Forgotten and Concealed: The Emblematic Cases of the Assyrian and Romani Genocides

Abstract

By exploring how the Assyrian and Romani genocides came to be forgotten in official history and collective memory, this paper takes a step towards redress for years of inadvertent neglect and deliberate concealment. In addressing the roles played by scholars and nations, and the effect of international law and government policy, it notes the inaccessibility of evidence, combined with a narrow application of definitions of victim groups, and a focus on written proof of perpetrator intent. Continuing persecution of survivors in the aftermath of the genocides, and government actions to erase the genocides from history, are common to both cases. The dimension of a comparative analysis between two emblematic "hidden" genocides shows that there are many similarities in the process of forgetting that occurred in their respective aftermaths. Developing an understanding of how these genocides came to be ignored and forgotten may provide a foundation for genuine acknowledgment and redress. . Both collections present a range of case studies and analyses, and the latter identifies a canon of genocide cases which "remain exemplary, first and foremost the Holocaust." 4 The core of recognized genocides includes those in Rwanda, Bosnia, Cambodia and Darfur, those of Indigenous peoples broadly, and the Armenian Genocide, which has gained attention in recent years and which is now also included in the triad of core genocides along with the Holocaust and Rwandan genocide. Those genocides which have engendered less recognition, constitute what has been referred to as the "second circle", "periphery", and finally "forgotten" genocides, 5 encompassing cases ranging from Bangladesh, Kosovo and the Ukrainian famine, to East Timor, Burundi and the Assyrian and Greek genocides. It is unclear where in this structure sit the many non-Jewish victims of the Nazis and their Axis allies, primarily Romani peoples but also Jehovah's Witnesses, homosexuals and other categories of people considered asocial.This paper presents a comparative analysis of the Romani and Assyrian experiences, addressing the roles played by scholars and nations, and the effect of international law and government policy, in either blocking out or including particular events in collective memories and official history. A comparative analysis between the Romani and Assyrian cases can help to highlight the interplay between causes, and identify patterns that can lead to both unintentional forgetting and deliberate concealment.This paper also notes the influence of issues internal to the victim communities, such as a cultural disinclination to record events in writing, resulting in a lack of survivor testimony, 6 and in both cases, internal divisions which have prevented a unified voice to advocate the cause of recognition. Indeed, in consultations with Assyrian community representatives, the absence of a self-governed, autonomous nation-state is sometimes cited as a reason for the lack of power to drive recognition efforts, and this factor in itself would be worthy of a more...

Cold Genocide: Falun Gong in China

“…Riccardo, Marczak, and Diamadis point out that the presence of bias or discrimination against the victims is an important factor which leads to their suffering being overlooked. 149 The cause and nature of bias against different victim group will differ, but the effect is the same-to marginalize the victim group and shroud their genocide from public view and attention. The Chinese communist regime's demonization of Falun Gong and misinformation campaign against Falun Gong instills widespread bias and discrimination against Falun Gong practitioners and marginalizes them both in China and abroad.…”