Day Nine

Tuesday, June 24

Today’s visits explored the huge divides of international politics. We had the honor of meeting with the Ambassador and Representatives of both sides of the Cyprus situation. We were cordially met and hosted by both parties. Each in their own eloquent way made their case and offered hope for a reunification of Cyprus – which I firmly believe both sides wish – but is in the HOW that politics divide the island.



In the morning we met at the Honorable Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus with his Excellency Andreas Kakouris, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Cyprus to the United States. A well-spoken man, Ambassador Kakouris was eloquent in speaking of his country and the need for reunification. He shared with us his happiness of the opening of the Ledra Street gate in Nicosi, allowing both Greek and Turkish Cypriots to cross the border. He also shared the painful story of his parents returning to their home in Northern Cyprus to find them destroyed or turned into parking lots.

He talked about three key aspects related to the Turkish invasion of Cyprus– Democracy, Human Rights, and the Rule of Law. It is the issues surrounding the Rule of Law that complicate this situation, especially related to the continued Turkish military presence on the island, Turkish immigration, and property reclamation. From the Greek Cypriot position, under the Rule of Law – Turkey is the invader and the cause of the problems, escalating tensions and interfering with the legal governance of the island.

He also talked about Kofi Annan proposal for Reunification. The main reason for the 75 percent "no" vote among Greek Cypriots in the referendum was their perception that the Annan Plan was unbalanced and excessively pro-Turkish.

The good news is that a series of working groups in Cyprus are negotiating a shared government structure and the details for reunification in advance of formal meetings beginning this summer.

In the afternoon, we traveled to Georgetown to meet with representative of the Turkish Cyprus Community.



The Representative Office of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in Washington, D.C. is the de facto embassy of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus to the United States. As the United States does not officially recognize the TRNC as an independent country, the mission does not have formal diplomatic status.

Hilmi Akil serves as the Washington D.C. Representative of the Turkish Cypriot Community

Mr. Akil was back in Cyprus participating in the Governance Working Group as mentioned above so we met with two of his assistants, Buket Kop – Second Secretary and Gunes Onar, Third Secretary of the Washington Office.

Ms. Kop and Mr. Onar read from the text prepared by Mr. Akil. They were careful with their words as they were representing Mr. Akil in his absence.

They too hoped for reunification but as a separate government – like two states independent with a central government that ties them together. They also want Turkey and NATO to have a protectorate presence on the island while the Greek Cypriots want the Turkish military removed. The also shared the success of the opening of the border gates in Nicosia and that no violence has taken place since the opening.

They were the only side to use the term genocide in their conversation. (We were all given a copy of Harry Gibbons’ book The Genocide Files that looks at the Cyprus situation from the Turkish Cypriots’ perspective.) When asked how can reconciliation can occur on the island following the genocide – they simply stated the two sides got along before and they will again. It will take some time but it will happen. From my perspective, they seem to use the moral argument against genocide as justification to keep a Turkish military presence on the island.

After listening to both sides I know that this is a tense situation. I am certain that atrocities occurred on both sides of this crisis in the ‘70s and that politics have now taken advantage of a horrible situation for gain. In light of all this, it is positive to see efforts to create a political solution that might lead to resolution. What I learned from this situation is the power of politics and the need for political will and determination to confront and intervene is escalating situations, atrocities and crimes against humanity as well as resolve the aftermath.


Evening - Meeting with Roger Smith

Following our day exploring both sides of the Cyprus situation, we met back on the American University campus to meet with Dr. Roger Smith.



Dr. Smith is Professor of Government Emeritus at the College of William and Mary. He is one of the country's foremost experts on genocide, is widely-published on this topic. He is known for his seminal article “American Self-Interest and the Response to Genocide,” which appeared in the Chronicle of Higher Education in July, 2004. More specifically, he has written about the Armenian genocide and women and genocide. He has served as President of the International Association for Genocide Scholars, chairman of the Zoryan Institute's Academic Board of Directors, and as a council member of the Institute on the Holocaust.

This was a wonderful presentation with a global scholar on the subject. The focus of our conversations was on corrupt logic used to justify genocide. It begins with the dehumanization of “the other” and how the perpetrators define their victims. The act of constructing the identity of the victims is focused creating difference and the act of genocide destroys that difference by elimination of the victims. Defining the differences and dehumanizing the victims places them outside the boundaries of moral obligation. To put it another way, because the victims are different and not human (cockroaches), the perpetrators have no moral obligation to treat them as human. The rituals of degradation offer the perpetrators an exhilaration of power that is validated by revenge and a false sense of justice that further discredits the victims. Evil is recognized for good as morality, humanity, and values are perverted to justify the dehumanization and extermination of the other.

We then went on to explore the logic of the doers and categorized them as leaders, managers, and doers.

Leaders pursue genocide for:

• Conquest
• Revenge
• Gain
• Utilitarian exploitation
• Monopoly of power
• Purification/Salvation –ideological pursuit

Managers, those helping to run logistics and run the mechanisms of genocide are:

• Bureaucratic
• Not necessarily ideological
• Technical
• “Desk Murderers”
• Given Permission

and often pursue their activities due to:

• Conformity
• Material Gain
• Sense of belonging

The doers are encouraged to act and given permission to do so by the leaders and managers. They learn how to commit genocide through mimesis and role-playing.

And often pursue their activities due to:

• Peer Pressure
• Material Gain
• Reward / Recognition

We also talked about By-Standers – the individuals who are not victims but don’t do anything to stop the atrocities. They are the “faces in the window” who watch. They do not act due to:

• Fear
• Preservation
• Indifference
• Self-interest

The concept of self-interest also relates to national self-interest. International bodies (Governments) can be by-standers as well. Governments often do not intervening because:

• Situation is not clear
• It’s appears futile
• It’s counter productive to to national self-interest
• It would jeopardize other (more important) goals (Profits)

Real Politique: It refers to the realist's determination to treat politics as they really are and not as the idealist would wish them to be.

We ended this dynamic conversation with a discussion on denial. Denial is part of and is present throughout the genocide process. Denial continues the genocide and continues the attitudes that support the act of genocide. It is, of course, a lie and serves as defense mechanism for the perpetrators helping to preserve self-image.

What is denied?

• The facts of the genocide
• Responsibility for the genocide
• Significance of the genocide
o Relative Rationalism
o Trivialization
• That the term “Genocide” is applicable

Denial is significant because it perpetuates the genocide and dishonors the victims. It also tells former, current, and future perpetrators that they can get away with genocide (Remember Hitler’s famous quote about the Armenian genocide?) Additionally, denial of genocide corrupts research and scholarship and destroys international relations

Denial can be overcome by identifying acts of genocide, commemoration of the events, and remembrance of the lives lost and destroyed.

Day Eight

Monday, June 23

Today begins our first day in Washington D.C. so it was appropriate that we started our conversations on the current crisis in the Sudan.

Meeting with Save Darfur



We took the Metro from American University to the L Street offices of Save Darfur where we met with Catherine Wagner - Student Outreach Coordinator, Coby Rudolph – National Outreach Coordinator, and Niemat Ahmadi – Darfuri Liason Officer and a refugee from the violence in Darfur.

For background of the crisis in Darfur, please review my notes from Day Six of the Institute.

The meeting began with Neimat giving us an update on the continuing situation in Darfur and the problems escalating in the refugee camps in Chad.


Niemat Ahmadi
Darfuri Liason Officer - Save Darfur

The key issue discussed in this meeting was the lack of political will by the United States to intervene in Darfur. In 2004, Colin Powell, then serving as the US Secretary of State, speaking before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee stated:

"We concluded that genocide has been committed in Darfur and that the government of Sudan and the Janjaweed bear responsibility and genocide may still be occurring,"

Since then little has been done to intervene in the continuing genocide.

Save Darfur has identified five initiatives necessary to establish a lasting and just peace in all of Sudan and in the region that need U.S. support:

• Ending the violence against civilians;
• Facilitating adequate and unhindered humanitarian aid;
• Establishing conditions for the safe and voluntary return of displaced people to their homes;
• Promoting the long-term sustainable development of Darfur; and
• Holding the perpetrators accountable.

In July 2007, UNAMID was authorized by Security Council resolution 1769 as a 26,000 member peacekeeping force to help protect the people of Darfur.

UNAMID’s core mandate is the protection of civilians, as well as contributing to security for humanitarian assistance, monitoring and verifying implementation of agreements, assisting an inclusive political process, contributing to the promotion of human rights and rule of law, and monitoring and reporting on the situation along the borders with Chad and the CAR.

UNAMID deployment is a critical step towards ending the tragedy in Sudan. But even after its authorization, the UNAMID force has not been given appropriate resources to fulfill its humanitarian mission.

For Example: No nation has stepped forward to provide any of the 24 helicopters that everyone agrees are essential for UNAMID to be successful.

The UNAMID force requires three Medium Utility Helicopter Wings and one Light Tactical Helicopter Wing (totaling 18 transport and six tactical helicopters, with associated troops) to operate effectively across the Darfur region, and to move the supplies and equipment necessary to carry out its mandate.

NATO countries among them have 18,000 helicopters at their disposal.

U.S. intervention in Darfur does not require military action. What is needed for UNAMID’s success is funding and logistical support, a strengthening of sanctions against the Sudanese Government, and consistent diplomatic action

We wrapped up our session with Save Darfur discussing educational strategies/programs available including Dollars for Darfur as well as lesson plans from National Geographic’s Xpeditions program and the Genocide Intervention Network.

Day Seven

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Today was the travel day. Last night Eli and Callista drove up to Dekalb to visit before I traveled off to Washington. It was a wonderful but short visit, especially after the exploration of the previous week. It is hard to imagine my world without them and yet, throughout history, families have been torn apart and destroyed by war and the insidiousness of genocide.

For the past week I have been looking at pictures and films, reading stories and statistics, and hearing from survivors of genocide. "Never Again" is a joke. It is a statement based in naivety. We need to focus on the reality that genocide is occurring in the world today, just as it has in the past and will in the future. That is a fact. But what we can change is how we, as a nation, as a global community, as human beings respond to that fact. Do we simply shrug and say its impossible or do we use our collective clout, will, and resources - political, diplomatic, financial, military, and humanitarian to quickly and decisively intervene BEFORE the genocides begin.

Go back and read my post of Day Two, where we explored the Eight Stages of Genocide developed by Gregory H. Stanton of Genocide Watch. The activities that prepare and lead to the actual atrocities and killings are public. We see them in the news every day. Journalists document and write about them. The world's Intelligence Agencies track these activities. So if the world can anticipate genocidal activity WHY don't we do anything. Is the world morally bankrupt? Have we lost our humanity. Or is it that we allow our leaders to determine was is in our "national best interest" and chart a course where oil is more valuable than human life?

While traveling to Washington, I was able to read Roger Smith's powerful essay The Response to Genocide that was published in The Chronicle Review on July 30, 2004. In the article he discussed how genocide can be prevented. He promotes the idea that "it is crucial that policy makers redefine 'national interests' to include the prevention of genocide abroad." He bases this call for an expanded understanding of the term on two arguments and I quote them here:

"The first is moral: Genocide is a crime committed upon a particular people, but by its very nature, it is also a crime against humankind, permanently diminishing the biological and cultural possibilities of human existence. It is an outrage to our sense of justice. Since when can we support, allow, defend the mass killings of the innocent?

The second reason: Genocide leads to war, regional and international instability, disruption of trade, an enormous outflow of refugees, and if not stopped, sends a message to would-be perpetrators that they can go ahead with impunity."

In July 2004, the United Nations launched their Action Plan to Prevent Genocide.It was to involve the whole United Nations system. This plan is based on five acts of intervention:

1. Preventing armed conflict.
2. Protection of civilians in armed conflict.
3. Ending impunity.
4. Early and clear warning.
5. Swift and decisive action.

In his introductory remarks announcing the plan, Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in speaking before the Commission on Human Rights said:

"We must never forget our collective failure to protect at least 800,000 defenceless men, women and children who perished in Rwanda 10 years ago. Such crimes cannot be reversed. Such failures cannot be repaired. The dead cannot be brought back to life. So what can we do? First, we must all acknowledge our responsibility for not having done more to prevent or stop the genocide."

It is now almost July 2008. Four years for action. Yet the genocide still continues in Darfur and the Congo.

We have failed to act AGAIN.
It is time for change.
It is past time for action.

Disclaimer

All data and information provided on the genocides below is for informational purposes only. It is presented as a compilation of various sources (i.e.: Lecture Notes, Speaker Notes, Web Sources, Etc.) These notes are NOT presented, suggested, or intended to be original scholarship, nor is it definitive or comprehensive given the tremendous scope of the subject.

This is a blog. It is not a peer-reviewed journal, a final archive of my writing, a sponsored publication, or the product of editorial review and editing. I make no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, currentness, suitability, or validity of any information on this site. All information is provided on an as-is basis with no warranties and no rights conferred.

The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer.

In addition, my thoughts and opinions change from time to time (Though a few colleagues would tell you otherwise.) I consider this a wonderful benefit of having an open mind. As this is a controversial subject, I encourage diversity of opinion as I explore this topic. However, I demand respect and will remove posts that I consider offensive and demeaning.

Finally, I am exploring this topic to find my voice in an escalating global problem. My intention with this blog is to do no harm - to not injure others, defame, or libel. There is enough pain in the world. I am working in my little corner of the world to try and make a difference.

Day Six

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Today is the last day of the institute in residence at Northern Illinois University. Tomorrow we travel to Washington DC for a week of meetings with Genocide Prevention/Awareness organizations, lobbyists, and a few international ambassadors.

We close this session of the institute looking at Genocide in Africa.

Rwanda


The problems that led to the genocide in Rwanda stem back to the days of Colonialism.

The Hamitic Hypothesis

In Rwanda, the Hamitic hypothesis was a racialist hypothesis created by John Hanning Speke in the 19th century which stated that the supposedly "Hamitic" Tutsi people were superior to the "Bantu" Hutus because they were deemed to be more "White" in their facial features, and thus destined to rule over the Hutus.

Because of the tribalism in the area, and this imposed European belief that the Tutsis were superior to the Hutus (and favored as superior), the Hutus began to see the Tutsis as an outside invader to their land.

Berlin Conference 1885

At the request of Portugal, German chancellor Otto von Bismarck called together the major western powers of the world to negotiate questions and end confusion over the control of Africa. The conference re-mapped Africa. The new countries lacked rhyme or reason and divided coherent groups of people and merged together disparate groups who really did not get along.

Many political events of the 20th century heightened the tensions in the region:

1957 - The "Hutu Manifesto" began the Hutu "emancipation" movement (PARMEHUTU.) The group quickly became militarized.

1961 Monarchy ends

1962 Rwanda full independence – 1st Republic
• Tutsi marginalized and periodically massacred.

1973 – Coup d’état - Juvénal Habyarimana
• Discrimination against Tutsi was institutionalized

Development of Political Groups/Factions

Akazu – Hutu Power was an informal organization of Hutus (founded by Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana and his wife Agathe Habyarimana) whose members are generally understood to be responsible for the 1994 Rwandan Genocide.

Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) – The RPF was formed in 1987 by the Tutsi refugee diaspora in Uganda. The first Tutsi refugees fled to Uganda to escape ethnic purges beginning 1959.

Interahamwe – The Interahamwe (meaning "Those who stand together") is a Hutu paramilitary organization that actively participated in the genocide with support from the Hutu-led government.

Impuzamugambi – The Impuzamugambi (meaning "Those who have the same goal") was a Hutu militia in Rwanda formed in 1992. Together with the Interahamwe militia, which formed earlier and had more members, the Impuzamugambi was responsible for many of the deaths of Tutsis and moderate Hutus during the Rwandan Genocide of 1994.

Both the Interahamwe and the Impuzamugambi was trained and equipped by the Rwandan Government Forces (RGF) and the Presidential Guard. When the genocide started in April 1994, the Interahamwe and the Impuzamugambi acted in close collaboration and largely merged their structures and activities.

Political Situation

August 4, 1993 - The Arusha Accords were a set of five accords (or protocols) signed in Arusha, Tanzania by the government of Rwanda and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), under mediation, to end a three-year civil war. The Accords negotiated points considered necessary for lasting peace: the rule of law, repatriation of refugees both from fighting and from power sharing agreements, and the merging of government and insurgent armies.

Hutu Power perceived these accords as a threat to their power.

October 5, 1993 - The United Nations Security Council commissioned Resolution 872 (1993) which established the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) - Force Commander was Canadian Major-General Roméo Dallaire. Its objective was assistance in and supervision of implementation of the Arusha Accords.


Canadian Major-General Roméo Dallaire

The Genocide

April 6, 1994 - The airplane of President Juvénal Habyarimana and Burundian President Cyprien Ntaryamira (also a Hutu) was shot down. Responsibility for the attack is a matter of contention, with both the Hutu extremists and the RPF under suspicion. The assassination was ultimately the trigger for the Rwandan Genocide.

Hutu Power utilized mass media (Radio) to direct the extermination of Tutsis

Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana, under protection of UNAMIR personnel, was assassinated by the presidential guard. The ten Belgian UNAMIR soldiers sent to protect her were later found killed.

Rwandan Government Forces (RGF) and Hutu militia groups systematically set out to murder all the Tutsis they could capture, irrespective of their age or gender. Political moderates were also targeted.

The militia members typically murdered their victims by hacking them with machetes, although some army units used rifles. The victims were often found hiding in churches and school buildings, where Hutu gangs massacred them. Ordinary citizens were called on by local officials and government-sponsored radio to kill their neighbors, and those who refused to kill were often killed themselves.

The victory of the RPF rebels and overthrow of the Hutu regime ended the genocide in July 1994, 100 days after it started.

Statistics

• 800,000 killed in 100 days
• 77% of Rwandan Tutsi killed
• 100,000 orphaned by genocide
• 3,000,000 refugees
• 77,000 still live in exile

Aftermath and Justice

Following the genocide, approximately two million Hutus, participants in the genocide, and the bystanders, with anticipation of Tutsi retaliation, fled from Rwanda, to Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, and for the most part Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo DRC).



November 8, 1994 - The Security Council passes Resolution 955 creating the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). The ICTR was established for the prosecution of persons responsible for genocide and other serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in the territory of Rwanda between January 1, 1994 and December 31, 1994. The first trials began in 1997.

The Trial of Jean-Paul Akayesu - ICTR found him guilty of 9 counts of genocide and crimes against humanity. His trial established the precedent that rape is a crime of genocide. The Trial Chamber held that "sexual assault formed an integral part of the process of destroying the Tutsi ethnic group and that the rape was systematic and had been perpetrated against Tutsi women only, manifesting the specific intent required for those acts to constitute genocide." On October 2, 1998, Akayesu was sentenced to life imprisonment.

By August 1998, 135,000 genocidaires are in prison (out of an estimated 750,000 genocide participants.) ICTR is overwhelmed. To ease strain Rwanda developed Gacaca Courts

Established in 2001, the Gacaca (pronounced "gachacha") court was developed as part of a system of community justice inspired by tradition in Rwanda.



The "mission" of this system is to achieve "truth, justice, [and] reconciliation." It aims to promote community healing by making the punishment of perpetrators faster and less expensive to the state.

According to the official Rwandan government website of the National Service of Gacaca Jurisdictions, the "Gacaca Courts" system has the following objectives:

• The reconstruction of what happened during the genocide
• The speeding up of the legal proceedings by using as many courts as possible
• The reconciliation of all Rwandans and building their unity

Genocide-related trials started on March 10, 2005 in Gacaca Courts.

• Sentences range from community service to life imprisonment
• 818,000 prosecutions by 2008

Darfur


Sudan is the largest country in Africa covering 2.5 million sq miles and with a population of 39 million (32% urban, 68% rural, 7% nomads.)

Darfur is in the western section of Sudan, Darfur covers an area of some 190,420 sq mi)— approximately the size of Texas or Spain. The region is divided into three federal states: West Darfur, South Darfur, and North Darfur.


The combination of decades of drought, desertification, and overpopulation are among the causes of the Darfur conflict, because the Baggara nomads searching for water have to take their livestock further south, to land mainly occupied by Black African farming communities.

A rebellion started in 2003 against the Sudanese government, with two local rebel groups - the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA) - accusing the government of oppressing non-Arabs in favor of Arabs. The government was also accused of neglecting the Darfur region of Sudan. In response, the government mounted a campaign of aerial bombardment supporting ground attacks by an Arab militia, the Janjaweed. Literally translated, Janjaweed means 'devils on horseback'. The government-supported Janjaweed were accused of committing major human rights violations, including mass killing, looting, and systematic rape of the non-Arab population of Darfur.


The Janjaweed

The Sudanese government, while publicly denying that it supports the Janjaweed, has provided money and assistance to the militia and has participated in joint attacks targeting the tribes from which the rebels draw support.

As the conflict in Darfur enters its sixth year, conditions continue to deteriorate for civilians. Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed, even by the most conservative estimates. The United Nations puts the death toll at roughly 300,000, while the former U.N. undersecretary-general puts the number at no less than 400,000. Up to 2.5 million Darfuris have fled their homes and continue to live in camps throughout Darfur, or in refugee camps in neighboring Chad and the Central African Republic.


Darfur Refugee Camp in Chad

The Genocide Olympics

Due to China’s huge investment in and profit from Sudan’s Oil Industry, there is an international movement to use the 2008 Olympics to embarrass China into working to stop the genocide in Darfur.

Dream for Darfur

No country has done more to support the regime in Khartoum than the People’s Republic of China: no country has offered more diplomatic support, nor done more to provide money to buy the weaponry that fuels the engine of genocidal destruction. And no country has done more to insulate Khartoum from economic pressure or human rights accountability. As Beijing prepares to host the 2008 Olympics, join Dream for Darfur in urging China to use its leverage to persuade the Sudanese government to allow into Darfur the full protection force outlined by UN Resolution 1769.

Congo

GENOCIDE WATCH
THE INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN TO END GENOCIDE

GENOCIDE EMERGENCY: ITURI, EASTERN CONGO

Union of the Congolese Patriots (UPC) soldiers fight Lendus near the United Nations compound June 7, 2003 in Bunia, Democratic Republic of Congo.

Genocidal massacres have cost thousands of lives in Ituri, Eastern Congo in the past three years. Genocide Watch, Coordinator of the International Campaign to End Genocide, a coalition of twenty human rights and religious organizations in nine countries, declared a Genocide Alert for Ituri province in February, 2000. Since then, the genocidal massacres have only gotten worse. With the withdrawal of Ugandan troops from the province under the Congolese peace accords, a power vacuum has been created. Ethnic militias organized by extremists from both the Hema and Lendu groups have committed genocidal massacres during the past month that have taken at least a thousand lives.

The United Nations Observer Mission in the Congo (MONUC) lacks a mandate and the personnel and resources to intervene to stop the killings. U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan has called for a “coalition of the willing” to send heavily armed infantry to the province to intervene, to be authorized by U.N. Security Council Chapter VII mandate. France has agreed to lead the intervention and the European Union and African Union are also considering whether to send troops. The operation will require both financial and military resources.

All the warning signs for genocide that were present in Rwanda in 1994 are present in Ituri. In fact the Hema and Lendu are groups that have similar antipathies that the Tutsi and Hutu had in Rwanda. Genocide Watch sees all eight stages of the genocidal process now underway in Ituri. The population is classified into rival groups. Their identities are symbolized through local knowledge of who belongs to which group. Each group dehumanizes the other and expresses that in the hate speech they use and the destruction of the bodies of those slain. Both are organized into armed militias. The militias have polarized the society, driving other groups to ally with one side or the other. Genocidal massacres have prepared the way for larger killings, because they have been carried out with complete impunity. Extermination of part of the other group is already under way. Those supporting the militias, including Uganda and Rwanda, deny their involvement.

The Genocide Convention defines genocide as “the intentional destruction, in whole or in part, of a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group.” The killings in Ituri are genocidal because the victims are targeted solely because of their ethnic identity.

Genocide Watch calls upon France, members of the European Union and the African Union, and the United States, as well as other members of the world community to contribute troops, airlift, communications and logistical support, and financing for an immediate intervention to establish peace in Ituri province, under a Chapter VII United Nations Security Council mandate.

http://www.genocidewatch.org/GenocideEmergencyIturi.htm

A new survey from International Rescue Committee has found that 5,400,000 people have died from war-related causes in Congo since 1998 – the world’s deadliest documented conflict since WW II.

Day Five

Friday, June 20

Cyprus

Today we studied a highly complicated political issue that, while not universally considered genocide, was consumed with atrocities and could have developed into one.

In 1974, following a period of violence between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots and an attempted Greek Cypriot coup d'état aimed at annexing the island to Greece, Turkey invaded and occupied one-third of the island. This led to the displacement of thousands of Cypriots and the establishment of a separate Turkish Cypriot political entity in the north. This event and its resulting political situation is a matter of ongoing dispute.

The island is partitioned into four parts:
• the area under the effective control of the Republic of Cyprus in the south of the island;
• the Turkish-occupied area in the north, calling itself the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (recognized only by Turkey);
• the United Nations-controlled Green Line, separating the two; and
• two Sovereign Base Areas (Akrotiri and Dhekelia), over which the United Kingdom retained jurisdiction after Cypriot independence.

To understand this conflict, you have to grasp two terms that define the political objectives of the two combatant groups the EOKA and the TMT:

Enosis – Union with Greece – central objective of Greek community
Taksim - Partition

EOKA (National Organization of Cypriot Fighters)) was a Greek Cypriot nationalist organization that fought for the expulsion of British troops from the island, for self-determination and for union with Greece.

TMT (The Turkish Resistance Organization) was a Turkish Cypriot pro-taksim paramilitary organization formed in 1958 to counter the Greek Cypriot Fighter's Organization EOKA and to bring partition in Cyprus.



In 1976 and again in 1983, the European Commission of Human Rights found Turkey guilty of repeated violations of the European Convention of Human Rights.

The Republic of Cyprus has also been found guilty of violations of the European Convention of Human Rights.

The estimates of deaths due to this conflict vary, but scholars tend to support a death toll of 3,000 civilians and 2,000 military for a total of approximately 5,000 deaths. Additionally both sides have accusations related to missing persons, the destruction of cultural heritage, and concerns over Turkish settlers.

The Kurds – IRAQ

This genocide is the most completely documented genocide in history.

http://www.hrw.org/reports/1993/iraqanfal/

The al-Anfal Campaign also known as Operation Anfal, was a genocidal campaign against Kurds led by the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein and headed by Ali Hassan al-Majid. The campaign takes its name from Surat al-Anfal in the Qur'an, which was used as a code name by the former Iraqi Baathist regime for a series of attacks against the peshmerga rebels and the mostly Kurdish civilian population of rural Northern Iraq, conducted between 1986 and 1989 culminating in 1988.

The Anfal campaign included the use of ground offensives, aerial bombing, systematic destruction of settlements, mass deportation, concentration camps, firing squads, and chemical warfare, which earned Ali Hassan al-Majid, one of Saddam Hussein's notorious top former aides, the nickname of "Chemical Ali".



Thousands of civilians were killed during chemical and conventional bombardments stretching from the spring of 1987 through the fall of 1988. The attacks were part of a long-standing campaign that destroyed almost every Kurdish village in a vast areas of northern Iraq -- along with a centuries-old way of life -- and displaced at least a million of the country's estimated 3.5 million Kurdish population.

According to the HRW during the Anfal campaign, the Iraqi government:
• massacred 50,000 to 100,000 non-combatant civilians including women and children;
• destroyed about 4,000 villages (out of 4,655) in Iraqi Kurdistan. Between April 1987 and August 1988, 250 towns and villages were exposed to chemical weapons;
• destroyed 1,754 schools, 270 hospitals, 2,450 mosques, 27 churches;
• wiped out around 90% of Kurdish villages in targeted areas.

Afternoon

In the afternoon, we discussed the genocide in Bosnia the followed the break-up of Yugoslavia.

After Tito's death on 4 May 1980, ethnic tensions grew in Yugoslavia. In June 1991, Slovenia and Croatia each declare independence. With 90% of its population ethnic Slovenians, Slovenia is able to break away with only a brief period of fighting. Because 12% of Croatia's population is Serbian, however, Yugoslavia fights hard against its secession for the next four years. As Croatia moves towards independence, it evicts most of its Serbian population.



In April 1992, Bosnia and Herzegovina declares independence while Serbia and Montenegro form the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, with Slobodan Milosevic as its leader. The most ethnically diverse of the Yugoslav republics, Bosnia is 43% Muslim, 31% Serbian, and 17% Croatian (according to the 1991 Yugoslavian census). Ethnic tensions strain to the breaking point, and Bosnia erupts into war. Thousands die and more than a million are displaced.

The Siege of Sarajevo was the longest siege in the history of modern warfare, conducted by the Serb forces from April 5, 1992 to February 29, 1996.

The Serb forces carried out a vicious campaign of ethnic cleansing in the parts of the city occupied by them during the siege. The typical claim is that between 1992 and 1995, 150,000 Serbs were ethnically cleansed from Sarajevo, with several thousand killed. Ethnic cleansing refers to various military policies or military practices aimed at achieving security during war through displacement of an ethnic group from a particular territory. The official United Nations definition of ethnic cleansing is "rendering an area ethnically homogeneous by using force or intimidation to remove from a given area persons of another ethnic or religious group"

During the war, Serb forces systematically raped and sexually abused Muslim Bosnian women in rape camps after being separated from men. Between 20,000 and 44,000 women were systematically raped by the Serb forces. There are claims the rapes occurred with the knowledge and approval of Serbian officials.

The death toll after the war was originally estimated at around 200,000 by the Bosnian government. They also recorded around 1,326,000 refugees and exiles.


Evening

In the evening, we watch a series of films on genocide including excerpts from New Year Baby, A Good Man in Hell, and Welcome to Sarajevo to name a few.

Genocide Survivor's Stories

I hope to post the video clips of the Survivor's Stories here shortly.

Day Four

June 19, 2008

We turned our attention to Southeast Asia today. We began with the killing fields of Cambodia.

During the Vietnam War, the US began carpet-bombing Cambodia to cut off the Vietnamese Communists who were running the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The trail was a logistical system that ran from North Vietnam to South Vietnam through the neighboring kingdoms of Laos and Cambodia.

Between Oct 4, 1965 to Aug 15, 1973 US planes dropped 2,756,941 tons of ordinance on Cambodia, a country slightly smaller that Oklahoma. That is more tonnage than all the bombs the U.S. dropped over Europe during all WWII.



The bombing served as a direct catalyst for the Genocide –
• Drove Vietnamese Communists deeper into Cambodia – bringing them into contact with Khmer Rouge.
• Bombs drove ordinary Cambodians into the arms of the Khmer Rouge

Chhitt Do, a Khmer Rouge organizer who defected said this of the bombings:

“The ordinary people were terrified by the bombing and the shelling, never having experienced war, and sometimes they shit in their pants when the big bombs and shells came. Two hundred to 400 shells would fall in each attack, and some people became shell-shocked -- just like their brains were completely shattered. Even after the shelling had stopped, they couldn't hold down a meal. Their minds just froze up and they would wander around mute, not talking for three or four days. Terrified and half-crazy, they would believe anything they were told. And because there was so much shelling, they believed whatever the Khmer Rouge told them.

The Khmer Rouge would say that the purpose of the bombing was to completely destroy the country, not simply just to win the war, but to annihilate the population, and that it was only because we were taking cover -- moving around to avoid the bombing -- that some of us were surviving. So they used the bombing, the bomb craters and the bomb shrapnel to educate the people politically, to make the people hate and be enraged at the Americans.”

The Communist insurgency inside Cambodia continued to grow, aided by supplies and military support from North Vietnam. Pol Pot and Ieng Sary asserted their dominance over the Vietnamese-trained communists, many of whom were purged. At the same time, the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) forces became stronger and more independent of their Vietnamese patrons. By the time Congress ended the "secret" bombing campaign in 1973 the Khmer Rouge forces were 200,000 strong and the CPK controlled nearly 60% of Cambodia's territory.

On New Year's Day 1975, Communist troops launched an offensive that, in 117 days of the hardest fighting of the war, collapsed the Khmer Republic. CKP forces captured Phnom Penh in April 1975 and ordered the evacuation of all cities and towns beginning their reign of terror.

Internal enemies of the CPK were the “new” or “17 April” people and people from the previous regimes whose social status was classified as capitalist or feudalist. This category also included people who were not ethnically Khmer. These internal enemies concerned the CPK leadership much more than anything else. The target groups considered as internal enemies included:

• Officials of the Khmer Republic government
• Minority groups:
o Indigenous Highlanders.
o Cham Muslims.
o Vietnamese
o Ethnic Chinese
• Intellectuals
• Alleged traitors

Life under Pol Pot and the CPK was strict and brutal. In many areas of the country people were rounded up and executed for speaking a foreign language, wearing glasses, scavenging for food, not working hard enough, and even crying for dead loved ones.

S-21 was a secret prison operated by the Pol Pot regime in the capital city of Phnom Penh from mid-1975 through the end of 1978. Individuals accused of treason, along with their families, were brought to S-21 where they were tortured until they confessed to whatever crime their captors charged them with, and then executed. The prisoners' photographs and completed confessions formed dossiers that were submitted to Khmer Rouge authorities, so that proof of the elimination of "traitors" was established. Of the 14,200 people imprisoned at S-21, which held between 1,000 and 1,500 at any one time, only 7 are know to have survived.



Solid estimates of the numbers who died in Cambodia between 1975 and 1979 are not available, but it is likely that hundreds of thousands were brutally executed by the regime. Hundreds of thousands died of starvation and disease. Some estimates of the dead range from 1 to 3 million, out of a 1975 population estimated at 7.3 million.

A 1978 Vietnamese invasion drove the Khmer Rouge into the countryside and touched off almost 13 years of civil war. The 1991 Paris Peace Accords mandated democratic elections and a ceasefire, which was not fully respected by the Khmer Rouge. UN-sponsored elections in 1993 helped restore some semblance of normalcy and the final elements of the Khmer Rouge surrendered in early 1999.

Afternoon



After lunch we took a tour of the Cambodia exhibit hosted by the Anthropology Department at NIU. I enjoyed looking at the details of the Sbeik Thom Shadow Puppets on display. I can see a possible use of shadow puppets in VOICES. After the visit, back to the classroom.

Indonesia

On 30 September 1965, six top Indonesian generals were kidnapped and killed. It is unclear whether or not the incident was part of a government takeover by the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) or part of a right-wing military purge led by General Suharto. The events and supposed coup plotters of that night are referred to as "the September 30th Movement." The murders were used as an excuse, with intelligence supplied by the U.S., cracked down on the PKI. The army encouraged anti-communist organizations and individuals to join in killing anyone suspected of being a communist sympathizer.

Between October 1965 and March 1966, approximately 500,000 people were killed with most concentrated in Sumatra, East Java and Bali. The ethnic Chinese were also targeted, primarily for economic and racial reasons.

An official CIA report called the purge "one of the worst mass murders of the 20th century." A former US Ambassador to Indonesia and Australia, Marshall Green, provided the Indonesian armed forces with "shooting lists" bearing the names of thousands of local, regional and national leaders of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). Green confirmed a report by States News Service, published in the Washington Post on May 21, 1990, saying, "I know we had a lot more information [about the PKI] than the Indonesians themselves.”

East Timor



In early September 1975, following the announcement that 78 percent of voters chose independence from Indonesia all hell broke loose in East Timor. Using the pretext of the civil war Indonesia invaded the territory in December 1975. According to Sian Powell writing in The Australian, the Indonesian military used starvation as a weapon to exterminate the East Timorese, along with Napalm and chemical weapons, obtained from the United States, which poisoned the food and water supply

The day before the invasion, President Gerald Ford and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger were in Jakarta, the Indonesian capital, visiting President Suharto. There is little doubt that the U.S. gave Suharto the green light to invade, with Kissinger telling reporters in Jakarta that "the United States understands Indonesia's position on the question" of East Timor.

A detailed statistical report prepared for the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor cited a lower range of 102,800 conflict-related deaths in the period 1974-1999, namely, approximately 18,600 killings and 84,200 'excess' deaths from hunger and illness, most of which occurred during the Indonesian occupation.

Evening

In the evening, we had a tremendously moving experience as we met with four genocide survivors. I have taped their stories and hope to post them in this blog shortly. Sharing their stories with us made the history come painfully alive.

Day Three

June 18, 2008

Today we focused on two significant genocides – The Holocaust and the Ukrainian Famine:

The Holocaust



The Holocaust was the systematic, bureaucratic annihilation of six million Jews by the Nazi regime, led by Adolf Hitler, and their collaborators as a central act of state during World War II. Other groups were persecuted and killed by the regime, including the Roma (Gypsies); Soviets, particularly prisoners of war; Communists; ethnic Poles; other Slavic people; the disabled; gay men; as well as political and religious dissidents. All totaled, approximately 11 million lives were lost. Some scholars, such as Donald Niewyk, include Soviet civilian deaths, producing a death toll of 17 million or more.

The numbers are what get to me. They are uncomprehendable to me. Each number a life. In each of the genocides we have studied, the sheer magnitude of death is incredible.

Artists have been struggling with ways to express the numbers. Here are a few:

http://www.sixmillion.org/

http://www.flickr.com/groups/6millionpeople/

http://www.peoriaholocaustmemorial.org/news.html


The genocide was perpetrated in two phases. The genocide evolved and escalated over time due to the lack of world response to the atrocities.

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.
Edmund Burke

Here is a link to a chronology of Holocaust:

http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/holocaust/timeline.html

Concentration and Death Camps

Dachau was the first concentration camp established in Nazi Germany - the camp was opened on March 22, 1933. The camp's first inmates were primarily political prisoners, Social Democrats, Communists, trade unionists, habitual criminals, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, beggars, vagrants, hawkers.

In the late 1930's the Nazis killed thousands of handicapped Germans by lethal injection and poisonous gas. After the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, mobile killing units following in the wake of the German Army began shooting massive numbers of Jews and Gypsies in open fields and ravines on the outskirts of conquered cities and towns.

The Nazis created a more secluded and organized method of killing with the institution of death camps; Treblinka, Auschwitz-Birkenau, Dachau, Chelmno, Sobibor, Belzek and Majdanek. Following the Wannsee Conference in Berlin, January 20, 1942, the "Final Solution" was an official policy and a major obsession of the Nazi regime. It was at that point that death camps were constructed for the express purpose of systematic, large-scale murder by gas (Zyklon-B pellets) with body disposal through cremation.



Easily the most notorious of all the killing centers, Auschwitz-Birkenau had a dual function: a concentration camp where inmates were used as forced labor and an extermination center. The Auschwitz complex was divided in three major camps: Auschwitz I main camp; Auschwitz II, or Birkenau, established on October 8th, 1941 as a extermination camp; Auschwitz III or Monowitz, established on May 31th, 1942 as a work camp.

Historians estimate that among the people sent to Auschwitz there were at least 1,100,000 Jews from all the countries of occupied Europe, over 140,000 Poles (mostly political prisoners), approximately 20,000 Roma, over 10,000 Soviet prisoners of war, and over ten thousand prisoners of other nationalities. The overall number of victims of Auschwitz in the years 1940-1945 is estimated at between 1,100,000 and 1,500,000 people. The majority of them, and above all the mass transports of Jews who arrived beginning in 1942, died in the gas chambers. The majority of the Jewish deportees died in the gas chambers immediately after arrival. During peak operation from March 1942 until November 1944, more than 20.000 people could be murdered and their bodies burned in a single day. In fact, the single day highest output was 24,000.

Again, the numbers, the sheer magnitude of death is incredible, unconscionable, and unforgettable.

This is a complex subject greater than this blog entry can fully explore or give honor so I leave the subject with this poem, shared with me by Jeff Huberman and written by his father, Max Huberman, who passed away May 10, 2008.


NATURALLY THE JEWS

by Max Huberman

. . . Hitler and Goering had ordered
the bombardment of Warsaw and
intellectuals, nobility, clergy and,
naturally the Jews’.”

Three thousand soldiers
Wait in a Brooklyn depot;

Home now
From the charred bones of Belsen
And smoking logs in Leipzig,

Home now
From the choking stench of Dachau
And busy gas vans of Buchenwald,

Home now
From Penig and from Hadamar
And mad skeletons in Nordhausen

A great V sign
Glows in a Brooklyn harbor,
And words:
“WELL DONE” and “WELCOME HOME”
Stare back at tired, happy faces,
Faces older,
Faces of men who are now home –
Home now from a clash with fascism.

The charred and twisted bones
Have long been deeply buried,
And now
Fields of big, bright cabbage shine,
Fondly nourished by a new
Strange manure.

The stench has long been gone,
Replaced by clean, fresh winds,
And now,
A hausfrau’s smile lights a face
Well scrubbed with a new
Strange soap.

The many mad, weird skeletons
Have long since ceased to dance,
And now
A pretty maedchen proudly swings
A purse of smooth texture with
Strange tattoos . . .

Boots of many victors march
Through streets cleared of rubble;
March past
A warehouse clean and bulging
With many bloodstained shoes,
Correctly paired;
Neatly sorted down to the size
Of an Aryan child aged one

Three thousand soldiers
Would like to erase forever
All memories
Of hate, pain, death, smells,
Sights of mind itself rejects –

But memories
Persist and grow and live again
Each time the ranting despots
Shout hate –

Hate for a black-skinned artist
Singing the songs of a free land,
And also
Hate for an earnest cleric
Daring to worship a God of Truth,

And also
Hate for the weary seeking the house
Their sweat and blood alone have built.

And always
Where hate is called on the thinkers,
And hate is called on the toilers,
And always
Where hate is preached to common men
Who sing of peace and brotherhood

The hate makers
Know all the clever methods;
The ancient, easy scapegoat –
Naturally, the Jews.

Copyright © 1946, Max Huberman. All rights reserved


Afternoon - The Ukrainian Famine

In the afternoon we focused on the Ukrainian Famine of 1932-33 also know as the Holodomor.

In 1932-33 millions of Ukrainians died in the largest Famine of the 20th century. This Famine was not caused by a natural calamity such as drought or epidemic or pestilence. It was not the result of devastation or privation caused by a cataclysmic event such as war.
The Famine in Ukraine was engineered, orchestrated and directed from the Kremlin. It was implemented by Stalin and his comrades in order to complete Ukraine's subjugation to Moscow.

Between 1929 and 1932 the Soviet Communist Party struck a double blow at the peasantry of the USSR: dekulakisation, the dispossession and deportation of millions of peasant families; and collectivization - the effective abolition of private property in land and the concentration of the remaining peasantry in 'collective' farms under Party control.

Dekulakization was the attempt to eliminate kulaks as a class. “Kulak” is a derogatory term initially used by the Soviets to identify so-called “capitalist peasants.” These peasants were thought to have been a threat to the Soviet State and the process of converting the peasantry into collective farm workers. They owned property and land, and may have sold goods or services in order to increase their wealth.

When Stalin initiated the “dekulakization” of the peasants, the kulaks’ land was taken from them, their personal property seized, and families split up as their heads were killed or deported to do forced labor in “special settlements” located in unpopulated areas of Siberia and Soviet Central Asia



The 'terror-famine' that engulfed Ukraine, the northern Caucasus, and the lower Volga River area in 1932-1933 was the result of Joseph Stalin's policy of forced collectivization, which set impossibly high quotas, removed every other source of food, and prevented outside help - even from other areas of the USSR - from reaching the starving millions. The heaviest losses occurred in Ukraine, which had been the most productive agricultural area of the Soviet Union. Stalin was determined to crush all vestiges of Ukrainian nationalism. Thus, the famine was accompanied by a devastating purge of the Ukrainian intelligentsia and the Ukrainian Communist party itself.

The death toll from the 1932-33 famine in Ukraine has been estimated between six million and seven million.

The Soviet regime dumped 1.7 million tons of grain on the Western markets at the height of the Famine. It exported nearly a quarter of a ton of grain for every Ukrainian who starved to death.

Victor Kravchenko was a Soviet official who escaped from the USSR Embassy in the United States in 1944. He described his life in the book I Chose Freedom. In 1933 he was one of the Communist agents assigned to safeguard the new harvest, the "Harvest in Hell" as he calls it:

"Although not a word about the tragedy appeared in the newspapers, the famine that raged ... was a matter of common knowledge.

What I saw that morning ... was inexpressibly horrible. On a battlefield men die quickly, they fight back ... Here I saw people dying in solitude by slow degrees, dying hideously, without the excuse of sacrifice for a cause. They had been trapped and left to starve, each in his own home, by a political decision made in a far-off capital around conference and banquet tables. There was not even the consolation of inevitability to relieve the horror.


The most terrifying sights were the little children with skeleton limbs dangling from balloon-like abdomens. Starvation had wiped every trace of youth from their faces, turning them into tortured gargoyles; only in their eyes still lingered the reminder of childhood. Everywhere we found men and women lying prone (weak from hunger), their faces and bellies bloated, their eyes utterly expressionless."

Kravchenko was shocked to discover a butter plant was wrapping its products in paper titled in English USSR Butter Export.

"Anger lashed my mind as I drove back to the village. Butter being sent abroad in the midst of the famine! In London, Berlin, Paris I could see ... people eating butter stamped with a Soviet trade mark. Driving through the fields, I did not hear the lovely Ukrainian songs so dear to my heart. These people had forgotten how to sing. I could only hear the groans of the dying, and the lip-smacking of fat foreigners enjoying our butter ..."

Source: http://www.infoukes.com/history/famine/gregorovich/

Evening

In the evening, I was happy to lead a session on Drama about Genocide. We focused on Kitty Felde’s play A Patch Of Earth, a tale of atrocity and remorse told by the Bosnian Serb Drazen Erdemovic.

Day Two

Tuesday, June 17

SECOND DAY

We started focusing more on content today. The bulk of the morning we focused on the complexity of the definition of Genocide.


Raphael Lemkin

Any Discussion of genocide begins with Raphael Lemkin and the 1947 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. In Article II is the legal definition of Genocide:

Article II: In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
(a) Killing members of the group;

(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;

(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;

(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;

(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

http://www.un.org/law/AVLpilotproject/cppcg.html

Of all the definitions we discussed I personally like Ervin Staub’s Definition of Genocide:

“An attempt to exterminate a racial, ethnic, religious, cultural, or political group, either directly through murder or indirectly by creating the conditions that lead to the group’s destruction.”

Ervin Staub, The Roots of Evil: The Origins of Genocide and Other Group Violence, 1989.

This resonates with me because it is based in action (the attempt) versus the result (total extermination) and includes both elitocide and politicide as part of its scope.

We also explored the 8 Stages of Genocide developed by Gregory H. Stanton, President, Genocide Watch. This link will lead you to a full explanation

http://www.genocidewatch.org/aboutgenocide/8stagesofgenocide.html

When you tie these steps into the comments made by Ambassador David Scheffer last night about not getting lost in defining a situation as genocide but rather ACT on the atrocities being committed we start to have a plan for preventative intervention. According to the discussions, Genocide is inevitable at level 4 – Organization.

We then began discussions of justice and the differences between various efforts at justice in South Africa, Rwanda, and Cambodia

• South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission- no penalty for admission of guilt
• Rwanda – ICTR, RNG, and the gacaca (courts on the grass)
• Cambodia / Khmer Rouge Trials – ICT/UN Sponsored

The afternoon was spent focused exploring literature as part of a study on Human Rights and Genocide. T his discussion was aimed at the grades between 5 to 7 but I can see application to Voices.

Key points about good literature on Genocide includes that it:

• Is developmentally appropriate, historically accurate, and is not traumatizing
• Is respectful to the people being portrayed and accurately reflects time place and mod of event
o Is rooted in historical context and reflects historic reality
o Memoirs, biographies, auto
o Historical Fiction that depicts authenticity
• Personalizes the statics, fosters empathy and compassion and enables reader identification with victims and survivors
• Has a focus on the daily lives and previous culture of the victims. They focus on the people as they lived rather than as they died
• Brings readers from the historical events to the present and in so doing gives the reader hope
• Has the potential to motivate the reader to examine their own lives and behaviors and promotes exploration of universal issues and themes

In the evening we began discussion in depth into the historical context of Genocide beginning with Antiquity.

Genocides is Antiquity included
• Melos
• Classical Sparta
• Roman destruction of Carthage
• The Mongols
• The Crusades

We then moved into Colonial Genocide. Much of this discussion was based on the research of Ben Kiernan in his book Blood and Soil.

These genocides include:

• Native Americans and Indians in the Americas
• The Christians in Japan
• Tasmanians
• Australian Aboriginals
• Zulu under Shaka
• Congo
• The Herero

Key idea is that these actions were based agrarianism and land acquisition.

It is Leopold’s conquest of the Congo and the German subjugation of the Herero laid the foundation of genocide in the 20th century.

• Berlin Congress of 1885 – Divides Africa

• King Leopold – Belgium – Carved out private colony in Congo: 1885 – 1908
• 10 Million killed


• 1904 – 1907 German genocide of the Herero
• 65,000 Herero (80% of population) and 10,000 Nama (50% of populations) perished.


Surviving Herero, emaciated, after their escape through the Omaheke desert.

The lessons learned in these two genocides were applied to the Armenian Genocide, which in turn were applied to the Jewish Holocaust.

On a related note – the division of the African population into Tutsi and Hutu are still being felt today with the ongoing African genocides in Rwanda and the Congo.


The Armenian Genocide: Claimed 1.5 Million out of 2 Million Armenian lives between 1915 and 1923.



• April 24, 1915 (Martyr’s Day) round up 200 Armenian Intellectuals and leaders
• Military Conscription of young men (Gendercide)
• Special Organizations 1911 – Convicts
• Deportations/ Caravans/ Death Marches
• Ottomans who refused to participate eliminated
• Use of Turkish, Circassian and Kurdish ex-convicts, who were freed from prison and assigned for the massacre.


We also had extensive discussion of the denial of the genocide.

SO I end with this quote attributed to Hitler:

Thus, for the time being, I have sent to the east only my Einsatzgruppen with the order to kill without pity or mercy all men, women, and children of the Polish race or language. Only thus will we win the vital lebensraum that we need. Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?

Adolf Hitler: August 22, 1939

Day One

Journal: June 16, 2008

FIRST DAY OF THE INSTITUTE.

We took care of a lot of housekeeping business in this morning. Arranging for computer access, etc. (Lots of technical problems.) We also receive a ton of resources in the form of handouts and books. The scope of the institute is massive and I am not sure that I will be able to get a handle on it – or know that I need to but rather find a focus.

The afternoon session focused approaches and preparation to teaching Genocide in various curriculums. One key area of discussion was Rationales:

• Why am I teaching about genocide?
• What am I teaching about this particular genocide/human rights violation?
• What are the most essential issues and questions that need to be addressed? Why?
• Decide on coverage, depth, or combination of the two

I see this as an approach to Voices and a possible way to focus the scope.

One key quote shared that I liked came from Ben Whitaker:

“The mobilization of public awareness and vigilance is essential to guard against any recurrence of genocide and other crimes against humanity and human rights.”

Another area of discussion that resonated with me as well was the idea of problematizing the topic. I tend to think in very black and white tones and need to truly explore the depth of the issues – the many sides

Good Lessons problematize genocide, their precursors, and the aftermath.

Avoid over-simplifying a particular instance of genocide.
• What was life like before the genocide
• What historical issues, events, or ideas led to the genocide
• How was the genocide stopped
• What happened after the genocide

By complicating the analysis of genocide, students are allowed to consider challenging points of view and make personal connection to the materials.

The highlight of the day was dinner and discussion with Ambassador David Scheffer who served under Bill Clinton and represented U.S. interests in the development of the International Criminal Court.

I am boggled by the complexities of politics and genocide, or to use Scheffer’s terms Atrocity Crimes. His presentation was a wonderful overview of the ICC’s development and the global negotiation required to develop it. He was passionate about the court and you could tell that much of his response was personal given the Bush Administrations destruction of much of the work he oversaw.

While a complex subject, he made a compelling argument that the U.S. needs to be a part of this court for two reasons – First we have a responsibility as a global leader to be part of the decision making / negotiating process going into the development and implementation of this judicial body, especially if we wish to keep that leadership position. Second, and for me this is an important point, we, as a nation, have a moral responsibility to be a proactive player in this court. If we wish to be the bastion of liberty and justice we cannot sit in judgment on the sidelines. American exceptionalism is a false doctrine that borders on global manifest destiny. It is an act of hubris that will lead to this nation’s downfall – and give the decline of the international reputation and power of the United States over the past 8 years – we need to change this philosophical and egotistical outlook as a matter of national and international security. To be a member of the global community, we cannot stand above or outside the circle of responsibility. To truly uphold the potential of freedom we must insists on global justice and participate. We cannot have peace at the expense of justice.

Additionally, participation does not jeopardize national interests, sovereignty, or autonomy but rather allows us to pursue those interests alongside our global interests with a true commitment to global justice.

Tomorrow we move into deeper content. Tonight’s political conversation puts a significant frame around those upcoming discussions.

Prep

Today is the arrival day at the institute. For the past several weeks I have been preparing and contemplating for the two weeks. When I tell individuals that I am about to participate in a two week intensive on Genocide, I receive some strange reactions, most concerning the question "WHY?" When I explain that I am developing a global intermedial piece on Genocide awareness they go "Oh, OK." and then comes the awkward response "I hope you have a good ti..., I mean hope you have fu.... hope you enjoy ..." I smile at this. I understand this is a tough topic. The readings have been frightening. I know a lot less that I thought. I did not realize the extent of the history Genocide. Especially in the 20th century. Most everyone is familiar with the Jewish Holocaust of WWII but I was totally unaware of genocides that occured during my adult life when I should have been more responsive rater than oblivious. This institute will without a doubt illuminate much of my ignorance of the subject, destroy some naivetie, and open my eyes to the harshness and ugliness of human atrocities. But I think, hope, it will also shed light on the goodness of humankind and posibilities that we can overcome the dark that exists in all of us and find a way to live and prosper in peace. So much for the romantic in me.

We have been reading a comprehensive study of Genocide in preparation for the institute. The book (Genocide by Adam Jones) has illuminated two key thoughts so far.

1) The hubris of the USA in propigating and supporting genocidial governments around the world to promote a global political agenda. (One of the most frightening - if I can call it that - is the US granting immunity to Japanese scientists (Unit 731) for atrocities involving chemical and biological weapons testing on Chinese civilians - provided they shared their knowledge and their test results with U.S. Authorities.)

2) The impact of fear and humiliation as a cause for genocide. This I found quite interesting and plan to explore more throughout the institute.

Today is Father's Day, and I plan on spending time with my daughter before packing and driving to Northern Illinois University.

The Institute

As part of the development of VOICES, an ambitious international collaboration that will join theatre artists, media artists, and technologists from Bradley University (Peoria, IL, USA) and the University of Waterloo (Ontario, Canada) with other international collaborators to develop, rehearse, and present an original Internet2/Intermedial theatrical work focused on genocide awareness, I will be participating in the Genocide and Human Rights Institute at Northern Illinois University from June 15 to June 28, 2008.

This multi-date residential institute focuses on the intertwined issues of genocide and human rights. Participants will begin the residential sessions by defining the terms, learning about the philosophical and historical antecedents, and common characteristics of genocides and human rights violations. The seminar will then turn toward exploring the historical, political, sociological/anthropological, and contemporary dimensions of genocide and human rights by focusing on the causes, courses and consequences of the events. The case studies include: Armenia, the Holocaust, Ukrainian famine-genocide, Cambodian, Cyprus, El Salvador, Iraq, Bosnia, Rwanda, and Sudan genocidal episodes. Other examples that will be integrated and considered include the Irish famine, the indigenous peoples of the Americas, and the current status of human rights throughout the world.

The final week of the institute will be held in Washington D.C. with visits planned to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum including a session with Manya Friedman, a Holocaust survivor, the National Museum of the American Indian, representatives from both the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities, Save Darfur, and Genocide Watch.

The goals of the institute include:

• Understanding the history and legacy of genocide and human rights.
• Exploring how the history of genocidal events and human rights violations is related to contemporary world problems.
• Becoming familiar with the vast body of historical, political, anthropological/sociological literature on genocide and human rights.
• Learning techniques for respectfully presenting sensitive subjects and graphic images in the classroom.
• Fostering long-term relationships between educators for sustained curricular development, sharing of ideas, and creation of new knowledge in the field of genocide and human rights studies and related instructional methods.


The purpose of this BLOG is to share the experience and reflect upon what I have learned from participating in the Institute.