Linda Melvern

Linda Melvernis a British investigativejournalist.Early in her career, she worked forThe Evening Standardand thenThe Sunday Times(UK), including on the investigative Insight Team.Since leaving the newspaper she has written seven books of non-fiction. She is a former Honorary Professor of theUniversity of Wales,Aberystwyth,in the Department of International Politics.

Career

In her early career, Melvern concentrated on a variety of subjects. Her first book, “Techno-Bandits”, was co-authored with Nick Anning and David Hedbitch in 1984, and told the story of theUS Department of Defense's attempts to prevent theSoviet Unionfrom acquiring American technology.Her next book - her first solo exploit - investigatedRupert Murdoch's campaign against the British print unions in order to use a more modern printing plant in Wapping. The book, entitled “The End of the Street”, was published in 1986 byMethuen.

In the 1990s, her focus shifted somewhat to the United Nations - starting withThe Ultimate Crime(Allison and Busby,1995) - an investigation into the secret aspects of the first 50 years of UN history. The book became the basis of a TV series forChannel Four,the three-partUN Bluesbroadcast in January 1995.

For much of the past twenty years, Melvern work has concentrated on the circumstances of the 1994genocide in Rwanda.She was the second vice-President of theInternational Association of Genocide Scholars.Melvern was a consultant to the Military One prosecution team at theInternational Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda(ICTR), and a part of her archive of documents on the planning and preparation of the genocide form a part of the documentary evidence used by the prosecution in this trial.In 2017, Rwandan PresidentPaul Kagamepresented Melvern with the Igihango National Order of Outstanding Friendship.

Critical responses

Her first book on the genocide,A People Betrayed,was mostly met with warm praise from scholars and other experts. The book covered the inaction of theUnited Nationsand the international community during the genocide. Canadian academicGerard Caplancalled it a "good, solid book",while former ICTR Prosecutor Teree Bowers hailed it as a "riveting, comprehensive overview".

Conspiracy to Murderwas also generally well-received. In general, scholars praised Melvern on the depth of her research. Political ScientistNicolas van de Wallecalled the account "authoritative", though it had "shortcomings" relating to its scope.Scott Straus,another prominent expert on Africa and Rwanda, had a similar analysis, arguing that while "the book's depiction of the genocide, does not depart from the now-standard portrayal", it adds value by "presenting fresh new details, anecdotes, and evidence".

In 2020, Verso published her bookIntent to Deceive: Denying the Genocide of the Tutsi- undoubtedly her most controversial work.Alex Russellpublished a favorable review of the book inFinancial Times,calling it a "clear, crisp and important contribution to the literature on the genocide".Roméo Dallaire,force commander ofUNAMIRduring the events of 1994, also endorsed the book inThe Globe and Mail,praising how it highlighted how "individuals with everything to lose... manipulate[d] the next generation into revisionists and genocide deniers. These duped academics, journalists and other “experts” continue to propagate self-serving lies onto the victims.

In a critical review of the book, Belgian scholarFilip Reyntjens,who is criticised several times in the book, writes that Melvern suffers fromconfirmation bias,selective use of sources, factual errors, and overtly favoring the RPF. He also states,

A conversation on facts and their interpretation becomes impossible when false accusations are levelled against participants, for instance, by branding them as genocide deniers, merely because they have a different reading of events. Throughout the book, several scholars and other writers, including the author of this review, are accused of denial, although they unambiguously acknowledge the historical fact that the Rwandan Tutsi have been the victims of genocide.

In the same review, Reyntjens describes her as one of the "staunch defenders of the rulingRwandan Patriotic Front".However, Reyntjens also writes that the book is well written and "offers interesting and at times novel insights into a number of events". Susan Thomsonalso criticized the book, stating that it is "a regurgitation of the government line, rooted in a selective reading of history". She states that Melvern fails to distinguish between actual genocide denial and non-adherence to the version of history preferred by the RPF, as well as ignoring the RPF's use of laws against "genocide denial" to target critics.

Books

• Techno-Bandits: How the Soviets are Stealing America’s High-Tech Future- with Nick Anning and David Hebditch (1984)ISBN978-0395360668
• The End of the Street: The Story of Rupert Murdoch’s Coup Against the British Press(1986)ISBN978-0413146403
• The Ultimate Crime: Who Betrayed the UN and Why(1995)ISBN978-0850319392
• A People Betrayed: The Role of the West in Rwanda's Genocide(2000)ISBN978-1856498302
• World Organizations: United Nations(2001)ISBN978-0531148143
• Conspiracy to Murder: The Rwandan Genocide(2004)ISBN978-1859845882
• Intent to Deceive: Denying the Genocide of the Tutsi(2020)ISBN978-1788733281

External links

• Official website
• Melvern, Linda (5 April 2004)."The west did intervene in Rwanda, on the wrong side".The Guardian.