FRANK PALLONE CASTIGATED THE UNITED NATIONS FOR POSTPONING A RWANDAN GENOCIDE EXHIBIT
DeFacto Agency, Armenia
May 4 2007
In a powerful speech on the House floor, Congressional Armenian Caucus
Co-Chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ) castigated the United Nations for first
postponing and then rewording a Rwandan genocide exhibit in response
to protests from the Turkish Government about its inclusion of a
display citing the Armenian Genocide, reported the Armenian National
Committee of America (ANCA).
ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian expressed his gratitude to Frank
Pallone. "We value Frank Pallone’s leadership and share his principled
view that the international community’s efforts to prevent and punish
genocide should be not reduced to the level acceptable to a Turkish
government that is actively pursuing a campaign of genocide denial –
both here in the United States and around the world."
To remind, the controversy arose three weeks ago, when the United
Nations first postponed the opening of an exhibit on the Rwandan
Genocide, organized by the Aegis Trust, which made reference to
the Armenian Genocide. Over the past several weeks, as the result
of intense pressure from the Turkish government, the United Nations
reworded the exhibit prior to its opening this week. The postponement
was covered widely in the U.S. press, including articles by the
New York Times and Associated Press. A New York Times editorial
regarding the issue stated, "It’s odd that Turkey’s leaders have not
figured out by now that every time they try to censor discussion of
the Armenian genocide, they only bring wider attention to the subject
and link today’s democratic Turkey with the now distant crime. As for
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and his inexperienced new leadership
team, they have once again shown how much they have to learn if they
are to honorably and effectively serve the United Nations, which is
supposed to be the embodiment of international law and a leading
voice against genocide." The ANCA, Genocide Intervention Network,
and Armenian Assembly called on the U.N. to reject Turkey’s objections
to the exhibit.
Rep. Pallone, clearly incensed by the U.N. decision to reword the
exhibit prior to its opening, remarked, in part, "How, exactly,
are you educating the public about genocide, when you refuse to
call the first genocide of the 20th century by its name? The word
‘~Rgenocide’~R was actually created as a way to describe the barbaric
crimes inflicted against the Armenians between 1915 and 1923, but
now the word cannot be used in an exhibit at the U.N. This is utterly
ridiculous. . . Would you ever have an exhibit on Christianity without
mentioning the birth of Christ?"