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Conference on Armenian, Jewish, and Tutsi Genocides Held in Rwanda
>From l to r. row 1: Donald Miller, (unknown),John Bosco Siboyintore, Wendy
Lower, Peter Balakian, Bianca Bagatourian, Deborah Lipstadt, Hadley Rose;
row 2: unknown, Tom Nhadiro, Jean-Pierre Karegeye, Glen Ford, Solange
Umulisa, Jose Kagabo
KIGALI, Rwanda - `Genocide and Denial: The Armenian, Jewish, and Tutsi
Genocide' was hosted by and held at the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre in
conjunction with CNLG (National Commission for the Fight Against Genocide)
in Kigali, Rwanda from July 17 to 18.
The Memorial Cenre houses a museum that includes exhibits on the Armenian
genocide, the Holocaust, the Cambodian genocide, the Bosnian genocide, and
genocide in Darfur. The two-day conference featured papers by distinguished
scholars from the United States, Europe, and Rwanda. Its primary focus was
the analysis of denial as a facet of genocide's aftermath. The Rwandan
media including Rwanda TV covered the conference and The Rwandan New Times
ran a feature article `Scholars Discuss Impact of Genocide Denial.'
The Master of Ceremonies and conference co-organizer, playwright Bianca
Bagatourian, called the conference to order on Tuesday morning July 17,
noting that many things, including `the legacies of denial perpetrated by
the Turkish state, anti-Semitic groups, and Hutu nationalists, connect the
three unambiguous cases of genocide in the twentieth century.' Because
denial is always an issue following genocide, Jean-Pierre Karegeye, Tom
Ndahiro, Jose Kagabo, and Hadley Rose all discussed various dimensions of
the denial issue in Rwanda today, and Rose discussed the problems that
arise in drafting genocide ideology laws.
Noted Holocaust scholar and conference participant, Deborah Lipstadt
emphasized that: `Denial of genocide whether that of the Turks against the
Armenians, or the Nazis against the Jews, or the Hutu against the Tutsi is
not an act of historical reinterpretation. Rather, the deniers sow
confusion by appearing to be engaged in a genuine scholarly effort. The
abundance of documents and testimonies that confirm the genocide are
dismissed as contrived, coerced, or forgeries and falsehoods. . . . Denial
of genocide strives to reshape history in order to demonize the victims and
rehabilitate the perpetrators.'
Conference co-organizer Peter Balakian later stated that `denialism is the
final stage of genocide, as it attempts to falsify history and create a
counterfeit universe for the survivors and their legacies, and it must be
studied and analyzed in order to be exposed for the ethical problems it
creates.'
The conference included a dynamic combination of lectures and presentations
that dealt with facets of genocide and dimensions of denial: Dr. Peter
Balakian, Colgate University, US: The Armenian Genocide and Modernity; and
A Fetishized Foreign Policy: Turkish State Denial of the Armenian Genocide.
Dr. José Kagabo, Ecole des hautes études en sciences sociales, France:
On
Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda: Different Forms of Denial; Dr.
Jean-Pierre Karegeye, Macalester College, US: Denying the Tutsi Genocide:
An African Paradigm? Dr. Deborah Lipstadt, Emory University, US: To Debate
or Not To Debate: Strategies for Addressing Genocide Denial - Like Trying
To Nail a Blob of Jelly to the Wall; Dr. Wendy Lower, Claremont McKenna
College, US: Landscapes of Destruction and Refuge - Topography of Genocide
in
Killing Fields of Eastern Europe; Tom Ndahiro, Researcher, IGSC, Rwanda:
When Racial Hatred is Fashionable, and Bigotry Eulogized; Dr. Donald
Miller, University of Southern California: The Role of Survivor Testimony
in Countering Genocide Denial: Comparing Oral History Testimony of Armenian
and Tutsi Genocide Survivors; Hadley Rose, Esq.: Re-Drafting Rwanda's
Genocide Ideology Law; Dr. Gregory Stanton, George Mason University, US:
Tactics of Denial: A Comparison of Denial of the Armenian Genocide by the
Turkish State and Denial of the Tutsi Genocide in Rwanda by Hutu Power
Genocidaires.
During both days, audiences that included Rwandans, Europeans, and
Americans showed great interest in the presentations at the Kigali Genocide
Memorial Centre, which is now central to the cultural life of the city and
is also visited by thousands of tourists annually. The Kigali Memorial
Centre was established by the Aegis Trust, founded by Dr. James Smith, who
also created the Holocaust Memorial and Education Centre in the UK. The
staff of the Centre, led by Ms. Solange Umulisa, Deputy Director, did a
superb job of making the conference a groundbreaking international event.
`Having a scholarly symposium on Armenian, Jewish, and Tutsi genocides and
their aftermaths,' Balakian noted, `in an important sub Saharan African
country like Rwanda opens up new pathways for intellectual work.'
http://asbarez.com/104699/conference-on-armenian-jewish-and-tutsi-genocides-held-in-rwanda/
>From l to r. row 1: Donald Miller, (unknown),John Bosco Siboyintore, Wendy
Lower, Peter Balakian, Bianca Bagatourian, Deborah Lipstadt, Hadley Rose;
row 2: unknown, Tom Nhadiro, Jean-Pierre Karegeye, Glen Ford, Solange
Umulisa, Jose Kagabo
KIGALI, Rwanda - `Genocide and Denial: The Armenian, Jewish, and Tutsi
Genocide' was hosted by and held at the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre in
conjunction with CNLG (National Commission for the Fight Against Genocide)
in Kigali, Rwanda from July 17 to 18.
The Memorial Cenre houses a museum that includes exhibits on the Armenian
genocide, the Holocaust, the Cambodian genocide, the Bosnian genocide, and
genocide in Darfur. The two-day conference featured papers by distinguished
scholars from the United States, Europe, and Rwanda. Its primary focus was
the analysis of denial as a facet of genocide's aftermath. The Rwandan
media including Rwanda TV covered the conference and The Rwandan New Times
ran a feature article `Scholars Discuss Impact of Genocide Denial.'
The Master of Ceremonies and conference co-organizer, playwright Bianca
Bagatourian, called the conference to order on Tuesday morning July 17,
noting that many things, including `the legacies of denial perpetrated by
the Turkish state, anti-Semitic groups, and Hutu nationalists, connect the
three unambiguous cases of genocide in the twentieth century.' Because
denial is always an issue following genocide, Jean-Pierre Karegeye, Tom
Ndahiro, Jose Kagabo, and Hadley Rose all discussed various dimensions of
the denial issue in Rwanda today, and Rose discussed the problems that
arise in drafting genocide ideology laws.
Noted Holocaust scholar and conference participant, Deborah Lipstadt
emphasized that: `Denial of genocide whether that of the Turks against the
Armenians, or the Nazis against the Jews, or the Hutu against the Tutsi is
not an act of historical reinterpretation. Rather, the deniers sow
confusion by appearing to be engaged in a genuine scholarly effort. The
abundance of documents and testimonies that confirm the genocide are
dismissed as contrived, coerced, or forgeries and falsehoods. . . . Denial
of genocide strives to reshape history in order to demonize the victims and
rehabilitate the perpetrators.'
Conference co-organizer Peter Balakian later stated that `denialism is the
final stage of genocide, as it attempts to falsify history and create a
counterfeit universe for the survivors and their legacies, and it must be
studied and analyzed in order to be exposed for the ethical problems it
creates.'
The conference included a dynamic combination of lectures and presentations
that dealt with facets of genocide and dimensions of denial: Dr. Peter
Balakian, Colgate University, US: The Armenian Genocide and Modernity; and
A Fetishized Foreign Policy: Turkish State Denial of the Armenian Genocide.
Dr. José Kagabo, Ecole des hautes études en sciences sociales, France:
On
Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda: Different Forms of Denial; Dr.
Jean-Pierre Karegeye, Macalester College, US: Denying the Tutsi Genocide:
An African Paradigm? Dr. Deborah Lipstadt, Emory University, US: To Debate
or Not To Debate: Strategies for Addressing Genocide Denial - Like Trying
To Nail a Blob of Jelly to the Wall; Dr. Wendy Lower, Claremont McKenna
College, US: Landscapes of Destruction and Refuge - Topography of Genocide
in
Killing Fields of Eastern Europe; Tom Ndahiro, Researcher, IGSC, Rwanda:
When Racial Hatred is Fashionable, and Bigotry Eulogized; Dr. Donald
Miller, University of Southern California: The Role of Survivor Testimony
in Countering Genocide Denial: Comparing Oral History Testimony of Armenian
and Tutsi Genocide Survivors; Hadley Rose, Esq.: Re-Drafting Rwanda's
Genocide Ideology Law; Dr. Gregory Stanton, George Mason University, US:
Tactics of Denial: A Comparison of Denial of the Armenian Genocide by the
Turkish State and Denial of the Tutsi Genocide in Rwanda by Hutu Power
Genocidaires.
During both days, audiences that included Rwandans, Europeans, and
Americans showed great interest in the presentations at the Kigali Genocide
Memorial Centre, which is now central to the cultural life of the city and
is also visited by thousands of tourists annually. The Kigali Memorial
Centre was established by the Aegis Trust, founded by Dr. James Smith, who
also created the Holocaust Memorial and Education Centre in the UK. The
staff of the Centre, led by Ms. Solange Umulisa, Deputy Director, did a
superb job of making the conference a groundbreaking international event.
`Having a scholarly symposium on Armenian, Jewish, and Tutsi genocides and
their aftermaths,' Balakian noted, `in an important sub Saharan African
country like Rwanda opens up new pathways for intellectual work.'
http://asbarez.com/104699/conference-on-armenian-jewish-and-tutsi-genocides-held-in-rwanda/