The "g-word"

I just finished reading the speech Barack Obama gave earlier this week and was quite inspired. The quote that stuck with me most, though, was his definition of "the common threats of the 21st century - terrorism and nuclear weapons; climate change and poverty; genocide and disease."

He said it. The "g-word". Genocide. A word that is rarely uttered by the leaders of the United States. A word describing events and actions that this nation has ignored over and over again. A word that our government emphatically refused to use in 1994.

On the 11th of May 1994, over a month into the Rwandan genocide, State Department representative Mike McCurry was asked in a press briefing, "Has this government been able to determine whether any of the acts committed in Rwanda since April 6 constitute genocide?" He answered, "I don't know that they've made any legal determination on that."

On May 17th, the United Nations Security Council finally admitted "acts of genocide may have been committed." Over a month after this admission, on June 10th, the United States continued to refuse to describe the events occurring in Rwanda as "genocide". Note that at this point, over sixty-five days had passed since "acts of genocide" had begun in Rwanda. In this time, hundreds of thousands had been killed. Since the UN had used the term "acts of genocide", State Department spokesperson Christine Shelley was asked in a briefing "How many acts of genocide does it take to make genocide?" She responded, "That's just not a question that I'm in a position to answer." The follow-up question was asked, "Well, is it true that you have specific guidance not to use the word 'genocide' in isolation, but always to preface it with these words 'acts of'?" Her response was a jumble of excuses.

Four years later, in March of 1998, President Clinton finally admitted, "We did not immediately call these crimes by their rightful name: genocide."

Now, fourteen years after the Rwandan genocide, a candidate for the office of President of the United States has not only used the "g-word", but he has mentioned genocide as one of "the common threats of the 21st century." In this nation that has refused to acknowledge genocide so often in its past, even this mention of the "g-word" gives me hope that possibly, just maybe, there is the slightest chance that next time events like those that took place in Rwanda in 1994 occur, our government might choose to acknowledge them appropriately and take action. While I know there is no guarantee, even the mention of the word "genocide" is a step forward in my mind.

For the rest of Barack Obama's speech from 3 June, visit: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/story?id=4988344&page=1.
It's a read I would recommend.