TUTSI GENOCIDE: American Armenia Expresses Concern over Exhibition Due to Turkish interference
Tuesday, 17 April 2007
Rwanda Information Exchange
Written by Administrator
Armenian Assembly of America Expresses Concern over Exhibition 'Lessons from Rwanda' Due to Turkish Interference
Washington, DC - The Armenian Assembly this week sent a letter of concern regarding the postponement of a UN exhibit on the Rwanda Genocide, 'Lessons from Rwanda,' due to an unwarranted interference by the mission of Turkey to the United Nations over a reference to the Armenian Genocide. The letter was sent to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Under-Secretary- General for Communications and Public Information Kiyotaka Akasaka.
In the letter, Assembly Executive Director Bryan Ardouny expressed disappointment with the suspension of the exhibit, which included a description of the Armenian Genocide as a prototype of the international crimes requiring concerted response and prevention attributed to Raphael Lemkin, who authored the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
The Assembly also applauded the decision of the exhibit's organizers to continue to resist the removal of the reference to the Armenian Genocide as a matter of principal and urged the UN support of the initial exhibit without qualifications.
Attached is the full text of the Assembly's letter to the UN Secretary General which was also sent to the Under-Secretary- General for Communications and Public Information:
LETTER TO THE UN SECRETARY GENERAL
Subject: Postponement of the exhibition 'Lessons from Rwanda'
Excellency,
On behalf of the Armenian Assembly of America, an NGO with Special Consultative Status at the United Nations since 1999, I am writing to express my deepest concern over the postponement of a UN exhibit on the Rwanda Genocide due to unwarranted interference by the mission of Turkey to the United Nations.
Aegis Trust, the organizer of the exhibit, is to be commended for taking the initiative to share the lessons of Rwanda, and of genocide in general, as the recurrence of this crime against humanity remains a global issue.
I am, therefore, particularly dismayed to learn the exhibit was suspended over a reference to the Armenian Genocide attributed to Raphael Lemkin, the very author of the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, who described the Armenian Genocide as a prototype of the international crimes requiring concerted response and prevention. This act of censorship undermines the very credibility of the UN commitment to responding to and preventing genocide.
Genocide prevention is contingent on the ability of the international community to properly acknowledge and draw lessons from past genocides, to ensure that future situations with the potential of leading to such new crimes are identified early and prevented.
Amnesia, selectivity and denial corrupt that effort, and disregard the standards of morality and political wisdom guiding this search for improved mechanisms and capabilities for collective action to prevent, and prosecute genocide.
In recent years, interventions in Kosovo and Bosnia helped arrest ethnic cleansing in the Balkans, bringing stability and rehabilitation to the peoples in that region. The international response to Kosovo and Bosnia, however, came largely as a result of the bitter lesson learned in Rwanda, where the tragic inaction of the world community resulted in some of the most heinous crimes committed against innocent populations.
The failure to stop the Armenian Genocide in the early part of the 20th century emboldened the Nazis two decades later to proceed with their plans for the 'Final Solution', leading to the Holocaust.
The Armenian Genocide is a tragedy of seminal importance to the modern knowledge on, and understanding of, the phenomenon of genocide. The Armenian Assembly, therefore, applauds the decision of the organizers of the exhibit to continue to resist, as a matter of principle, removing the reference to the Armenian Genocide.
We similarly urge you to support the exhibit as initially approved, without qualifications.
Sincerely,
Bryan Ardouny
Executive Director
The Armenian Assembly is the largest Washington-based nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness of Armenian issues. It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
Rwanda Information Exchange
Written by Administrator
Armenian Assembly of America Expresses Concern over Exhibition 'Lessons from Rwanda' Due to Turkish Interference
Washington, DC - The Armenian Assembly this week sent a letter of concern regarding the postponement of a UN exhibit on the Rwanda Genocide, 'Lessons from Rwanda,' due to an unwarranted interference by the mission of Turkey to the United Nations over a reference to the Armenian Genocide. The letter was sent to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Under-Secretary- General for Communications and Public Information Kiyotaka Akasaka.
In the letter, Assembly Executive Director Bryan Ardouny expressed disappointment with the suspension of the exhibit, which included a description of the Armenian Genocide as a prototype of the international crimes requiring concerted response and prevention attributed to Raphael Lemkin, who authored the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
The Assembly also applauded the decision of the exhibit's organizers to continue to resist the removal of the reference to the Armenian Genocide as a matter of principal and urged the UN support of the initial exhibit without qualifications.
Attached is the full text of the Assembly's letter to the UN Secretary General which was also sent to the Under-Secretary- General for Communications and Public Information:
LETTER TO THE UN SECRETARY GENERAL
Subject: Postponement of the exhibition 'Lessons from Rwanda'
Excellency,
On behalf of the Armenian Assembly of America, an NGO with Special Consultative Status at the United Nations since 1999, I am writing to express my deepest concern over the postponement of a UN exhibit on the Rwanda Genocide due to unwarranted interference by the mission of Turkey to the United Nations.
Aegis Trust, the organizer of the exhibit, is to be commended for taking the initiative to share the lessons of Rwanda, and of genocide in general, as the recurrence of this crime against humanity remains a global issue.
I am, therefore, particularly dismayed to learn the exhibit was suspended over a reference to the Armenian Genocide attributed to Raphael Lemkin, the very author of the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, who described the Armenian Genocide as a prototype of the international crimes requiring concerted response and prevention. This act of censorship undermines the very credibility of the UN commitment to responding to and preventing genocide.
Genocide prevention is contingent on the ability of the international community to properly acknowledge and draw lessons from past genocides, to ensure that future situations with the potential of leading to such new crimes are identified early and prevented.
Amnesia, selectivity and denial corrupt that effort, and disregard the standards of morality and political wisdom guiding this search for improved mechanisms and capabilities for collective action to prevent, and prosecute genocide.
In recent years, interventions in Kosovo and Bosnia helped arrest ethnic cleansing in the Balkans, bringing stability and rehabilitation to the peoples in that region. The international response to Kosovo and Bosnia, however, came largely as a result of the bitter lesson learned in Rwanda, where the tragic inaction of the world community resulted in some of the most heinous crimes committed against innocent populations.
The failure to stop the Armenian Genocide in the early part of the 20th century emboldened the Nazis two decades later to proceed with their plans for the 'Final Solution', leading to the Holocaust.
The Armenian Genocide is a tragedy of seminal importance to the modern knowledge on, and understanding of, the phenomenon of genocide. The Armenian Assembly, therefore, applauds the decision of the organizers of the exhibit to continue to resist, as a matter of principle, removing the reference to the Armenian Genocide.
We similarly urge you to support the exhibit as initially approved, without qualifications.
Sincerely,
Bryan Ardouny
Executive Director
The Armenian Assembly is the largest Washington-based nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness of Armenian issues. It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
Labels: Rwandan genocide, Turkey anti-Genocide Recognition PR
posted by Vahe Balabanian at 9:15 AM
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