RECENT NEWS ON RUSSIAN GENOCIDE IN UKRAINE
Statements
Statement on Political Violence in Somaliland
March 29, 2023
The Lemkin Institute expresses its alarm regarding the political violence that has afflicted the Republic of Somaliland since last December. This violence, which has mushroomed into a virtual referendum on Somaliland’s territorial integrity and bid for independence, threatens to embolden Somalian political factions linked historically and ideologically to the Siad Barre regime that committed genocide against the Isaaq people in Somaliland in the 1980s. Thus, the recent violence threatens a renewed genocide against the Isaaq clan and the possibility of a broader assault in the Somaliland identity in general.
Statement on UK s Illegal Migration Bill
March 21, 2023
In light of our efforts to monitor and respond to potentially harmful practices related to migrants and refugees across Europe and in the United States, the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention is disturbed by the Illegal Migration Bill recently introduced in Great Britain by the conservative British government of Prime Minster Rishi Sunak.
Statement on the Deaths of Afghan Migrants in Bulgaria
March 8, 2023
The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention is deeply concerned about the tragic news of eighteen Afghan migrants and refugees who were found dead near Lokosrsko (Bulgaria). We condemn the Bulgarian leadership and the responsible EU authorities for failing to respond adequately to the ongoing migrant smuggling crisis and, more broadly, for promoting a refugee policy that is xenophobic, racist, Islamophobic, classist, and out of step with international law and human rights norms.
Statement on the Dangers of Ill-Informed Reporting on Genocide & Its Prevention
March 5, 2023
The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention wishes to call attention to the unfortunate failings of many media outlets and journalists when it comes to reporting on genocide, atrocity crimes, and their prevention. We wish to highlight that misleading reporting often has the impact of unfairly challenging the lived experience of threatened communities and delaying the response of governments and international organizations, thereby prolonging the suffering of the affected communities. It is time for international media to take seriously the field of atrocity prevention and to offer journalists adequate training to productively and accurately report on crises around the world.
Statement Calling for Germany to Directly Negotiate with and Recognize the Individual Claims of Descendants of the Herero & Nama Genocides
February 20, 2023
The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention condemns Germany’s refusal to meet with the descendants of victims of the Herero and Nama genocides despite the fact that both peoples lost the vast majority of their land and wealth through that genocidal process and remain landless and poor in independent Namibia. The descendants of victims and survivors deserve recognition as individuals who have suffered transgenerational harm in the same fashion that Germany has sought to recognize the victims of the Holocaust: as unique individuals each deserving of respect and care. The Lemkin Institute strongly advises Germany to meet directly with the descendants of victims of the Herero and Nama genocides to negotiate just reparations, as this is the only way in which the past can be properly addressed
Statement on the Police Murder of Tyre Nichols in the US State of Tennessee
February 17, 2023
The Lemkin Institute condemns the vicious murder of Tyre Nichols in Memphis, Tennessee on January 7, 2022. Mr. Nichols was a 29-year old black man who was pulled over for a traffic stop and then viciously beaten by Memphis police. He died three days later from the injuries he suffered as a consequence of the brutal assault. While he was being beaten, Mr. Nichols cried out for his mother, a heartbreaking detail that reminds one of the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota in late May 2020, which sparked a nationwide uprising against police brutality. George Floyd also called out for his mother as he was being murdered.
Statement in Support of an International Investigation of Abiy Ahmed s Crimes in Ethiopia
February 3, 2023
Since the outbreak of the war in the region of Tigray in November 2020, Ethiopia’s government, under the orders of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, has committed egregious crimes against its own citizens including widespread human rights abuses, looting, ethnic-based atrocities, rape, and other forms of gender-based violence. The fact pattern strongly suggests that, among other crimes, the Ethiopian government forces may have committed genocide against the people of Tigray.
Statement on Ongoing Ethnic Massacres of the Amhara People in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia
February 3, 2023
The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention is alarmed by the ongoing massacres of ethnic Amhara men, women, and children in the Oromia region of Ethiopia, as well as in the neighborhing regions of Afar, Amhara, Benishangul-Gumuz, which are being overlooked by the international community. The massacres of Amhara in Oromia, which have been going on since before the outbreak of war between Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in 2020, are often reported simply as “killings,” without noting the discriminatory nature of the violence. This leaves thousands of Amhara in pemanent peril and emboldens their tormentors.
Statement on BBC HARDtalk Anchor Stephen Sackur s Interview with Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan
January 26, 2023
The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention is shocked and horrified that BBC HARDtalk Anchor Stephen Sackur offered genocide as one of two “realistic options” facing Armenians in Artsakh during an interview with Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan that aired on 23 January 2023.
Statement on the Lunar New Year Massacre in Monterey Park, California
January 23, 2023
In the United States, the Lunar New Year opened with another mass shooting, at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park, California, which killed eleven people and injured nine. This is the thirty-third mass shooting in the United States this year. A motive for the shooting is still unclear. Survivors interviewed by the press have told of a man with a long gun and rolls of ammunition shooting indiscriminately into the crowd at the local ballroom and dance club. The man was recently identified as 72-year-old Huu Can Tran. He died by suicide in his van shortly after the shooting.
Statement on the Police Assassination of Manuel Esteban Paez Terá
January 23, 2023
The Lemkin Institute protests the apparent assassination of environmental activist Manuel Esteban Paez Terá, a 26-year old protester in the state of Georgia who went by the name “Tortuguita,” or “Little Turtle.” Terá was shot by US police on January 18 as the police launched a raid on a protest encampment set up to protect the public South River Forest from a $90 million taxpayer-funded police training facility that opponents call “Cop City.” This raid is a recent example of strong-arm techniques being used by the American security apparatus to destroy all efforts to reign in the growing police state and to imagine more transformative futures in the country.