On 12 October, 38 signatories sent a letter to the BBC's Director-General to protest against the contents of the documentary 'Rwanda's Untold Story' first broadcast by BBC 2 on October 1. The letter states that the BBC has been "recklessly irresponsible" in broadcasting the film which has "fuelled genocide denial" and "further emboldened the génocidaires". Only three of the signatories (Clark, Hintjens and Murison) are academics working on Rwanda (Linda Melvern calls herself 'Professor', but she is not; she has merely been an honorary professor at the University of Wales Aberystwyth). The others have either shown interest in Rwanda in the past or played a role there, or have a sectoral expertise, e.g. in genocide studies or international criminal law. Some are activists with a record of support for the Rwandan government. I will limit myself to a critical examination of the four claims in the documentary called "untenable" by the signatories. Before doing so it is useful to point out that the documentary is not challenged on other important points (such as the RPF's human rights record and democratic credentials), which allows us to suppose that the signatories agree with much in the programme. First, the signatories are shocked [...]
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