FORSEA Dialogue on Democratic Struggles across Asia
Renowned genocide scholar Gregory Stanton speaks on the mainstreaming of Slobodan Milošević ‘s euphemism “ethnic cleansing” in cases of genocide.
Rohingya lawyers, activists and refugees have been campaigning for both the end to Myanmar’s persecution of their ethnic national community and international recognition of Myanmar’s policies as genocidal, since Myanmar’s first-wave of genocidal purge of a substantial number of Rohingyas – over 200,000 – under the invented pretext of “illegal immigration operations” in the spring of 1978.
So, there has been a sense of shock and repulsion among Rohingyas and their supporters when the United States and the United Kingdom officially issue commemorative statements and/or tweets, misnaming and misframing Myanmar’s crime of genocide as “ethnic cleansing”.
Dr. Gregory Stanton
In his forthcoming essay entitled “Ethnic Cleansing” is a Euphemism Used for Genocide Denial”, Dr. Gregory Stanton, the founding President of the Genocide Watch, Yale-trained legal scholar and former US State Department official, called attention to the failure of the so-called international community to call a spade a spade.
The renowned genocide scholar writes, “(t)he UN, press, human rights groups, and many governments still call the Myanmar Army’s aggression, genocidal massacres, and forced deportation against the Rohingya “ethnic cleansing.” “Ethnic cleansing” is a term invented by Slobodan Milošević and Serbian propagandists as a euphemism for forced deportation and genocide.” (See https://en.prothomalo.com/opinion/myanmars-genocide-bleached-as-ethnic-cleansing)
In Stanton’s expert opinion, no prosecutor can charge anyone for committing “ethnic cleansing” as it is not a crime under international law. The term is a license for impunity.
Tune in to the interview with Professor Gregory Stanton on this crucial topic on the Free Rohingya Coalition (FRC) Facebook LIVE on the FORSEA Dialogue Series on Democratic Struggles in Asia, in collaboration with the FRC.
Host
Dr. Maung Zarni, Co-founder FORSEA and Free Rohingya Coalition, Fellow, Documentation Center – Cambodia
Guest
Dr. Gregory Stanton, Former US State Department Official, Renowned Genocide Scholar & Founding President of the Genocide Watch
Tuesday 31 August 2021; 12 noon US Eastern; 5:00 pm London; 11:30 pm Yangon
WATCH L I V E
Watch LIVE on Facebook | FRC | www.facebook.com/FreeRohingyaCoalition
Event Flyer –
Listen to Stanton’s poem “What is Justice?” where he pointedly asked, “What is justice for a lawyer who still won’t call it genocide? – which he read on the 4th Anniversary of the Genocide Memorial Event co-hosted by FRC, FORSEA, and half-dozen allied organizations supporting Rohingyas’ right to life, homeland and citizenship.
