms and fought feriously alongside the government forces against the rebels during the capturing of Bentiu on 16th April 2014. The bodies found littering in various sites in the town who were only men were exactly soldiers from the government side. All the civilians who believed to be at risk went to UNMISS camp before the rebels advanced to the town. In all images should on various TV sets all over the world including El Jazeera, CNN, BBC, CBS and others did not show any sign of women or children killed excepted men with civilian clothes. This shown the UNMISS reporters and their BBC correspondents are bias. They did not give any creditable information about the killing in Bentiu and I know why.

    The UNMISS feels embarrassed by the gruesome massacred of Nuer civilians in Bentiu which occurred on 17th April 2014, after the fall of Bentiu in their compound in Bor. They unfortunately downplayed the death tools by given lower figures then the actual number killed. According to information directly from UNMISS compound in Bor from the survivors themselves it was reported that 145 persons killed instantly, 273 sustained wounds whereas some of them severely wounded and possibly they might die. Unknown number of young Nuer men in the compound escaped from UNMISS during the attack and never returned back again. Possibly they might have killed by their attackers. UNMISS did not report this but they continued misleading the whole world with 20 people dead and 48 other wounded. Now the whole blame is shifting from massacre of Nuer civilians in Bor to fabricated massacres of Sudanese traders in Bentiu. Should UNMISS – Toby Lanzer as himself what brought the Sudanese traders to Bentiu which was virtually left to government soldiers and their allies as war zone area? I know the UN feels embarrassed by what happened in Bor because they categorically refused to point their fingers of the government in Juba for the death of more one hundred Nuer civilians and are now using the rebels as scapegoats in their sinister acts. They are looking for loopholes to punish the rebels for crimes which they did not committed. Please publish this comment on your website for others to benefit from it and also advise those who wish to tarnish the good reputations of the SPLM/A – In Oppostion who are fight a just cause against the tyranny regime in Juba under President Salva Kiir Mayardit. UNMISS had not done enough to expose the government in Juba when its carried out the first massacres of Nuer civilians in the aftermath of fighting on the 15 December 2013, within the Presidential guards, where over 10,000 Nuer were killed. But the UNMISS put the number to 300 – 500 death. This is an insult to the Nuer people and let the world takes notice of that. People of South Sudan in general are equal before God and no community is better than other. A permanent solution to this conflict can not be realized as long as President Salva Kiir remains in power. The international community should exert more pressures on Kiir to resign. Dr. Riek Machar had done nothing wrong apart from advocating for democracy, good governance, rule of law and accountability within the country. He did not instigated a rebellion but it was rather imposed on him by President Salva Kiir who attempted to kill him. When he escaped the onslaught the Nuer became the victims in Juba and the world did not do much to stop Kiir’s government from killing innocent people in South Sudan. Where is the human rights of minority which was advocated in UN charter? Uganda troops are still massacring the Nuer in Greater Upper Nile and the UN is quiet about it. So, there is no fairness in this world and the Nuer people have every right to fight for their survivals no matter what.

    Regards,

  3. Michael Medley 29 April, 2014 at 05:25

    The title of this piece seems to imply that the main publicized massacres of Darfuri and Dinka people in Bentiu on 15th and 16th April were largely incited by hate radio. But this remains unclear and (to my mind) unlikely. Did the rebel commanders have time to start their own broadcasts from FM Bentiu before the massacres took place? And was this already a major means of communicating to their own forces? My interpretation of UNMISS’s 21 April report is that the broadcasts with hate messages started in the aftermath of the capture. I agree it could be a very worrying phenomenon, but I think it is also important to get the history as right as we can. I hope a fuller UNMISS report will clarify further.

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