RAP 21: Were the journalists able to write freely about events surrounding the elections?

David Mugalura: Given the role played by the media during the 1994 genocide and before, the government was quite cautious about the coverage by the media. In this sense, the government hasn’t been very open to the media. One of the main reasons it has been slow in allowing the media to operate completely independently is to avoid a repetition of events.

RAP 21: Given the role of the media in the 1994 genocide (3 media professionals were convicted of genocide charges this week by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda) were there any efforts taken by the government to restrict the media’s activities in the run up to the elections?

David Mugalura: No serious actions were taken to restrict the independent or state-run media. The government, however, was always monitoring us. For example, I wrote a story for the Kenyan newspaper, the "East African", that reported the Press Council had directed the government to stop political talk shows that would feature stories that were positive of the ruling government. I received two phone calls the day after the article appeared - one from a spokesman from the EU observer mission and one from a government spokesman, both wanting to verify my sources, and to ensure that my article was grounded in something.

RAP 21: Did you or your journalists receive any training prior to the elections on how to cover such an event?

David Mugalura: No, and this was a problem. There were plans to have some sort of training session about covering elections but it never materialised. I personally had experience with this type of reporting as I had covered the Ugandan elections, but the journalists at our newspaper did not have the adequate training. To counter this, I would go down to the newsroom to show our journalists how to write a balanced story, and how to show both sides of an argument. As an editor, I was always careful about what appeared in our newspaper.

I was also always in contact with the foreign press, Reuters, AP, Radio France Internationale, to see how they had written articles. This helped.

RAP 21: What was the role of the foreign press in the elections?

David Mugalura: The foreign press played a big role. They knew how to report on elections, so they would raise some of the issues that the local media might otherwise not have. They had the experience and direction. They also had resources that much of the local press did not, for example, they would travel with the candidates, whereas the local press simply didn’t have the money to travel.

RAP 21: What sort of training would journalists covering the elections have benefited from prior to covering the elections?

David Mugalura: It would have been helpful to have the input from journalists from troubled areas, to share their own experiences. It also would have been helpful to have received input from the big media outlets such as the BBC or Radio France International, to learn from their professional reporting. We have five years until the next election, however, which leaves us enough time to prepare!

RAP 21: Have you participated in any other training initiatives for Rwandan journalists?

David Mugalura: In the spring of 2002, I organised a training workshop and invited seasoned journalists from surrounding countries to attend. The topic was "The role of the media in conflict resolution". In total we had 60 journalists from the region. We brought in 15 from Burundi, Congo, Uganda, and Tanzania, and invited 45 journalists from Rwanda. At the time, the majority of these countries were involved in conflicts with each other.

What came out of the training sessions were recommendations on the positive role the media can play in stopping the conflicts, how to avoid being used by the government to incite violence, and finding ways to work positively with the governments. Follow-up training depends on receiving funding for further sessions.

David Mugalura is co-founder and editor-in-chief of the "Rwanda Voice", founded in July 2002. He is also co-founder of the Media Centre for Conflict Resolution. Established three years ago, the Centre works educate journalists on conflict reporting and enforce the positive role the media can play in conflict resolution. For more information on the Centre email: mugaluradavid@yahoo.co.uk