INTRODUCTION

On 1 October 2014, the BBC broadcasted the documentary ‘Rwanda's Untold Story’, which, ‘[t]wenty years on from the Rwandan genocide, reveals evidence that challenges the accepted story of one of the most horrifying events of the late 20th century’. The documentary investigates ‘evidence of Kagame's role in the shooting down of the presidential plane that sparked the killings in 1994 and questions his claims to have ended the genocide. It also examines claims of war crimes committed by Kagame's forces and their allies in the wars in the Democratic Republic of Congo and allegations of human rights abuses in today's Rwanda’. It is, of course, legitimate to critically investigate past crimes for which Kagame and the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) are responsible and it is also legitimate to critically reflect on problematic aspects of the contemporary socio-political situation in Rwanda. Such issues warrant serious attention and they have been investigated before. Furthermore, to revision complex conflict histories, including Rwanda's history of violence, is a legitimate exercise. However one should be careful that such critical revisionism does not amount to denial, which instead of acknowledging the complex reality of conflict obfuscates it. It is because of this last aspect that the approach taken in the BBC documentary towards revisioning Rwanda's conflict history has raised serious concerns amongst a variety of actors. Instead of seriously reflecting on the role of Kagame and the RPF in the violence with respect for rigor and factual evidence, substantial parts of the documentary raise doubt about the history of the genocide perpetrated against the Tutsi and confusion is created with regard to the nature and the direction of the violence that took place. It furthermore questions the number of Tutsi victims killed during the genocide and it makes doubtful claims as to who is responsible for downing the airplane of former president Habyarimana, which is said to be the ‘spark that lit the fire of the genocide’. These issues have caused a variety of actors to express their concern with the BBC.