Rwanda and Genocide in the Twentieth Century
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Rwanda and Genocide in the Twentieth Century by Alain Destexhe
The massacre of the Tutsis in Rwanda, argues Alain Destexhe, is the first incontestable case of genocide since 1945. Yet the term has been frequently used by the media to emphasise the horror of many of the world's mass killings: from Cambodia and East Timor to Somalia and Bosnia. Destexhe demonstrates that genocide has a very specific definition and places the concept under close scrutiny, arguing that failure to limit the term to situations where it is clearly applicable under the terms of the UN Convention on Genocide detracts from the gravity of the offence. It must now be reinstated as the most infamous of all crimes. Setting the study in its historical context by analysing the Armenian and Jewish genocides, Destexhe concludes that a failure to grasp the reality of the situation in Rwanda undoubtedly explains the failure of the international community to take adequate action.
'An angry and eloquent book' -- Edward Mortimer, Financial Times
'A treatise to counter the catch all of media coverage in which 'all catastrophes are treated alike and reduced to their lowest common denominator - compassion on the part of the onlooker' -- Observer
'A treatise to counter the catch all of media coverage in which 'all catastrophes are treated alike and reduced to their lowest common denominator - compassion on the part of the onlooker' -- Observer
Alain Destexhe is the former Secretary General of Medecins sans Frontieres ('Doctors Without Borders') and is a member of the Belgian Senate. He is the author of L'humanitaire impossible ou deux siecles d'ambiguites (Armand Colin, 1993). William Shawcross is the author of Sideshow: Kissinger, Nixon and the Destruction of Cambodia
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780745310411 |
| ISBN 10 | 0745310419 |
| Title | Rwanda and Genocide in the Twentieth Century |
| Author | Alain Destexhe |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Pluto Press |
| Year published | 1995-08-20 |
| Number of pages | 104 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |