APRIL - Genocide Awareness Month

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The month of April marks the start of some of the most horrific genocides – Rwanda, Cambodia, Armenia, Anfal campaign against Kurds – and it is also the end of others, like the liberation of Auschwitz. This is why the month has been deemed Genocide Awareness Month. And the year of 2025 further marks pivotal anniversaries – the 30th anniversary of Srebrenica during the Bosnian War, the 50th anniversary of Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge, and the 90th anniversary of the beginning of the Armenian genocide.

The United States has also played a pivotal role in many of these unfortunate and deadly moments in history. But with all this atrocity, the history books can only cover so much. And each country has a different history to tell depending on their role in the genocide and who or where the story comes from, be it a survivor, a government, an organization, or a bystander. Films and books can tell these stories in a variety of ways, and by rounding out our experiences, only then can we begin to understand and not repeat the mistakes of the past.

The co-founders of the Mass Atrocity Research Initiative (MARI), American University (Washington, DC) professors Jeff Bachman and Claudine Kuradusenge-McLeod, recommend the following. Although this list is not exhaustive of all the tragedies that have taken place, it serves as one small step toward educating ourselves.

Professor Bachman is author with Esther Ruiz of A Modern History of Forgotten Genocides and Mass Atrocities. This book is a great resource for anyone interested in genocides and mass atrocities that are often overlooked or forgotten in mainstream discussions. Bachman and Ruiz cover a range of tragic events that don’t always get the attention they deserve, shining a light on underreported genocides and mass killings in modern history.

Films

Bosnia: Years Eaten by Lions [Godine koje su pojeli lavovi] (Boro Kontic, 2010). This film looks at the Bosnian War and the ethnic cleansing that occurred during the 1990s. It follows the personal stories of survivors and the deep trauma caused by the violence. The film provides a poignant reflection on how nationalism and ethnic division led to genocide in the region.

Cambodia: Facing Genocide: Khieu Samphan and Pol Pot (David Aronowitsch/Staffan Lindberg, 2010). This documentary looks at the Khmer Rouge regime and the devastating genocide in Cambodia. Through interviews with survivors and experts, the film examines the ideology and political motives behind the regime’s brutal actions, which led to the deaths of millions. It’s a sobering and thought-provoking exploration of political violence.

Congo: CONGO: White King, Red Rubber, Black Death (Peter Bate, 2003). This documentary exposes the horrific exploitation and genocide of the Congolese people under King Leopold II’s rule in the Congo Free State. Through archival footage and historical analysis, the film chronicles the brutal tactics used to extract rubber and other resources, including forced labor, mutilations, and mass killings. It serves as a stark reminder of the colonial legacy and its long-lasting effects on Congo’s development.

Holocaust: 75 Years After Auschwitz’s Liberation, Watch Four Documentaries That Keep the ‘Memory of the Camps’ Alive This PBS Frontline article contains full access to four documentaries: Memory of the Camps (1985); Shtetl (1996); Never Forget to Lie (2013); The Last Survivors (2019).

Indigenous genocide: Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (Yves Simoneau, 2007) This film adapts Brown's book into a dramatic portrayal of the events leading up to the Wounded Knee Massacre, focusing on the US government's betrayal of Native Americans. It provides a harrowing look at the destruction of Native American cultures and the brutality of the US Army in its quest to quell resistance. The film vividly portrays the human cost of colonialism and imperialism.

Indonesia: The Act of Killing (Joshua Oppenheimer, 2012).This documentary offers a view of some of the perpetrators of murder in Indonesia in 1965 and 1966. The general lack of remorse for and detachment from the impacts of this violence on families and communities is both startling but important to see.

Iraq, Kurdistan region: Good Kurds, Bad Kurds (Kevin McKiernan, 2000). This documentary explores the long history of the Kurdish people and the genocide they’ve suffered at the hands of various Middle Eastern governments, especially Iraq under Saddam Hussein. It focuses on the 1988 Anfal campaign, where tens of thousands of Kurds were killed or displaced. It’s a great resource for understanding the complex political dynamics in the Middle East.

Rwanda: Sometimes in April (Raoul Peck, 2005). A powerful dramatization of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, focusing on the lives of ordinary people caught up in the violence. The film depicts the horrors of the genocide from multiple perspectives, illustrating both the overwhelming cruelty of the Hutu extremists and the resilience of survivors. It is an emotional and haunting portrayal of one of the most tragic events of the 20th century.

Rwanda: Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Romeo Dallaire (Peter Raymont, 2004). This documentary follows Romeo Dallaire, the Canadian peacekeeper who led the UN mission during the Rwandan genocide. It focuses on his personal journey, the moral dilemmas he faced, and the emotional scars he carries after witnessing the failure of the international community to stop the killings.

Books

Armenia: The United States and the Armenian Genocide: History, Memory, Politics by Julien Zarifian. The most comprehensive and detailed account of the domestic and international politics associated with the significant amount of time it took for the U.S. Congress and a US President to formally recognize the Armenian genocide as such.

Cambodia: The Pol Pot Regime: Race, Power, and Genocide in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge, 1975-79 by Ben Kiernan. Examines the rise of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge by studying the violence through which they emerged and received popular support in some circles, even as they were murdering and starving millions. Kiernan also addresses the role of the U.S. war on Vietnam in their rise.

Canada: Suffer the Little Children: Genocide, Indigenous Nations and the Canadian State by Tamara Starblanket. It is just over 150 years since Canada opened its first residential boarding school (1874). Recommended for anyone interested in learning more about what the Canadian government has even referred to as “cultural genocide.

Congo: King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild. A must-read! Dives into the horrors of King Leopold II’s rule over the Congo Free State. Hochschild reveals the brutal exploitation, forced labor, and the millions of deaths caused by Leopold's greed. It’s a powerful critique of imperialism and a real eye-opener about colonial violence.

East Timor: A Not-So-Distant Horror: Mass Violence in East Timor by Joseph Nevins. Reviews and explains the politics associated with the death and suffering In East Timor and, as with the massacres in Indonesia, the role of members of the international community, including Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom, and especially the United States. Nevins writes that much, if not all, of the killings and other preventable deaths could have been avoided had these countries not provided Indonesia with political, diplomatic, economic, and military assistance.

Holocaust: The Liberation of the Camps: The End of the Holocaust and Its Aftermath by Dan Stone. Historian Dan Stone focuses on the survivors—their feelings of guilt, exhaustion, fear, shame for having survived, and devastating grief for lost family members; their immense medical problems; and their later demands to be released from Displaced Persons camps and resettled in countries of their own choosing. Stone also tracks the efforts of British, American, Canadian, and Russian liberators as they contended with survivors’ immediate needs, then grappled with longer-term issues that shaped the postwar world and ushered in the first chill of the Cold War years ahead.

Indigenous Genocides: Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Alexander Brown. A heartbreaking account of the U.S. government’s treatment of Native Americans, particularly focusing on the systematic destruction of indigenous tribes in the American West. The book highlights broken treaties, massacres, and the tragic massacre at Wounded Knee. It’s an essential read for anyone wanting to understand the brutality of American colonialism.

Indonesia: The Killing Season: A History of the Indonesian Massacres, 1965-66 by Geoffrey B. Robinson. Researches one of the most underexplored cases of mass violence, including by scholars in the field of genocide studies. Robinson also details the critical role played by the United States, Britain, and other major powers in facilitating mass murder.

Namibia: The Herero Genocide: War, Emotion, and Extreme Violence in Colonial Namibia by Matthias Häussler. Explores the genocide of the Herero and Nama people by German colonial forces in Namibia in the early 1900s. He examines the extreme violence and forced labor, alongside the emotional and psychological toll of this genocide. It’s a compelling look at a lesser known, but significant, atrocity in colonial history.

Rwanda: Becoming Evil: How Ordinary People Commit Genocide and Mass Killing by James Waller. Explores a really important question: how do ordinary people become perpetrators of mass violence? Using case studies from events like the Holocaust and Rwanda, Waller examines the psychological and social factors that allow people to commit horrific acts. It’s a deep dive into the human psyche and the conditions that enable genocide.

Rwanda: Eyewitness to a Genocide: The U.N. and Rwanda by Michael N. Barnett. A critical look at the role the United Nations played during the Rwandan genocide. Barnett interviews survivors and UN personnel to show how the international community failed to intervene when mass slaughter was unfolding. It’s a sobering reflection on bureaucratic inertia and the limits of international peacekeeping.

United States: On Genocide: And a Summary of the Evidence and the Judgments of the International War Crimes Tribunal by Jean-Paul Sartre. On Genocide was written at the end of the 1967 International War Crimes Tribunal (also known as the Russell Tribunal after British philosopher Bertrand Russell) and was adopted by the tribunal as part of its findings. I recommend it because, even if one disagrees about use of the term genocide, On Genocide is meticulous in its summary of violence carried out by the United States. For example, Sartre writes that the intent to commit genocide is “implicit in the facts,” including “villages burned, the population subjected to massive bombing, livestock shot, vegetation destroyed by defoliants, crops ruined by toxic aerosols, and everywhere indiscriminate shooting, murder, rape and looting.”

United States: We Charge Genocide: The Crime of Government Against the Negro People by William Patterson. Argues that the US government’s treatment of African Americans during the 20th century meets the definition of genocide. Written by civil rights leaders, it documents racial violence and systemic oppression as an intentional strategy to eliminate Black communities. It’s an important read to understand the broader scope of genocide in a U.S. context.

United States: Narratives of Victimhood and Perpetration: The Struggle of Bosnian and Rwandan Diaspora Communities in the United States by Claudine Kuradusenge-McLeod: Explores the experiences of Bosnian and Rwandan diaspora communities in the U.S., particularly in how they navigate their identities as both victims and perpetrators of genocide. The author delves into how these communities grapple with their pasts and the trauma of genocide while trying to integrate into American society. The book is an essential read for understanding the complexities of post-genocide identity and the lasting effects of trauma on displaced populations.

Asia Pacific WWII:  Japan's Holocaust: History of Imperial Japan's Mass Murder and Rape During World War II by Bryan Mark Rigg, Ph.D. Unreviewed.

Monday Asia Events January 29, 2024

 THE INDO-PACIFIC AS JAPAN’S 21ST CENTURY GRAND STRATEGY. 1/29, Noon -1:00pm (EST), HYBRID. Sponsor: Harvard University. Speaker: Saori Katada, Professor of International Relations; Director, Center for International Studies, University of Southern California.

US INTERNATIONAL TRADE POLICY AND THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR IN 2024 AND BEYOND. 1/29, 1:00-3:00pm (EST), HYBRID. Sponsor: American Enterprise Institute. Speakers: Sharon Bomer-Lauritsen, Founder, AgTrade Strategies; Gregg Doud, President, National Milk Producers Federation; Joseph W. Glauber, Nonresident Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute; Vincent H. Smith, Director of Agricultural Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute; Craig Thorn, Partner, DTB Associates; Darci Vetter, Head of Global Public Policy, PepsiCo, Former Chief Agricultural Negotiator, Office of the US Trade Representative.

A CONVERSATION WITH REP. DARRELL ISSA ON US–SOUTH ASIA RELATIONS. 1/29, 2:00-3:00pm (EST), HYBRID. Sponsor: Hudson Institute. Speakers: Rep. Darrell Issa, (R-CA), Aparna Pande, Research Fellow, Hudson Institute (India and South Asia).

GLOBAL BUSINESS SEMINAR: JAPAN'S ATTRACTIVE INVESTMENT ENVIRONMENT IN A CHANGING INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENT. 1/29, 2:00-4:50pm (JST), IN PERSON ONLY. Sponsors:  Cabinet Office (CAO), Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO). Speakers: Mr. Marcus Schuermann, Chief Executive Officer / Delegate of German Industry and Commerce in Japan; Mr. Masanori YOSHIDA, Executive Officer, Global Chief, Japan Exchange Group, Inc.; Mr. Mitsuru MYOCHIN, Deputy Director-General for Economic and Fiscal Management, Director General of the Office of Foreign Direct Investment Promotion; Mr. Kazuya NAKAJO, Executive Vice President, Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO); Mr. Satoshi TAKAMATSU, Representative Director, President and CEO, ARCALIS, Inc.; Mr. Mamoru NAKANO, Japan Country Manager, Tenstorrent Japan Inc.; Mr. Luc PEJO, CEO, Ciel Terre Japan Inc.

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*INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC LAW & POLICY COLLOQUIUM – “UNDERGROUND EMPIRE: HOW AMERICA WEAPONIZED THE WORLD ECONOMY”. 1/29, 3:30-5:30pm (EST), IN PERSON ONLY. Sponsor: Georgetown University. Speaker: Abraham Newman, Professor, Director of the Mortara Center for International Studies, Georgetown University.                                                   BYSTANDER SOCIETY: CONFORMITY AND COMPLICITY IN NAZI GERMANY AND THE HOLOCAUST. 1/29, 4:00-5:30pm (EST), VIRTUAL. Sponsor: Wilson Center. Speaker: author Mary Fubrook, Professor of German History, University College London.

BOOK TALK WITH JOSEPH S. NYE JR - A LIFE IN THE AMERICAN CENTURY. 1/29, 5:00-6:30pm (ET), IN PERSON ONLY. Sponsor: Aspen Strategy Group. Speaker: Author Joseph S. Nye Jr, Founder and Co-Chair, Aspen Strategy Group.

CHALLENGING CHINA: THE PHILIPPINE EXPERIENCE IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA. 1/29, 7:00-8:00pm (EST), VIRTUAL. Sponsor: U.S- Asia Law Institute. Speaker: Jay L Batongbacal, Professor, University of the Philippines College of Law, Director, Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea of the U.P. Law Center.

Monday Asia Events December 5, 2022

VOICES FROM JAPAN: JAPAN’S NATIONAL SECURITY STRATEGY IN THE ERA OF STRATEGIC COMPETITION. 12/5, 8:30–9:30am (EST), WEBINAR. Sponsor: Stimson. Speakers: Nobukatsu Kanehara, Professor, Faculty of Law, Department of Political Science, Doshisha University; Moderator: Yuki Tatsumi, Director, Japan Program, Stimson.

CHINA AND THE GLOBAL HUMAN RIGHTS SYSTEM. 12/5, 11:30am (BST), VIRTUAL. Sponsor: St Antony’s Asian Studies Centre, Oxford, UK. Speakers: Sarah M. Brooks, Program Director, International Service for Human Rights; Rosemary Foot, Professor and Senior Research Fellow, University of Oxford; Rana Siu Inboden, Senior Fellow, Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law, University of Texas at Austin; Moderator, John D. Ciorciari, Associate Dean for Research and Policy Engagement, Ford School.

THE VATICAN AND PERMANENT NEUTRALITY. 12/5, Noon-1:30pm (EST), ZOOM. Sponsor: Georgetown University Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs. Speakers Include: Marshall Breger, Columbus School of Law, Catholic University of America; Dr. Herbert Reginbogin, Catholic University of America; Dr. Suzanne Brown Fleming, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum; Dr. Piotr Kosicki, University of Maryland; Dr. Maryann Cusimano Love, Catholic University of America; Dr. Matthew Shadle, Marymount University; Moderator: Rev. David Hollenbach, S.J., Georgetown University.

THE DRAGON ROARS BACK. 12/5, 4:30pm (EST), ONLINE WEBINAR. Sponsor: CSIS. Speakers: author, Suisheng Zhao, Professor and Director, Center for China-US Cooperation, Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver; Jude Blanchette, Freeman Chair, CSIS. PURCHASE BOOK

NEW FORM OF CAPITALISM IN JAPAN AND THE NORDIC VISION: LABOR PARTICIPATION, GENDER EQUALITY, AND WORK-LIFE BALANCE. 12/5, 5:00-6:30pm (JST), ZOOM. Sponsor: Embassy of Finland, Royal Danish Embassy, Embassy of Sweden, Embassy of Iceland, Norwegian Embassy. Speakers Include: Atsushi Sunami, President of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation; Tanja Jääskeläinen, Ambassador of Finland to Japan; Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, President of Iceland; Masanobu Ogura, Minister of State for Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment.

American fascism: Reading the signs of the times

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By IAN BURUMA, AsiaTimes, JULY 13, 2018

Comparing today’s demagogues with Adolf Hitler is almost always unwise. Such alarmism tends to trivialize the actual horrors of the Nazi regime and distracts attention from our own political problems. But if alarmism is counterproductive, the question remains: At what point are democracies truly in danger? What was unimaginable only a few years ago – a US president insulting democratic allies and praising dictators, or calling the free press “enemies of the people,” or locking up refugees and taking away their children – has become almost normal now. When will it be too late to sound the alarm?

Great books have been written about this very question. Giorgio Bassani’s masterpiece, The Garden of the Finzi-Continis, describes the lives of bourgeois Italian Jews under fascism. Slowly, step by step, a legal and social noose tightens around these cultivated Italians, who took their lives of comfort and influence for granted. And yet, in different ways, they are in denial. The narrator’s father even joins the Fascist Party, while the wealthier Finzi-Continis withdraw into their ever more isolated family circle. Pride and a lack of imagination blind them to the danger they are in until it is too late and they are deported to the death camps.

The human incapacity to see what is coming also animates Sebastian Haffner’s memoir Defying Hitler, written in 1939, a year after he left his native Germany. Haffner, later a journalist and author, was a law student who witnessed how the Nazi dictatorship became lethal, again incrementally, like the persecution of Jews in Italy. He saw how his fellow law students, none of whom were Nazis, came to accept each step – racial laws, abrogation of the constitution, and so on – precisely because they were couched in legal terms. There never seemed to be a point at which they recognized that an intolerable line had been crossed and only resistance or exile would do. Haffner, who was not Jewish, did recognize it; he left in the year that synagogues were torched and Jews driven from their homes.

Under most circumstances, there are probably more Finzi-Continis than Haffners. It is hard to sleep well in a state of alarm. Life is easier if the world seems normal, even if it is anything but.

There are many ways people stick their heads in the sand, and some parallels between our own time and Europe in the early 1930s can be seen. Quite a number of German businessmen and industrialists, who were conservatives but not Nazis, thought they could live with Hitler, as long as he benefited them financially. He was a vulgar upstart, whose manners might not have been the finest, but surely they would be able to control him.

Historical knowledge can help people to recognize certain patterns of behavior – attacks on an independent judiciary, for example – that have led to tyranny in the past. But historical memory, often blended with myth, can also stop people from reading the signs of what might come. In countries with a democratic history, it is easy to assume that “it could never happen here,” because “our institutions are too strong,” or “our people love freedom too much,” or they are “too civilized” or “too modern” to slide into barbarism.

Donald Trump may not be a reincarnated Hitler, but Republicans’ acquiescence in every step he has taken away from civilized democratic norms is ominous

Leftists can be just as blinkered as conservatives. Communists (instructed by Stalin), but also the non-communist left in 1920s Germany, refused to defend the fragile Weimar Republic when it was under assault from the right. Communists saw social democrats as a greater danger than Nazis, and left-wing intellectuals were distracted by the hypocrisy and corruption of mainstream parties they really should have supported.

Donald Trump may not be a reincarnated Hitler, but Republicans’ acquiescence in every step he has taken away from civilized democratic norms is ominous. And so is talk on the far left that the difference between Trump and Clinton or Obama is one of degree, not kind: he merely displays the iniquities of neoliberalism more blatantly than they did. In both cases, the particular dangers posed by today’s right-wing populism are underrated or ignored.

The much-maligned mainstream press – those “enemies of the people” – is still robust. But its influence is waning. What appears in The New York Times or the Washington Post matters less than presidential tweets that go straight to millions of people and are echoed in partisan radio or TV shows.

In a polarized society, politicians who stir up the mob by exploiting fear and resentment are probably more likely to be successful than less exciting figures who try to appeal to our more rational faculties. Political parties that oppose the anti-liberal trends are in a serious bind. If they respond to youthful anger and idealism and move too far to the left, they could lose essential votes in the center. If they choose centrist candidates, who look for reforms rather than radical change, they might lose the fired-up young.

And yet freedoms must be defended, which is possible only when the threats are seen clearly. The moment people stop believing that the demagogues can be prevented from doing their worst is the moment we can be sure that it is already too late.

Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2018
www.project-syndicate.org

Monday in Washington, January 25, 2016

Washington had a record breaking snow storm over the weekend. The airports will not open until Monday. Thus, it is unlikely that many of these events will take place. Call or check online before you venture out.

THE FOREIGN SOVEREIGN IMMUNITIES ACT AT FORTY: U.S. AND INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES. 8:30am-5:30pm. Sponsors: Georgetown Law; Center for Transnational Business and the Law. Notable Speakers: Diane P. Wood, Chief Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit; Mary McLeod, Acting Legal Adviser, U.S. Department of State; Ed Kneedler, Deputy Solicitor General, US Department of Justice; Lori Damrosch, President, American Society of International Law; Ed Kneedler, Deputy Solicitor General, US Department of Justice.

THE FUTURE AND POTENTIAL OF AFRICAN ENERGY AND POWER AFRICA ROAD MAP. 9:30-11:00am. Sponsor: U.S. Agency for International Development. Speakers: U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Gayle Smith; National Security Advisor Ambassador Susan Rice; Deputy Secretary of Energy Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall; President of the World Bank Group Jim Yong Kim; President of the African Development Bank Group Akinwumi Adesina; Power Africa Coordinator Andrew Herscowitz.

IS RUSSIA PUNCHING ABOVE ITS WEIGHT? 10:00-11:30am. Sponsor: Eurasia Program, CSIS;. Speakers: Ruslan Pukhov, Director, Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies. Moderator: Olga Oliker, Senior Adviser and Director, Russia and Eurasia Program, CSIS.

THE RUSSIAN-CHINESE RELATIONSHIP IN THE ARCTIC: OVERLAPPING INTERESTS AND DIVERGENCES. 3:00-4:30pm. Speakers: Dr. Michał Łuszczuk, Assistant Professor of International Relations, Maria Curie Sklodowska University (Lublin, Poland) and Visiting Fulbright Scholar, IERES.

CHINA, SOUTHEAST ASIA AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY: OBSERVATIONS FROM THE FIELD. 3:30-5:00pm.Sponsor:  Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University. Speaker: Jason Tower, Northeast Asia Quaker International Affairs Representative.

THE SYRIAN REFUGEE CRISIS AND THE UNITED STATES. 10:00-11:30am. Sponsor: Brookings Institution. Speakers: Elizabeth Ferris, Nonresident Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy, Project on International Order and Strategy, Brookings; William Galston, Senior Fellow, Governance Studies, Brookings; Robert McKenzie, Visiting Fellow, Foreign Policy Center for the Middle East Policy, U.S. Relations with the Islamic World, Brookings. Moderator: Daniel Byman, Research Director, Center for Middle East Policy, Brookings.

AMERICA’S INVISIBLE WARS. 11:00am-12:30pm. Sponsor: Cato Institute. Speakers: Emma Ashford, Visiting Research Fellow, Cato Institute; Bronwyn Bruton, Deputy Director, Africa Center, Atlantic Council; Charles Schmitz, Professor, Towson University, Vice President, American Institute for Yemeni Studies; Moeed Yusuf, Director, South Asia Programs, United States Institute of Peace; Moderator: Mark Mazzetti, Correspondent, The New York Times.

THE CHANGING NATURE OF THE WAR ON TERROR. 2:00-3:00pm. Sponsor: International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). Speakers: Daniel Byman, Professor, Georgetown University Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service;Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution; Bruce Hoffman, Professor and Director, Georgetown University Center for Security Studies; Senior Fellow, US Military Academy Combating Terrorism Center; Chair: Donald Daniel, Adjunct Professor, Georgetown University.

CAPITALISM IN THE 21ST CENTURY. 3:00-5:00pm. Sponsor: K&L Gates LLP. Speakers: Denis Brosnan, President and CEO, Dimont; Bart Gordon, Partner, K&L Gates; Tom Quaadmann, Senior Vice President, U.S. Chamber Center for Capital Market Competitiveness; Damon Silvers, Director of Policy and Special Counsel, AFL-CIO; Jeff Brown, SVP, Charles Schwab Corporation; Dan Crowley, Partner, K&L Gates; Andres Gill, Director, U.S. Chamber Center for Capital Market Competitiveness; Dennis Kelleher, President and CEO, Better Markets. Moderators: Stephen Moore, Columnist, Economic Policy, Washington Times; Paul Atkins, CEO, Patomak Global Partners.

IS THE NARRATIVE OF “THE BIG SHORT” THE BEST EXPLANATION OF THE FINANCIAL CRISIS? 4:00-7:30pm. Sponsor: Brookings Institution. Speakers: Ted Gayer, Vice President and Director, Economic Studies, Senior Fellow, Joseph A. Pechman; Adam McKay, Director, The Big Short, Gillian Tett, U.S. Managing Editor, Financial Times; Vincent Reinhart, Visiting Scholar, American Enterprise Institute; Adam Davidson, Co-founder and Contributor, Planet Money, NPR, Consultant, The Big Short movie; Jamies Mai, Chief Investment Officer, Cornwall Capital. Moderator: David Wessel, Director, Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy, Senior Fellow, Economic Studies.

THE HOLOCAUST AS HISTORY AND WARNING. 4:00-5:30pm. Sponsor: Wilson Center. Speaker: Timothy Snyder, Housum Professor, Yale University, member, Committee on Conscience of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

PLAYBOOK COCKTAILS WITH FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER TOM DONILON AND FORMER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE ROBERT GATES. 5:30pm. Sponsor: Politico. Speakers: former Defense Secretary Robert Gates and former National Security Adviser Tom Donilon.

Historical Trauma

University of Montana

SYMPOSIUM
NOVEMBER 4–5, 2015

UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA, MISSOULA

Co-organized by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies and the University of Montana’s African-American Studies Program, this interdisciplinary symposium explores current and emerging research on historical trauma in Holocaust studies, Native-American studies, African-American studies, and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality studies.

By bringing together scholars, teachers, students, and community members, the Mandel Center’s outreach symposia seek to enrich campus dialogue and forge connections with diverse audiences that will ensure the vitality of Holocaust studies in an increasingly interdisciplinary and multicultural academic landscape.

The symposium is a component of the University of Montana’s DiverseU, a campus-wide series of events focused on topics of diversity. Students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community members discuss, present, perform, and exhibit art throughout the program.

The symposium will be held in Room 332-3 of the University of Montana’s University Center. This program is free and open to the public. RSVP.

This symposium has been made possible by a generous grant to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum from the Joyce and Irving Goldman Family Foundation and by the University of Montana’s African-American Studies Program, College of Humanities and Sciences, Davidson Honors College, Department of Anthropology, Department of Communication Studies, Department of History, Mansfield Library, Native American Studies Department, President Royce Engstrom, University Center, and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program.

Highlighted in red are programs of interest to those who work on issues of Japanese war crimes.

SYMPOSIUM PROGRAM

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4

1:30 p.m. Welcome and Opening Remarks
Royce Engstrom, President, University of Montana
Robert M. Ehrenreich, Director of University Programs, Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

2 p.m. Reframing Knowledge Production
Moderator: Rosalyn LaPier (Blackfeet/Métis), Assistant Professor, Environmental Studies Program, University of Montana

Digging Through the Rubble: Romani Women’s Holocaust Testimony and What It Tells Us about History
Ethel Brooks, Associate Professor, Departments of Women's and Gender Studies and Sociology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

“Reflecting the World Increasingly Made Right”: From Response to Action in Public Libraries
Julie Edwards, Associate Professor, Mansfield Library, University of Montana

The Healing Power of Truth-Telling: Undoing the Many Wrongs and Harms of Colonialist American Historiography
George Price (Wampanoag), Lecturer, African-American Studies Program, History Department, and Native American Studies Department, University of Montana

3:30 p.m. Break

3:45 p.m. Keynote: The Inheritance of Trauma across the Disciplines: A View from Holocaust Studies
Sara R. Horowitz, Professor of Comparative Literature, York University and 2009 Mandel Center Fellow

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5

9 a.m. Children and Historical Trauma
Moderator: Tobin Miller Shearer, Associate Professor, History Department, and Director, African-American Studies Program, University of Montana

“War . . . ain’t Nuthin’ But Hell on Dis Earth”: Children in the Civil War South
Anya Jabour, Professor, History Department, University of Montana

In the Pipeline: Children and Families in the Displaced Persons Camp
Adam R. Seipp, Associate Professor of History, Texas A&M University

Early Education Experiences and Health Later in Life in Older American Indians
Steven P. Verney (Tsimshian), Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico

Psychological and Health Consequences of Historical Trauma in Native Communities
Gyda Swaney (Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation), Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Montana

10:30 a.m. Break

11 a.m. Justice and Historical Trauma
Moderator: Kathryn Shanley (Fort Peck Nakota), Professor, Native American Studies Department, and Special Assistant to the Provost for Native American and Indigenous Education, University of Montana

Victim’s Justice: Holocaust Legacies of Reparations
Kathy L. Powers, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science and Affiliated Faculty, Africana Studies Program and School of Law, University of New Mexico and 2014 Mandel Center Fellow

Victimized But Not Victims: Narratives of Homelessness in Rural Areas and Small Towns
Daisy Rooks, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Montana

Historical Trauma's Impact on American Indians in the Legal System
Maylinn Smith, Director, Margery Hunter Brown Indian Law Clinic, Alexander Blewett III School of Law, University of Montana

12:30 p.m. Break for Lunch

1:30 p.m. Gender, Sexuality, and Historical Trauma
Moderator: Christine Fiore, Professor and Chair, Department of Psychology, University of Montana

Afterlives of the Catastrophe: Women, Sex, Gender in the Wake of World War II
Neni Panourgiá, Visiting Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, New School for Social Research and 2011 Charles H. Revson Fellow for Archival Research

Applying the Concept of Historical Trauma to LGBT Individuals
Bryan Cochran, Associate Professor and Director of Clinical Training, Department of Psychology, University of Montana

Confronting Rape Culture: Analyzing the Historical Erasure of the Perpetrator
Elizabeth A. Hubble, Director, Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program, University of Montana

3 p.m. Break

3:30 p.m. Roundtable on the Pedagogy of Historical Trauma
Moderator: Krista Hegburg, Program Officer, Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

C. Richard King, Professor, Department of Critical Culture, Gender, and Race Studies, Washington State University

Gillian Glaes, Visiting Associate Professor, History Department and African-American Studies Program, University of Montana

Betsy Bach, Professor, Department of Communication Studies, University of Montana

Chancellor Merkel talks to Japan

Speech by Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel during the event hosted by the newspaper Asahi Shimbun in cooperation with the Japanese-German Center Berlin in Tokyo
9 March 2015

Ladies and gentlemen,

First of all, I would like to thank you very much for the friendly introduction and for the opportunity to be your guest here today. It is an honour to me to be hosted here by Asahi Shimbun. You are one of the most widely circulated newspapers in the world, and your publishing house is also rich in tradition, with a history extending back to the early days of Japanese-German relations.

Exactly 142 years ago today, on 9 March 1873, what was known as the Iwakura Mission arrived in Berlin. This Japanese delegation headed by Ambassador Extraordinary Tomomi Iwakura undertook an extensive educational journey in order to gain greater insight into the economic, political and social life of European countries. In my view the Iwakura Mission is, in a manner of speaking, exemplary of Japanese open-mindedness and thirst for knowledge – a tradition the country has maintained to this day. This tradition is one of the foundations of the host of close ties between the German and Japanese people.

Whether in business or science, art or culture, there is no other country in Asia with which Germany maintains such intense exchange. This exchange is supported, for example, by 60 town twinning partnerships and more than 110 Japanese-German and German-Japanese societies in our countries. The Junior Sports Club and the many students and university graduates who take part in the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme are also especially notable bridge-builders between our countries.

Among the many institutions that stimulate exchange between our countries, I would especially like to single out the Japanese-German Center Berlin. This centre was founded 30 years ago at the initiative of Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone and Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl. Many conferences, cultural events and exchange programmes have since been carried out. The JGCB also helped organise today’s event. For this reason, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to all the people at this centre who are doing outstanding work in the service of lively Japanese-German dialogue.

Ladies and gentlemen, the day after tomorrow is the fourth anniversary of the major Tohoku earthquake on 11 March 2011. The earthquake triggered a tremendously devastating tsunami and failures at several nuclear power plants, especially the Fukushima nuclear power plant. The terrible images of the destruction and suffering caused by this threefold catastrophe in 2011 are still vivid in my mind. Our deepest condolences go out to all those who lost loved ones in this disaster. Our sympathy is also with those who survived but have still not been able to return to their homes. I greatly admire the spirit of community with which the Japanese people have tackled the reconstruction after the earthquake.

Destruction and reconstruction are also key words for 2015 in another way, as this year we are commemorating the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. To echo the words of former Federal President Richard von Weizsäcker, who died just a few weeks ago, the end of the war in Europe on 8 May 1945 was a day of liberation – liberation from Nazi barbarism, from the horrors of the Second World War that had been unleashed by Germany, and from the betrayal of all civilised values in the form of the Shoah.

We Germans will never forget the hand of reconciliation that was extended to us after all the suffering that our country had brought to Europe and the world. We can count ourselves lucky that so much trust was placed in the nascent Federal Republic at that time. This is what it made it possible for us to succeed in finding our way back into the international community. Trust was also what cleared the way to German unity for us four decades later after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the East-West confrontation in 1989-1990.

Today, 70 years after the end of the Second World War and 25 years after the end of the Cold War, we in Germany can – just like Japan – look back on developments that have taken a remarkable course. As prosperous democracies, our states and societies are deeply marked by the separation of powers, the rule of law, and the principles of the social market economy. Our economic strengths are rooted in our capacity for reform, competition and innovation. As trade- and export-oriented nations, our free and open civil societies thrive on a globalised economy. Germany and Japan are thus partners in global responsibility for a liberal, standards-based world order of free, open states and societies.

But this liberal world order is not to be taken for granted. On the contrary, it is threatened. By annexing Crimea in violation of international law and supporting separatists in eastern Ukraine, Russia has violated the territorial integrity of Ukraine, which it clearly committed itself to protecting in the Budapest Memorandum in 1994. Ukraine, like every other state, has the right to determine its own path with full sovereignty. I would like to thank the Japanese Government very much for the fact that we are taking this position together and have also imposed economic sanctions as a necessary response.

But we are also focused on a diplomatic solution. This is a reason why I am working together with French President François Hollande, all of our European and transatlantic partners, and Japan to see that the agreements that were made a few weeks ago in Minsk to overcome the crisis are truly implemented. Free local elections in eastern Ukraine and unimpeded Ukrainian control of the country’s own borders would, by the way, not only help Ukraine and enable it to regain its territorial integrity, but also lend new impetus to the partnership with Russia. Of course, the Crimea issue cannot simply remain unresolved.

Japan and Germany have shared interests when it comes to enforcing the strength of international law – including stability in other regions, such as waterways and trade routes in the East and South China Seas, the security of which we believe is threatened by maritime territorial disputes. These waterways connect Europe with this part of the world, among other things. Their security therefore also affects us in Europe. In order to reach a viable solution, I believe it is very important to make use of regional forums such as ASEAN in addition to bilateral efforts, and also to overcome differences on the basis of international maritime law: including both smaller and larger partners in multilateral processes and basing potential agreements on internationally recognised law ensures transparency and reliability. And transparency and reliability are vital requirements for preventing misunderstandings, prejudices and crises.

In our world, however, we are also confronted with conflicts where the willingness to enter into dialogue runs up against limits because fundamental values and human rights are violated in an atrocious manner. We are experiencing this with the international terrorism that is raging in Syria, Iraq, Libya, and large swathes of Nigeria. The terrorist organisations IS and Boko Haram threaten to annihilate everyone and everything that does not fit with their own maniacal claims to power. IS’s horrific murder of two Japanese hostages, the assassination of cartoonists and journalists of the satirical French newspaper Charlie Hebdo, and the gruesome attack on customers at a kosher supermarket in Paris – these and unfortunately many other barbaric crimes strengthen us more than ever in our determination to stand up resolutely together for freedom and open-mindedness. Such attacks make us, including Germany and Japan, stand even closer together in the fight against hatred and contempt for humanity.

That is why we are using the German G7 Presidency as an opportunity to stanch the flow of funding and combatants into international terrorism. Above all, finance ministers are engaged with this project. We are politically and militarily supporting all those who are opposing IS terror on the ground, especially the new Iraqi Government and the Kurdish Regional Government. Together with Japan, we are also helping to relieve the suffering which refugees are experiencing because of IS terror. This is our humanitarian responsibility, and fulfilling this responsibility is also in our own security policy interest.

Both of these approaches were also decisive in Germany’s and Japan’s engagement in Afghanistan. Together, we built up and assisted Afghan security forces. We helped create a school system and a health system, and we helped build new roads. On the whole we can say that life in Afghanistan has improved since 2001, even if the everyday security situation for people in Afghanistan remains unsatisfactory. We have, however, achieved the most important goal: today an international terrorist threat no longer emanates from Afghanistan.

Beyond this, Japan and Germany also agree on the task of containing the threat posed by nuclear weapons. The year 2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the dreadful atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The memory of these horrors has given rise to a responsibility for the future: such a thing must never happen again. That is why Japan and Germany are working tirelessly for greater disarmament and arms control.

This is also why we are pursuing the shared goal of preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. All doubts about the exclusively peaceful nature of the Iranian nuclear programme must be cleared up. The talks to this end are currently in a decisive phase. What is at stake for us is not just mitigating a source of regional conflict, but also the larger question of how we can prevent an arms race and the proliferation of nuclear weapons. In this context, of course, North Korea also has to be mentioned.

An existential question like this one shows how important international partnerships’ and organisations’ credibility and capacity to act are. That is why Japan and Germany have joined Brazil and India in advocating the strengthening of the United Nations – including reforms to the Security Council – even if progress admittedly proceeds at a very slow pace. We are, however, convinced that every region of the world should participate appropriately in Security Council decisions so that we can preserve a chance for peace and stability in the world.

Within the circle of G7 countries, too, we face global challenges, and we do so – this is a hallmark of the G7 – on a foundation of shared values and convictions. In the coming year Japan will take over the G7 Presidency from Germany. That is why we, Japan and Germany, want to work hand in hand especially closely.

The areas of focus for the German G7 Presidency include international climate protection. I have singled out this example because the year 2015 will be especially significant for climate protection. In December the UN conference in Paris will determine whether we will be able to have an ambitious and binding climate treaty enter into force in 2020. That is why we want to work with our G7 partners to prepare initiatives that will show that the G7 states are ready to take on a leading role in low‑carbon development. We want to make clear that this does not mean having to sacrifice prosperity. Prosperity must be attained in a different way than it has been to date, but we need not forsake it. We want to advance relevant innovations around the world, and what we want to do above all in this pursuit is assist developing countries. In any event, I hope that the G7 summit in Germany in June will send a strong signal in support of the successful conclusion of the climate negotiations in Paris.

Closely connected with climate protection is the question of how we can ensure the most sustainable energy supply possible. To this end, we want to keep developing the G7 initiative for energy security. This is a matter of creating the most transparent and functional energy markets that are possible. It is also our aim to increase energy efficiency and thereby reduce energy costs.

Other themes of Germany’s G7 Presidency include health issues such as the lessons learnt from the Ebola epidemic and the topic of women’s independence and professional training in developing countries.

Cooperation between Japan and Germany in a multilateral framework is only one side of the coin. The other side, which is of course just as important, is our bilateral partnership. Because we face quite similar challenges, we can learn a lot from and with each other. One excellent example is the answers we are seeking for demographic shifts in our societies. We are grappling with very similar questions when it comes to this issue. How do we keep our social security systems effective without overburdening the younger generation? How can we create good living conditions in rural regions that are affected by depopulation? How do we keep an aging society dynamic and innovative? – I have just discussed this with scholars who are working intensely in Japanese-German research areas. – How do we secure the pool of skilled workers that we need in order to preserve our prosperity?

We in Germany are engaged with these and many other questions as part of the Federal Government’s demographic strategy. We are focusing, for example, on increasing the workforce participation of women, improving the compatibility of work and family, extending our working lifetimes, and attracting qualified employees from abroad. Freedom of movement in the European Union creates good opportunities for workers from other European countries to come to Germany. But workers from countries outside Europe are also interested, and we are improving immigration conditions for them.

Here in Japan, the Government is seeking to encourage women’s workforce participation under the slogan “Let Women Shine”. There is also a legislative package to introduce quotas for the proportion of women in businesses and public administration. In Germany, the Bundestag adopted such a law on Friday after lengthy discussion. A look at the statistics regarding women in leadership positions in companies in Germany and Japan shows that both countries still have some catching up to do. I am looking forward to speaking tomorrow with Japanese women in leadership positions about their experiences and career paths. What is clear is that demographic change makes fostering and harnessing the potential of professionals a key factor in the future success of our countries’ economies and thus also in the preservation of our high standard of living.

Germany and Japan have long been a part of the circle of internationally successful economic players. This commonality has created a lot of space for additional forms of Japanese-German cooperation. Of course, this is above all a matter for businesses. – I am pleased that a business delegation has accompanied me on this trip in order to potentially give fresh impetus to our economic collaborations. – The politicians must create the framework conditions for these activities. This means that remaining impediments to trade, investment and joint innovation should be cleared away as much as possible.

That is why the entire Federal Government and I are working to negotiate and sign the free trade agreement between Japan and the European Union as quickly as possible. – It has been our experience that mutual trade has increased through such agreements, which has created more jobs. – Both sides can particularly benefit from even closer collaboration in technologically sophisticated areas. The challenges associated with digitalisation will surely create a variety of future opportunities for us in this area.

It is no secret that the innovative strength and success of our economy are built on a foundation of education, science and research. It is only logical, then, for our two countries to cultivate lively exchange in these areas too. We have many relationships that have grown over the years. I have already mentioned my talks with scientists this morning. What came up in this conversation is that we must pay attention: Japan is surrounded by interesting countries such as South Korea, China and Vietnam, which are developing in a highly dynamic way. That is why we should be keen to intensify our research cooperation not only in our own respective regions but also across the great distance between Germany and Japan. I am firmly convinced that a lot of good things can come out of this, and good things can become even better. In areas such as renewable energy, marine and earth sciences and environmental research, there is no shortage of opportunities for even more intensive cooperation.

That is why I would be delighted if even more students and scholars from Japan were to become interested in spending time in Germany. Many classes and training programmes in Germany are now held in English, and do not necessarily require participants to learn German. Perhaps it is possible for Japanese businesses to place more emphasis on young professionals at the start of their careers being able to boast towards participation in exchange programmes at international universities. I believe this is important for the global orientation of research and ultimately also of development. Young people should understand spending time abroad as a help and not a hindrance to their careers.

I can report from the European Union that we have the ERASMUS exchange programme there, which leads many students to spend some of their time studying abroad. I believe that the positive developments and effects this brings greatly outweigh the time that is lost through studying abroad. In any event, I can say that Japanese students and scholars are very welcome in Germany – at least as welcome as the Iwakura Mission was in 1873. Now, like then, we want to retain our curiosity about one another; now, like then, we want to explore the world together. That is why I am pleased that today I not only have had the chance to speak to you, but also can now exchange opinions in a discussion with you.

Thank you very much for this opportunity to be your guest today.

Monday in Washington, July 14, 2014

Bastille Day!

ENDING WARS TO BUILD PEACE. 7/14, 8:30am-12:45pm. Sponsors: United States Institute of Peace (USIP); Rand Arroyo Center; and Center for the Study of Civil-Military Operations, U.S. Military Academy. Speakers: Gideon Rose, Author, How Wars End; Lt. Gen. Robert Caslenl, Superintendent, U.S. Military Academy; Jim Jeffery, Former United States Ambassador to Iraq; James Kunder, Former Deputy Administrator, United States Agency for International Development; Army Lt. Gen. Mark Milley, Commander, U.S. Army III Corps; Rick Brennan, Senior Political Scientist, RAND; and Tara Sonenshine, Distinguished Fellow, George Washington University. Location: USIP, 2301 Constitution Ave., NW. Contact:

2014 EIA ENERGY CONFERENCE. 7/14-7/15. Sponsor: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Department of Energy. Speakers: John Auers, Turner Mason; Justin Baca, Solar Energy Industries Association; Bill Booth, U.S. Energy Information Administration; Jason Bordoff, Columbia University Center on Global Energy Policy; Gwen Bredehoeft, U.S. Energy Information Administration; Sam Brooks, ClearRock; Beth Calabotta, Monsanto; José Manuel Carrera Panizzo, PMI Comercio Internacional; Jim Diefenderfer, U.S. Energy Information Administration; Jacob Dweck, Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP; Ramón Espinasa, Inter-American Development Bank; Mindi Farber-DeAnda, U.S. Energy Information Administration; Samuel Gorgen, U.S. Energy Information Administration; Susan Grissom, U.S. Energy Information Administration; Sidhant Gupta, Microsoft Research; Antoine Halff, International Energy Agency; Gustavo Hernández-García, Pemex; Trisha Hutchins, U.S. Energy Information Administration; Valerie Karplus, MIT China Energy and Climate Project; Robert Kleinberg, Schlumberger; Tom Leckey, U.S. Energy Information Administration; John Maples, U.S. Energy Information Administration; Silvia de Marucci, Panama Canal Authority; Brewster McCracken, Pecan Street Inc.; Nancy McGuckin, Travel Behavior Associates; Pamela Morgan, Graceful Systems LLC; Chris Namovicz, U.S. Energy Information Administration; Shirley Neff, U.S. Energy Information Administration; Don Pickrell, Volpe; Edward Randolph, California Public Utilities Commission; Joanne Shore, American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers; Eric Slifka, Global Partners LP; Paul Sotkiewicz, PMJ Interconnection; John Staub, U.S. Energy Information Administration; Jim Turnure, U.S. Energy Information Administration; Fred Upton, House Energy and Commerce Committee; Maria van der Hoeven, International Energy Agency; Jamie Webster, IHS; William Woebkenberg, Daimler; Jonathan Woetzel, McKinsey & Company; Lynn Westfall, U.S. Energy Information Administration; Xiaojie Xu, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Daniel Yergin, IHS; Nancy Young, Airlines for America.

UKRAINE: THE MAIDAN AND BEYOND. 7/14, Noon-2:00pm. Sponsor: National Endowment for Democracy (NED). Speakers: Anders Aslund, Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics; Serhiy Kudelia, Professor Of Political Science, Baylor University; Lucan Way, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Toronto; Nadia Diuk, Vice President for Europe, Eurasia, Africa and Latin America, NED; and Marc Plattner, Co-Editor, Journal of Democracy.

WEBCAST: EMERGING INTERNET TRENDS THAT WILL SHAPE THE GLOBAL ECONOMY. 7/14, 12:30-2:00pm. Sponsor: World Bank. Speakers: Vint Cerf, Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist, Google; and Kaushik Basu, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist, World Bank Group.

WHEN IS FOREIGN INTERNAL DEFENSE (FID) A SMART POLICY TOOL FOR WASHINGTON? 7/14, 11:00am-12:30pm. Sponsor: Cato. Speakers: David S. Maxwell, Associate Director, Center for Security Studies & Security Studies Program, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University; Sean McFate, Senior Fellow, Africa Center, Atlantic Council; Vanda Felbab-Brown, Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy, Brookings; James B. Story, Director, Office of Western Hemisphere Programs, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, U.S. Department of State; and Jennifer Keister, Visiting Research Fellow, Cato. 

THE EICHMANN TRIAL. 7/14, Noon-1:30pm. Sponsor: Program for Jewish Civilization, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University. Speaker: Deborah Lipstadt, author, Dorot Associate Professor of Modern Jewish and Holocaust Studies, Emory University. 

POST-CRISIS FISCAL POLICY. 7/14, 12:15pm. Sponsor: Peterson Institute for International Economics (IIE). Speakers: Philip Gerson, deputy director, European Department, IMF; Abdelhak Senjadji, assistant director, Fiscal Affairs Department, IMF; Carlo Cottarelli, Italian Commissioner of Public Spending; Vitor Gaspar, director, Fiscal Affairs Department, IMF; Maya MacGuineas, president, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget; and Adam Posen, president, IIE.

THE SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL ROADMAP THAT WILL LEAD TO THE DISCOVERY OF POTENTIALLY HABITABLE WORLDS AMONG THE STARS. 7/14, 2:00-3:30pm. Sponsor: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Speakers: Charles Bolden, NASA Administrator; Ellen Stofan, Chief Scientist, NASA; John Grunsfeld, Astronaut And Associate Administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA; John Mather, Senior Project Scientist, Webb Telescope, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center; Sara Seager, Professor Of Planetary Science And Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Dave Gallagher, Director Of Astronomy And Physics, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory; and Matt Mountain, Director, Space Telescope Science Institute.

WOMEN OF WASHINGTON. 7/14, 4:30-5:30pm. Sponsor: The Atlantic. Speakers: Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-FL; and Steve Clemons, Editor-At-Large, The Atlantic.

No comfort

From Foreign Policy's The Cable blog:

Japanese comfort- women deniers force White House response

Posted By Josh Rogin Wednesday, June 6, 2012 - 4:50 PM 

Right-wing Japanese lawmakers and activists have successfully rounded up more than 25,000 signatures for a petition on the White House website asking the Obama administration to force the state of New Jersey to take down a monument dedicated to the memory of "comfort women," the thousands of women kidnapped and raped by Japanese soldiers during World War II.

The Bergen County executive dedicated a small monument in Palisades Park, New Jersey, in late 2010 that included the following inscription:

IN MEMORY OF THE MORE THAN 200,000 WOMEN AND GIRLS WHO WERE ABDUCTED BY THE ARMED FORCES OF THE GOVERNMENT OF IMPERIAL JAPAN. 1930's - 1945
KNOWN AS "COMFORT WOMEN," THEY ENDURED HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS THAT NO PEOPLES SHOULD LEAVE UNRECOGNIZED. LET US NEVER FORGET THE HORRORS OF CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY.


Ever since then, officials in the Japanese governmentand and elements of Japanese society that dispute the above facts related to the comfort women have been trying to get the monument, which is located in an area with a large Korean population, taken down.

Two delegations of Japanese officials visited Palisades Park last month to ask local leaders to remove the monument. One of the delegations was led by the Japanese consul-general in New York, Shigeyuki Hiroki. Local officials in New Jersey refused to remove the monument, even when offered cherry trees and other goodies from the Japanese government.

Now, the Japanese comfort-women deniers have a new tactic -- to go straight to the White House. They started a petition on the White House's official website and have conducted a successful campaign resulting in over 28,000 signatures.

"We petition the Obama administration to: Remove the monument and not to support any international harassment related to this issue against the people of Japan," the petition reads. "False accusations regarding the South Korean comfort women issue have disgraced the people of Japan for decades. Over the past few years it has come to light that many of the original charges were false or completely fabricated."

"Yet despite this new information, the United States continues to lend credence to the original false charges by memorializing the comfort women in a monument in New Jersey and a street name in New York. Not only is this perpetrating historical untruths, but it also leads unnecessary racial conflict and suffering of people of Japanese ancestry," the petition reads. "We strongly request President Obama to remove the monument and not to support any international harassment related to this issue against the people of Japan."

According to the White House website, the administration must give an official response to any petition that receives 25,000 signatures within 30 days of when it was originally posted. The Japanese comfort women petition crossed that threshold more than a week ahead of its June 9 deadline.
The massive amount of signatures came mostly from Japan and due to the direct advocacy of several Japanese lawmakers and former officials. A Japanese resident in the United States, by the name of Yasuko R, created the petition. A supporter can sign for the petition once a day.

The petition was advertised in Japan on the websites of Japanese lawmakers Eriko Yamatani and Keiji Furuya, who were part of one of the delegations that visited New Jersey, which included family members of some of the 13 Japanese citizens that were abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s.

Nippon Kaigi, a right-wing Japanese organization, supported the petition's call to remove the monument, as did other organizations, including Nippon Kaigi Local Government (Pride of Japan), and The Spirit of Japan Party (Nihon Soshin To), which posted directions on how Japanese citizens could participate in the petition.

Major advocacy for the petition came from Toshio Tamogami, the former Japanese Air Force chief of staff who was fired in 2009 after creating an international incident by writing in an essay that Japan was "not an aggressor nation" in World War II. Tamogami not only called for petition signatures on his website, he gave instructions in Japanese for users to log onto the White House website so they could be part of the effort.

The comfort women issue and Japan's reluctance to come to terms with its wartime actions is still the No. 1 irritant in Japan's relations with its neighbors. For U.S.-based experts that are critical of Japan's handling of the issue, the petition and its underlying argument are doing great damage to Japan's ability to move past the events of the war.

"Is the Japanese right so strung out, so unpopular that it is reduced to these silly international stunts to get attention? Have they become so irrelevant that they have to prop up Comfort Women and Abductees of the North Koreans for attention? They have become as pathetic as their ideas," said Mindy Kotler, the founder of Asia Policy Point, a non-profit organization that does research on Japan.

She said one part of the problem is the failure of the U.S. government to connect its human rights and women's rights policies to Japan.

"We have built and demanded to build institutions around the world to address war crimes and human rights. In regard to historical war crimes, we have a bureau in the State Department on the Holocaust* and even appointed an ambassador in the late 1990s to deal with German and Austrian war crimes," she said. "But we have done nothing that addresses the lingering, if not festering problems of Japan's reluctantly acknowledged war crimes. It eats away at our alliances and undermines our ‘shared values.'"

The White House petition response should be posted "in a timely manner," according to the website.

*The Office of the Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues, Douglas Davidson

The Office seeks to bring a measure of justice and assistance to Holocaust victims and their families and to create an infrastructure to assure that the Holocaust is remembered properly and accurately. This is an important issue in our bilateral relations with countries of central and eastern Europe and with the state of Israel.