Frank Pallone: “Yesterday what was supposed to be an important U.N. exhibit educating the world about the Rwandan genocide was turned…”

“Yesterday what was supposed to be an important U.N. exhibit educating the world about the Rwandan genocide was turned into a farce thanks to the actions of the Turkish Government. Three weeks ago, when the Rwanda genocide exhibit was originally set to open, the Turkish Government did what the Turkish Government often does, denied historical facts and objected to the exhibit because it objected to Armenian genocide as an example of genocide. It was bad enough that this important U.N. exhibit documenting the Rwanda genocide was delayed by 3 weeks because Turkey continued to deny the past, but I was appalled when the exhibit was opened yesterday at the U.N. with one major revision. Gone was the citing of the systematic killing of 1.5 millions Armenians as genocide. Instead it was referred to as a mass killing in order to appease the Turkish Government. No serious historical dispute exists about the Armenian genocide. Sadly, an intensive and well-financed effort by the Turkish Government has succeeded in preventing the United States, and now the U.N., from any formal recognition of the Armenian genocide. This is the warped Turkish version of history, and it's simply not acceptable. The Turkish objection to this exhibit is the latest example of their genocide denial.”