Longman Quoted in Articles Discussing Rwandan Government
Timothy Longman, Professor of International Relations and Political Science at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University and Director of the Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs (CURA), was quoted in two articles from RFI and Le Monde on Paul Rusesabagina, the Rwandan government, and its suppression or opposition voices.
The RFI article, titled “Rwanda: de héros de Hollywood à prisonnier accusé de terrorisme, la chute de Paul Rusesabagina (Rwanda: from Hollywood hero to prisoner accused of terrorism, the fall of Paul Rusesabagina),” discusses the acts and subsequent trial of Paul Rusesabagina, a politician who is known to have saved 1,200 people in the Hôtel des Mille Collines during the genocide of the Tutsis in 1994. Rusesabagina is being tried for terrorism, a false claim according to Rusesabagina. Longman noted how he became increasingly vocal against the Rwandan government the more they attacked his character.
When he started to gain attention, when he wrote his book, they started a smear campaign against him. The more he was attacked, the more critical he became. He became very virulent, and in 2018 he joined the MRCD [Rwandan Movement for Democratic Change] platform.
The Le Monde article, titled “Rwanda : «On marche sur des œufs » ou l’exercice d’équilibriste des journalistes youtubeurs (Rwanda: “We are walking on eggshells” or the balancing act of Youtuber journalists),” explores the political and press landscape in Rwanda and how people have turned away from traditional state-owned media in order to provide coverage of the entire Rwandan political landscape. The government has put a number of measures in place to limit opposition voices on the web, and Longman argues frankly that “there is no freedom of expression in Rwanda.”
As Longman stated:
The Rwandan approach is to create fear in order to push self-censorship as much as possible. By harassing the small number of journalists who are critical, the authorities encourage others to remain silent.
The full RFI and Le Monde articles can be read online.
Professor Timothy Longman is a Professor of International Relations and Political Science at the Pardee School, Director of the Institute on Culture, Religion and World Affairs, and acting Director of the African Studies Center at Boston University. His current research focuses on state -society relations in Africa, looking particularly at human rights, transitional justice, democratization, civil society, the politics of race and ethnicity, religion and politics, and women and politics. He has published two books based on his research in Rwanda: Christianity and Genocide in Rwanda (Cambridge University Press 2011), and Memory and Justice in Post-Genocide Rwanda (Cambridge University Press 2017). Read more about Professor Longman on his faculty profile.