NEWS
Debate: Remembering Srebrenica and Rwanda
21/06/2009 - Do war memorials unite or divide? This is the issue a panel of leading experts in the fields of combating impunity and memorialisation will discuss at a public debate on 1 July 2009 in Amsterdam's De Balie Centre for Culture and Politics, marking the recent anniversary of the Rwandan genocide and upcoming anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre.Diffusing or igniting threats?
Erecting monuments can be important to combating impunity for grave crimes. It affects how past violence is remembered and perceptions of victims and perpetrators. But in many post-conflict situations, the suffering of certain groups is ignored, sidelined or suppressed, leading to further pain, injustice and frustration.
Bosnia-Herzegovina: Potocari vs Bratunac
A short ceremony on 11 July in Potocari will mark the 14th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide. On 12 July in neighbouring Bratunac an annual commemoration of the Serbian victims of the 1992-5 war will be held. This Serbian answer to the Potocari commemoration is just one of the many monument battles simmering among former Yugoslavia’s ethnic groups.
The Rwanda Case
In April 2009 Rwanda marked the 15th anniversary of the slaughter of almost one million Tutsi by Hutu-dominated militia. The absence of any explicit reference to the Hutu who died trying to save them has raised serious concerns. Guarantees that inter-ethnic violence will not happen again here still seem out of reach.
The debate
The panel will discuss how these dilemmas affect and reflect the positions and roles of victims, perpetrators and the international community. Why are abuses suffered by some victim groups acknowledged while suffering of others is ignored? How does that affect peace building and relations between those groups? Should the international community do more to ensure balanced memorialisation? Which positive examples could inform those processes for Srebrenica and Rwanda?
The experts:
Klaas de Jonge, Impunity Watch Research Coordinator for the African Great Lakes Region
Dion van den Berg, Senior Policy Advisor, IKV- Pax Christi
Jan Marinus Wiesma, Member of the European Parliament, Partij van de Arbeid
Nataša Kandic, Humanitarian Law Center, Executive Director
Dienke Hondius, Associate Professor of Contemporary History, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
David Diaz, Deputy Director of the Europe and Central Asia Programme, Amnesty International
Moderator: Kees Biekart, Senior Lecturer, Institute of Social Studies
You are invited to join this discussion at:
de Balie Centre for Culture and Politics (room: de kleine zaal) on 1 July 2009 from 19.30 to 21.30.
Address: Kleine-Gartmanplantsoen 10, (near Leidseplein)
1017 RR Amsterdam
Contact:
marlies.stappers@impunitywatch.org
tel. 030-2720313