UKRAINE | FRANCE | DOUBLE GENOCIDE REVISIONISM | DOUBLE GAMES
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The following open Letter of Concern appears on the Academia.edu page of Professor Tarik Cyril Amar and others.
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To the Organizers of the Symposium “The Holocaust in Ukraine. New Perspectives on the Evils of the 20th Century,” Paris, March 9-11, 2017:
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English:
We are concerned about the fact that Volodymyr Viatrovych, Director of the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory, will be speaking at the symposium “The Holocaust in Ukraine. New Perspectives on the Evils of the 20th Century” on March 9-11, 2017. It is well documented that his publications do not correspond to international academic standards and serve to support a nationalist agenda.
He was also instrumental in the drafting of laws which have been widely criticized in the international academic community for their clear potential to stifle open debate about the history of Ukrainian nationalism, especially during World War Two. We understand the need for controversial and free discussion, but we also think that inviting Volodymyr Viatrovych to speak on this topic at your conference in effect risks normalizing and legitimizing politicized attempts to downplay the antisemitic ideas and actions of World War Two Ukrainian nationalists.
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French:
Nous avons des concernes du fait que Volodymyr Viatrovych, le directeur de l’Institute de la mémoire nationale Ukrainienne, parlera au symposium « The Holocaust in Ukraine: New Perspectives on the Evils of the 20th Century, » qui aura lieu le 9 à 11 Mars, 2017. C’est bien documenté que ses publications ne correspondent pas aux critères académiques internationaux et sont au service d’un programme nationaliste.
Il a joué un rôle clef dans la création des lois qui ont été critiquées sévèrement dans la communauté académique internationale pour leur fort potentiel à asphyxier un débat libre sur l’histoire du nationalisme Ukrainien, surtout de l’époque de la Seconde Guerre mondiale. Nous comprenons le besoin d’une discussion ouverte et controversée, mais nous croyons que l’invitation de Volodymyr Viatrovych à parler sur ce sujet à votre conférence risquera, en effet, de normaliser et légitimer des tentatives politisées de minimiser l’importance des idées et actions antisémites des nationalistes Ukrainiens de la Seconde Guerre mondiale.
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