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RWANDA GENOCIDE EXHIBIT REVISES WORDS ON ARMENIANS
By Evelyn Leopold
Reuters, UK
May 1 2007
UNITED NATIONS, April 30 (Reuters) - An exhibit on the lessons of the
genocide in Rwanda opened on Monday, three weeks after Turkey forced
its delay because of references to the murders of Armenians during
World War One.
The language on the Armenians was changed to say "Ottoman Empire"
instead of "Turkey" and does not include the number of people killed
on panels in the exhibit that include photos, statements and video
testimonies.
There was no immediate reaction from Turkey but Armenian envoys and
sponsors of the exhibit, the British-based Aegis, said they were
satisfied with the compromise.
Originally, the lettering on a panel said: "Following World War One,
during which 1 million Armenians were murdered in Turkey, Polish
lawyer Raphael Lemkin urged the League of Nations to recognize crimes
of barbarity as international crimes," Smith said.
The new wording says: "In 1933, the lawyer Raphael Lemkin, a Polish
Jew, urged the League of Nations to recognize mass atrocities against
a particular group as an international crime. He cited mass killings
of Armenians in the Ottoman empire in World War I and other mass
killings in history. He was ignored."
Some 1.5 million Armenians perished at the hands of Ottoman Turks,
according to historians. Turkey, whose diplomats had protested the
exhibit, denies any systematic genocide, saying large numbers of
both Christian Armenians and Muslim Turks died in a partisan conflict
raging at that time.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon opened the exhibit in commemoration
of the 13th anniversary of the Rwanda genocide, in which 800,000
people, mainly Tutsis and moderate Hutus, were massacred by militant
Hutus in April 1994.
Ban recalled how he visited Rwanda last year and talk to "those who
had endured one of humankind's darkest chapters."
But Ban, in a gesture to Turkey, said the exhibit did not "attempt
to make historical judgments on other issues."
He said the United Nations "has taken no position on events" that took
place before World War Two "that led to the birth of the organization."
Ban also said the post of special advisor on genocide, now held by
Juan Mendez of Argentina, would be elevated to a full-time rather
than a part-time position.
He said governments had agreed in principle of the "responsibility
to protect" civilians when their governments could or would not do so.
"Our challenge now is to give real meaning to the concept by taking
steps to make it operational," Ban said. "Only then will it truly give
hope to those facing genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity
and ethnic cleansing."
The exhibit was installed in the U.N. visitors lobby by the
British-based Aegis Trust. The trust campaigns for the prevention
of genocide and runs a center in Kigali, the Rwandan capital,
memorializing the victims of the massacres.
While Ban did not mention the deaths in Sudan's western region of
Darfur, Aegis made clear that Darfur was on its agenda and that
learning from the Holocaust or from Rwanda meant "had practical
implications for the world today."
"Genocide never happens by chance. It takes time to plan and
organize. The warning signs are always there," one of the panels in
the exhibit said.
By Evelyn Leopold
Reuters, UK
May 1 2007
UNITED NATIONS, April 30 (Reuters) - An exhibit on the lessons of the
genocide in Rwanda opened on Monday, three weeks after Turkey forced
its delay because of references to the murders of Armenians during
World War One.
The language on the Armenians was changed to say "Ottoman Empire"
instead of "Turkey" and does not include the number of people killed
on panels in the exhibit that include photos, statements and video
testimonies.
There was no immediate reaction from Turkey but Armenian envoys and
sponsors of the exhibit, the British-based Aegis, said they were
satisfied with the compromise.
Originally, the lettering on a panel said: "Following World War One,
during which 1 million Armenians were murdered in Turkey, Polish
lawyer Raphael Lemkin urged the League of Nations to recognize crimes
of barbarity as international crimes," Smith said.
The new wording says: "In 1933, the lawyer Raphael Lemkin, a Polish
Jew, urged the League of Nations to recognize mass atrocities against
a particular group as an international crime. He cited mass killings
of Armenians in the Ottoman empire in World War I and other mass
killings in history. He was ignored."
Some 1.5 million Armenians perished at the hands of Ottoman Turks,
according to historians. Turkey, whose diplomats had protested the
exhibit, denies any systematic genocide, saying large numbers of
both Christian Armenians and Muslim Turks died in a partisan conflict
raging at that time.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon opened the exhibit in commemoration
of the 13th anniversary of the Rwanda genocide, in which 800,000
people, mainly Tutsis and moderate Hutus, were massacred by militant
Hutus in April 1994.
Ban recalled how he visited Rwanda last year and talk to "those who
had endured one of humankind's darkest chapters."
But Ban, in a gesture to Turkey, said the exhibit did not "attempt
to make historical judgments on other issues."
He said the United Nations "has taken no position on events" that took
place before World War Two "that led to the birth of the organization."
Ban also said the post of special advisor on genocide, now held by
Juan Mendez of Argentina, would be elevated to a full-time rather
than a part-time position.
He said governments had agreed in principle of the "responsibility
to protect" civilians when their governments could or would not do so.
"Our challenge now is to give real meaning to the concept by taking
steps to make it operational," Ban said. "Only then will it truly give
hope to those facing genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity
and ethnic cleansing."
The exhibit was installed in the U.N. visitors lobby by the
British-based Aegis Trust. The trust campaigns for the prevention
of genocide and runs a center in Kigali, the Rwandan capital,
memorializing the victims of the massacres.
While Ban did not mention the deaths in Sudan's western region of
Darfur, Aegis made clear that Darfur was on its agenda and that
learning from the Holocaust or from Rwanda meant "had practical
implications for the world today."
"Genocide never happens by chance. It takes time to plan and
organize. The warning signs are always there," one of the panels in
the exhibit said.