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UN PHOTO EXHIBIT IN NEW YORK CREATES FIRESTORM, ACCUSED OF BEING 'PRO SYRIAN REGIME'
Resource Magazine
Jan 14 2015
Photography exhibits falls under the form of freedom of speech and
expression. It has been the platform used by many photographers to
spread awareness about the plight of the oppressed, poverty stricken
and abandoned people from all over the world. However, in certain
instances it courts with controversy if this medium is viewed upon as
showcasing images favorable to a despotic regime. Such is the case of
a UN photography exhibit being held at the UN headquarters in New York
City right now, where critics and Syrian opposition groups have branded
it as taking sides with the Syrian Government of President Assad.
Reuters UN Correspondent (c) Michelle Nichols
Organized by the UN mission of Syria, the photography series called
"My Homeland" by Armenian-Syrian photographer Hagop Vanesian is
drawing an outcry from Syrian opponents. Syrian National Coalition
Representative to the UN, Dr. Najib Ghadbian's claims in his letter
to U.N. Under Secretary General for Management Yukio Takasu, that
the photo exhibit was commissioned to "whitewash the regime's war
crimes and perpetuate its narrative: that it is a victim rather than
the primary perpetrator of death and destruction in Syria."
"By doing so, the UN condones the atrocities committed by Syrian
forces, and serves as a mouthpiece for (Bashar) Assad's heinous war
crimes." the group further stated as they increase their calls for
the UN to remove the exhibit.
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric defended the exhibit by telling
reporters that the responsibility falls to the UN missions for the
contents of any photography exhibit they sponsor.
He explained that the slots for photo exhibits at the UN headquarters'
non-public areas are reserved to member nations and states a
"first-come first-served" basis and that the UN, in following the path
to freedom of expression, does not practice any editorial control over
the content. "Representatives of permanent missions are asked to use
the utmost discretion to ensure that exhibits are in non-commercial
nature and consistent with the principles and aims of the UN,"
Dujarric said.
Journalist Samuel Oakford who have seen the photography exhibit wrote
about the images on his Vice News article "Vanesian's pictures show
bombed-out churches, pillaged homes, parents mourning dead children,
and improvised defenses made of sheets to prevent snipers' lines
of sight. In photographs where a looming enemy is suggested, it is
invariably rebel forces. In one photograph, four children, among them
a toddler, are shown standing around an unexploded jerry-rigged gas
canister missile, a weapon known to be used by rebels in and around
the city."
In defense of his exhibit, photographer Hagop Vanesian told the
Associated Press that he's a "humanitarian" and not a politician. "I
just photograph the suffering of the people," he said, adding "that
Western countries have listed some of the groups fighting inside
Syria as terrorists." and according to his twitter bio "The war in
Syria changed my life but not my principals,"
In light of this issue, do you agree that photography exhibits should
be look upon without any political leanings and let us just view the
photographs as it is without fear that it can become a propaganda
tool of a certain political faction? Or you think, that photography
should always side with the oppressed and steer out of documenting
the other side of the story? well, right now it does not look like
anything like a clear black and white territory and it is something
us photographers can openly discuss among each other.
http://resourcemagonline.com/2015/01/un-photo-exhibit-in-new-york-creates-firestorm-accused-of-being-pro-syrian-regime/46608/
From: Baghdasarian
Resource Magazine
Jan 14 2015
Photography exhibits falls under the form of freedom of speech and
expression. It has been the platform used by many photographers to
spread awareness about the plight of the oppressed, poverty stricken
and abandoned people from all over the world. However, in certain
instances it courts with controversy if this medium is viewed upon as
showcasing images favorable to a despotic regime. Such is the case of
a UN photography exhibit being held at the UN headquarters in New York
City right now, where critics and Syrian opposition groups have branded
it as taking sides with the Syrian Government of President Assad.
Reuters UN Correspondent (c) Michelle Nichols
Organized by the UN mission of Syria, the photography series called
"My Homeland" by Armenian-Syrian photographer Hagop Vanesian is
drawing an outcry from Syrian opponents. Syrian National Coalition
Representative to the UN, Dr. Najib Ghadbian's claims in his letter
to U.N. Under Secretary General for Management Yukio Takasu, that
the photo exhibit was commissioned to "whitewash the regime's war
crimes and perpetuate its narrative: that it is a victim rather than
the primary perpetrator of death and destruction in Syria."
"By doing so, the UN condones the atrocities committed by Syrian
forces, and serves as a mouthpiece for (Bashar) Assad's heinous war
crimes." the group further stated as they increase their calls for
the UN to remove the exhibit.
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric defended the exhibit by telling
reporters that the responsibility falls to the UN missions for the
contents of any photography exhibit they sponsor.
He explained that the slots for photo exhibits at the UN headquarters'
non-public areas are reserved to member nations and states a
"first-come first-served" basis and that the UN, in following the path
to freedom of expression, does not practice any editorial control over
the content. "Representatives of permanent missions are asked to use
the utmost discretion to ensure that exhibits are in non-commercial
nature and consistent with the principles and aims of the UN,"
Dujarric said.
Journalist Samuel Oakford who have seen the photography exhibit wrote
about the images on his Vice News article "Vanesian's pictures show
bombed-out churches, pillaged homes, parents mourning dead children,
and improvised defenses made of sheets to prevent snipers' lines
of sight. In photographs where a looming enemy is suggested, it is
invariably rebel forces. In one photograph, four children, among them
a toddler, are shown standing around an unexploded jerry-rigged gas
canister missile, a weapon known to be used by rebels in and around
the city."
In defense of his exhibit, photographer Hagop Vanesian told the
Associated Press that he's a "humanitarian" and not a politician. "I
just photograph the suffering of the people," he said, adding "that
Western countries have listed some of the groups fighting inside
Syria as terrorists." and according to his twitter bio "The war in
Syria changed my life but not my principals,"
In light of this issue, do you agree that photography exhibits should
be look upon without any political leanings and let us just view the
photographs as it is without fear that it can become a propaganda
tool of a certain political faction? Or you think, that photography
should always side with the oppressed and steer out of documenting
the other side of the story? well, right now it does not look like
anything like a clear black and white territory and it is something
us photographers can openly discuss among each other.
http://resourcemagonline.com/2015/01/un-photo-exhibit-in-new-york-creates-firestorm-accused-of-being-pro-syrian-regime/46608/
From: Baghdasarian