Shaharyar Khan's The Shallow Graves Of Rwanda

Signs of escalating conflict began as early as 1993 with the inception of “Hate Radio”, a broadcast station called Radio-Television Libre des Mille Collines (RTLMC). The RTLMC broadcasts were powerful forms of propaganda that tried to rally Hutu extremists to action.8 Unlike Rwandan officials, most foreign ambassadors did not see the broadcast as threatening. The U.S. ambassador to Rwanda, David Rawson, said that “its euphemisms were open to interpretation. [The U.S.] believed in freedom of speech.”9 Rawson’s comment explains why the U.S. did not request that the UN stop the broadcasts. Rwandans on the other hand knew the threat was real. There are many perspectives concerning the actions or inactions of the UN in the Rwandan genocide. Even more has been discussed on whether or not the genocide could have been prevented or foreseen, or if the UN failed to see the signs or simply ignored them. In Shaharyar Khan’s book The Shallow Graves of Rwanda, special attention is paid to discussing the responsibility of the UN. Shaharyar Khan was the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative in Rwanda during the genocide and he believes that the UN did not do enough to prevent or intervene during the conflict. He cites several serious statements and incidents …show more content…
According to Annan, Dallaire himself was unsure of the information’s credibility. In a PBS interview Annan quoted Dallaire saying, “Somebody came and gave me this information. I don’t know how sincere it is, whether I am being manipulated or not.”16 But as Dallaire stated in his interview, he felt that his superiors were betraying him. Dallaire received the warning and felt it was important enough to pass on to his superiors, but they were not convinced it was a legitimate threat. Like Dallaire and Khan, some think UN officials, such as Kofi Annan, could have helped prevent the genocide after they received the