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RWANDA GENOCIDE EXHIBIT DELAYED
By Evelyn Leopold
Independent Online, South Africa
April 10 2007
Geneva - A United Nations exhibit on the 13th anniversary of the Rwanda
genocide has been delayed after Turkish objections to a mention of
the killing of Armenians in Turkey during World War 1, organisers
said on Monday.
The photo and text exhibit, organised in part by the British-based
Aegis Trust, was scheduled to be opened on Monday by UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
But Turkey objected to a sentence in the text, which showed how the
Armenian killings contributed to the creation of the term genocide,
according to James Smith, chief executive of Aegis, whose mission is
to prevent genocide.
'We are committed to it. It is a very important issue' It said:
"Following World War 1, during which one million Armenians were
murdered in Turkey, Polish lawyer Raphael Lemkin urged the League of
Nations to recognise crimes of barbarity as international crimes,"
Smith said.
Organisers said they were informed of the delay by the UN Department
of Public Information, which had initially approved the exhibit in
the visitors' lobby. The secretary-general's office then consented
to the postponement.
UN officials confirmed that objections by Turkey and others, which
they did not mention, were responsible for the delay. One staff member
said an official in the Department of Public Information had not sent
the text to other divisions for fact-checking.
"The exhibition has been postponed until the regular review process
is completed," UN associate spokesperson Farhan Haq said.
David Browan, communications director for Aegis, told Reuters that
Armenian diplomats had agreed to the removal of the words "in Turkey,"
which was acceptable to his group. But he said, "We understand that
was not acceptable to the UN"
About 1.5 million Armenians perished at the hands of Ottoman Turks,
according to historians. Turkey denies any systematic genocide,
saying large numbers of both Christian Armenians and Muslim Turks
died in a partisan conflict raging at that time.
Aegis, however, is resisting removing references to the Armenian
killings in connection with the exhibit on Rwanda, where at least 800
000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were massacred by Hutus. The murders
began on April 6, 1994.
The exhibit also mentions the Nazi extermination of Jews in World War
2 and has passing references to Cambodia's killing fields and crimes
in Bosnia, East Timor and Sudan.
But a UN official insisted the exhibit would take place. "We are
committed to it. It is a very important issue," said Manoel de Almeida
e Silva, an official in the strategic communications division.
By Evelyn Leopold
Independent Online, South Africa
April 10 2007
Geneva - A United Nations exhibit on the 13th anniversary of the Rwanda
genocide has been delayed after Turkish objections to a mention of
the killing of Armenians in Turkey during World War 1, organisers
said on Monday.
The photo and text exhibit, organised in part by the British-based
Aegis Trust, was scheduled to be opened on Monday by UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
But Turkey objected to a sentence in the text, which showed how the
Armenian killings contributed to the creation of the term genocide,
according to James Smith, chief executive of Aegis, whose mission is
to prevent genocide.
'We are committed to it. It is a very important issue' It said:
"Following World War 1, during which one million Armenians were
murdered in Turkey, Polish lawyer Raphael Lemkin urged the League of
Nations to recognise crimes of barbarity as international crimes,"
Smith said.
Organisers said they were informed of the delay by the UN Department
of Public Information, which had initially approved the exhibit in
the visitors' lobby. The secretary-general's office then consented
to the postponement.
UN officials confirmed that objections by Turkey and others, which
they did not mention, were responsible for the delay. One staff member
said an official in the Department of Public Information had not sent
the text to other divisions for fact-checking.
"The exhibition has been postponed until the regular review process
is completed," UN associate spokesperson Farhan Haq said.
David Browan, communications director for Aegis, told Reuters that
Armenian diplomats had agreed to the removal of the words "in Turkey,"
which was acceptable to his group. But he said, "We understand that
was not acceptable to the UN"
About 1.5 million Armenians perished at the hands of Ottoman Turks,
according to historians. Turkey denies any systematic genocide,
saying large numbers of both Christian Armenians and Muslim Turks
died in a partisan conflict raging at that time.
Aegis, however, is resisting removing references to the Armenian
killings in connection with the exhibit on Rwanda, where at least 800
000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were massacred by Hutus. The murders
began on April 6, 1994.
The exhibit also mentions the Nazi extermination of Jews in World War
2 and has passing references to Cambodia's killing fields and crimes
in Bosnia, East Timor and Sudan.
But a UN official insisted the exhibit would take place. "We are
committed to it. It is a very important issue," said Manoel de Almeida
e Silva, an official in the strategic communications division.