We should not expect much from lawsuit against Canal+

Editor,Reference is made to the story, “French TV to be sued over Genocide sketch” (The New Times, January 21).

Friday, January 24, 2014
Protesters demonstrating before Canal+ lead offices in Paris. File photo.

Editor,Reference is made to the story, "French TV to be sued over Genocide sketch” (The New Times, January 21).Do not expect an objective outcome in France from a suit against Canal+ mocking the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. France and its institutions are fully behind thegenocidaires.Remember Pierre Pean and his openly racist depiction of Rwandans, especially the Tutsis and how he was acquitted by French courts which found he had no case to answer in a comparable suit? Well he has now been rewarded with his country’s highest honour.A more practical and effective Rwandan response would be to close down Canal+ operations in this country, sensitise individual Rwandans to unsubscribe from Canal+ and sue them in other countries outside France and perhaps get their operations there closed down as well or at least show them for the denigrators of Genocide that they are.Hitting their bottom line is a much more practical and satisfactory response than a suit in French courts that is lost in advance.Mwene Kalinda, Rwanda *************************This situation illustrates the fact that not all topics can be used as comedy material.Regarding genocide, some may have a dark agenda and intentionally use humour as a way of promoting it, and others may not have a somber objective, yet unintentionally hurt those that have been the victims of what remains the greatest crime against humanity. The lesson here is that freedom of expression does have its limits. Not exclusively from a legal standpoint, but more importantly from a moral one.Diyana, Rwanda