The Anti-Genocide Coffee Break: A Multinational Podcast: Recent Episodes
Iraq Project for Genocide Prevention
Join us for a relaxed conversation on genocide prevention and the threat of genocide around the world. We are a group of scholars and activists committed to genocide prevention who work internationally, especially in Iraq, where we founded the Iraq Project for Genocide Prevention (iraqproject.org). Along with guests from all over the world, we will be discussing current events, global politics, developments in academia, and our own experiences living and working in Argentina, Iraq, Armenia, the UK, Continental Europe, the USA and beyond. All proceeds go to supporting the Iraq Project for Genocide Prevention (IPG)! Please consider subscribing to us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/iraqproject!
This episode follows developments in Afghanistan, France, Artsakh, and the Sahel.
Don't forget to follow the Lemkin Institute (@LemkinInstitute) on Instagram, X, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Telegram. Visit our website www.lemkininstitute.com for more information on our work, how to get involved, and find out how you can support our all-volunteer organization.
To find a list of sources, click here.
This episode features stories about developments in Balochistan, Haiti, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the UK, and Syria.
Don't forget to follow the Lemkin Institute (@LemkinInstitute) on Instagram, X, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Telegram. Visit our website www.lemkininstitute.com for more information on our work, how to get involved, and find out how you can support our all-volunteer organization.
For a list of sources, click here.
This episode features stories about developments in Myanmar, Bosnia, and Jammu and Kashmir.
Don't forget to follow the Lemkin Institute (@LemkinInstitute) on Instagram, X, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Telegram. Visit our website www.lemkininstitute.com for more information on our work, how to get involved, and find out how you can support our all-volunteer organization.
Find a list of sources here.
This episode features stories about possible intervention by Dutch courts on behalf of the International Criminal Court, and developments in Myanmar, Mozambique, and Sudan.
Don't forget to follow the Lemkin Institute (@LemkinInstitute) on Instagram, X, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Telegram. Visit our website www.lemkininstitute.com for more information on our work, how to get involved, and find out how you can support our all-volunteer organization.
Sources list found here.
In this episode, host Molly Reagan and producer Noelle Jones cover stories from Lebanon, Venezuela, Bangladesh, and Armenia.
Don't forget to follow the Lemkin Institute (@LemkinInstitute) on Instagram, X, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Telegram. Visit our website www.lemkininstitute.com for more information on our work, how to get involved, and find out how you can support our all-volunteer organization.
In this episode, hosts Teresa Merk and Molly Reagan cover stories from Ecuador, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar, and Guatemala. Forced conscription, immigration trends, blood minerals, and accountability for the genocide of indigenous peoples in Guatemala are discussed.
Don't forget to follow the Lemkin Institute (@LemkinInstitute) on Instagram, X, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Telegram. Visit our website www.lemkininstitute.com for more information on our work, how to get involved, and find out how you can support our all-volunteer organization.
In this episode, hosts Teresa Merck and Molly Reagan cover stories from Haiti, Ethiopia, and Sudan, and shine a light on student protestors.
Don't forget to follow the Lemkin Institute (@LemkinInstitute) on Instagram, X, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Telegram. Visit our website www.lemkininstitute.com for more information on our work, how to get involved, and find out how you can support our all-volunteer organization.
In this episode, hosts Teresa Merck and Molly Reagan cover stories from India, Rwanda, Sudan, Haiti, and Nigeria.
Don't forget to follow the Lemkin Institute (@LemkinInstitute) on Instagram, X, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Telegram. Visit our website www.lemkininstitute.com for more information on our work and how to get involved.
Join your hosts, Molly and Teresa, as they discuss the implications of a ground invasion into Rafah by Israel, the latest out of Ethiopia and the ongoing conflict in the Amhara region, the violence in Eastern Congo and what lies at the core of it, and the ongoing human rights crisis in Sudan.
Join your hosts, Molly and Teresa as they discuss the International Court of Justice decision on provisional orders in Gaza, the increasing tension in the region more generally, protests against femicide in Kenya, and the ongoing conflict in Sudan.
Join your hosts, Sarah and Teresa, for the first episode of Genocide News Now of 2024. In this episode, we provide an overview for what to expect from our coverage in the new year, as well as country summaries on Sudan, Ethiopia, Gaza, and others.
Join your hosts, Sarah and Teresa, for the final episode of 2023, with news on the Russia-Ukraine war, the latest from Gaza, and an update on the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Join your hosts, Teresa and Sarah, as they discuss the latest in Israel and Gaza, as well as how Yemen’s Iran-backed group, the Houthis, are reacting to the ongoing conflict. The latest from Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo is also discussed, with special attention given to the increasing role of gender-based violence in both conflicts.
This episode of Genocide News Now features news on the latest from Sudan as well as the conflict between Israel and Gaza. This episode also touches on the German President's recent visit to Tanzania, and the latest on the Rohingya and the case currently before the International Court of Justice.
This episode of Genocide News Now features news on the latest from Israel and Gaza, as well as how things stand between Azerbaijan and Armenia following Azerbaijan's offensive into the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh in September, and the outcome of a recent referendum in Australia.
This episode of Genocide News Now features current news on events related to Azerbaijan, Armenia, and the region of Nagorno-Karbakh, as well as news on the conflict between Israel and Gaza following the October 7 attack by Hamas and Israel's nonstop bombardment of the area since.
Join your host Molly Reagan as she updates you on the most recent news related to genocide and its prevention, including the developments in Artsakh, the sinking of a migrant boat off the coast of Pylos, Greece, and new atrocities in West Darfur.
Join your host Courtney Holimon as she updates you on the most recent news related to genocide and its prevention, including state and settler violence against Palestinians in Israel, genocidal violence against Amhara in Ethiopia, Azerbaijan's international crimes against Armenians, and the apparent recapitulation of open genocide against the people of Darfur by Sudanese troops in the context of civil war.
Join your host Gevorg Novshadyan as he takes you through the recent news related to genocide and its prevention, including ongoing conflicts in Israel, Myanmar, and Ethiopia as well as efforts at justice and accountability in Namibia, in Brazil, and in German trials related to ISIS genocide against the Ezidi peoples.
Join your host, Lexi Poston, as she takes you through the current news on genocide, including the recent United States Supreme Court case, Haaland v. Brackeen, which could overturn the landmark 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) that made it a federal priority to keep Native American families together; the creation of the first ever Ministry of Indigenous Affairs by the newly elected President of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva; the Azerbaijani blockade of the Armenian enclave of Artsakh since December 12, 2022; and Iran's use of the death penalty against protesters arrested since the outbreak of large-scale anti-regime demonstrates in September 2022.
Join host Mia Baxley and special guest Serj Tankian (artist, vocalist of System of a Down) as they discuss Serj’s pride in his Armenian identity and his lifelong dedication to global justice, human rights, and the memory of the Armenian Genocide. As a descendant of Armenian Genocide survivors, Serj gives a candid look into his childhood experiences, from leaving Lebanon during the Civil War (1975-1990) and adapting to life in Los Angeles, California to learning of his family’s survival of the Genocide through his grandparents’ retellings. The podcast also takes a brief look at System of a Down’s long career in musical advocacy and the band’s range of messages, including opposition to state-sponsored war and the US prison-industrial complex as well as the release in 2020 of an extended-play (EP) of two singles that engage directly with the problem of genocide -- “Protect the Land” and “Genocidal Humanoidz" -- to raised funds for Artsakh.
To listen to the 2020 EP, “Protect the Land / Genocidal Humanoidz,” click here: https://open.spotify.com/album/00OQIrRjQgZmacSnjK8L7M?si=jrR1ZQKfTvqP_TVMw6GOfg&utm_source=copy-link
You can follow Serj on Twitter at @SerjTankian
Join your host Lexi Poston for news updates related to genocide and its prevention. Included in this episode is the use of the word "genocide" during the war in Ukraine, the genocide case against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice, the ongoing violence, civil war, and, potentially, genocide in Ethiopia, protests against "ecocide" in Brazil, and threats of genocide against Muslims in India. As always, you can find more information on these topics, as well as ways to take action, on our website: lemkininstitute.com
Join Elisa and Irene for a moving and inspiring interview with Darfur Genocide survivor and activist Niemat Ahmadi, Executive Director of Darfur Women Action Group (DWAG).
Please visit the DWAG website to learn more about what they do and to get involved: https://www.darfurwomenaction.org/
Join Elisa and Irene to discuss The Iraq Project's name change! We explain why we have chosen to rename ourselves and what went into choosing the name The Lemkin Institute.
Along the way we cover:
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The life of Raphael Lemkin,
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The problem with confining the definition of genocide to the international legal system,
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The emergence of new definitions of genocide within domestic and customary law,
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The long-term harm caused by genocide, the contradictions of genocide prevention in Iraq,
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The increasingly unequal global system,
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The necessity of nation-based and grassroots prevention mechanisms,
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The 11 Principles of Genocide Prevention,
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Global paradigm shifts that give us hope,
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Eduardo Galeano,
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Avoiding the pitfalls of idealism,
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Irene's PhD studies,
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Iraqi elections, and
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the failure of restorative justice in Namibia.
Join your host Allison Newey for the first ever episode of Genocide News Now, a new initiative of the Anti-Genocide Coffee Break. GNN is a weekly digest of news on genocide and conflict as well as on specific action items that you can complete to be part of the solution.
Allison Newey is a student in the Department of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Keene State College in New Hampshire, USA.
Irene and Elisa discuss the existential crises associated with catastrophic climate change and their impact on genocide prevention. They also go into depth on three news items: Armenia's case against Azerbaijan in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Texas's anti-abortion law (SB-8), and the recent mistreatment of Haitian refugees on the US's southern border.
Join us for a discussion of war, peacebuilding, and the problem of vested interests in Colombia and Latin America with veteran peace-maker and long-time human rights activist Louise Winstanley, the Programme and Advocacy Manager of ABColombia, a UK-based human rights organization.
Louise discusses:
- Right-wing tactics of repression in Latin America;
- Obstacles to documentation of evidence of atrocity;
- The ongoing dire situation of human rights defenders and environmental activists in Colombia, especially since the signing of the 2016 Peace Accord;
- The growth of right-wing neo-paramilitary groups;
- The history of the FARC and the political genocide of the Patriotic Union political party after its formation in the 1980s;
- The peace process that resulted in the Peace Accord in 2016 and challenges to its implementation;
- The disappointments of land reform;
- Links between multinational agricultural and mining corporations and paramilitary groups;
- The impact of Covid-19 on Colombia;
- The large-scale, nationwide social protests in spring 2021 that resulted in dozens of protesters killed by Colombian security forces;
- Police reform and the importance of peaceful protest in peacebuilding processes; and
- How we all can continue working for peace in situations of apparently intractable conflict.
Irene and Elisa do a deep dive into recent news on genocide and settler colonialism with IPG technical producer Raffi Zarzatian. Among other things, they discuss how societies can truly transform themselves in the midst of long-term genocidal institutions, including Germany, Namibia, the United States, Canada, Palestine and Israel.
The team uses recent news articles as stepping off points:
- Deutsche Welle, "The Blind Spot of Germany's Dark History," 27 May 2021, https://fb.watch/76sPxukTqq/
- Reinhart Koessler and Hennig Melber, "Namibian genocide: why Germany’s bid to make amends isn’t enough," The Conversation, 1 June 2021, https://theconversation.com/namibian-genocide-why-germanys-bid-to-make-amends-isnt-enough-161820
- BBC, "Mexico apologises to Mayan people for historic abuses," 4 May 2021, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-56975966
- Jillian Kestler-D'Amours, "Canada: ‘This one unmarked grave is what genocide looks like," Al-Jazeera, 1 July 2021, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/6/1/canada-this-one-unmarked-grave-what-genocide-looks-like
- Mustafa Abu Sneineh, "Israel detains more Palestinian citizens as arrest campaign enters second week," Middle East Eye, 31 May 2021, https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-palestine-citizens-arrest-campaign-second-week
- Ahmed Yousef, "Israel-Palestine: One-state solution is the path forward," Middle East Eye, 30 May 2021, https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/israel-palestine-one-state-solution-path-forward
On the day of the arrests of internationally-known Palestinian activists Muna and Mohammad El-Kurd in East Jerusalem, we are joined by Fadi Quran, campaign director at Avaaz and global human rights advocate, for a moving, in-depth, and inspirational discussion about the challenges of living under Apartheid in Israel-Palestine and the way forward to ensure the security and the dignity of both Palestinians and Jews in the region.
We discuss Sheikh Jarrah, the settlements, the "80/20 strategy" in Jerusalem, the terror techniques used by Israeli security forces, the question of genocide, settler colonialism, long-term historical trauma from the Holocaust, and the global connection of systems of oppression and also between struggles for liberation.
This episode encourages all of us to dream of better and more just futures, ones that can be the basis for continued ethical action in the present.
You can follow Fadi Quran on Twitter at @FadiQuran
In this episode, Anti-Genocide Coffee Break podcast hosts speak with Dr. Gurgen Petrossian, LL.M.(Heidelberg), a senior researcher at Frederick Alexander University in Erlangen, Germany, and head of its International Criminal Law Research Group. He is also Chairperson of the German-Armenian Lawyers' Association.
We speak with Dr. Petrossian about the German Armenian Lawyers Association and a new claim they have submitted against Azerbaijan in the German courts for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the Second Artsakh War in 2020.
As part of this discussion, we cover, among other subjects:
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An overview of the history of the Artsakh territories, including the first and second wars;
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Azerbaijani propaganda and anti-Armenianism;
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Turkish foreign policy;
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International law related to atrocity crimes;
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"Genocidal intent" in law and practice;
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Germany's recent history with universal jurisdiction; and
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The role of domestic courts in genocide prevention.
Irene and Elisa discuss genocide prevention in Iraq with Iraqi human rights activist, Ranin Taher. In particular they discuss ISIS's persecution of Iraqi Christians within the wider framework of ISIS's violence against religious and national minorities in Nineveh and Sinjar, making the case that ISIS committed genocide against Christians. Also discussed is the current political situation in Iraq, including the violent state response to national protests by the country's youth.
Dr. Marina Mchitarian Lazaridou, Armenian-Greek artist and human rights advocate, joins us for a discussion of the importance of cultural heritage, the impact of its destruction, and the role played by cultural preservation in peacebuidling. Along the way we also discuss the power of memory, of stories, of symbols, and of peace work.
We also briefly discuss news updates, including:
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UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet's statement that Israel may have committed war crimes during its recent bombing of Gaza;
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French Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron's visit to Rwanda and acknowledgement of French responsibility for the Rwandan genocide;
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The launch of a Rohingya Cultural Memory Centre (RCMC) by the UN migration office and the Rohingya community in Bangladesh.
Dr. Mchitarian Lazaridou's work can be found at the following sites: www.genocide-survivor9.webnode.com, www.photographsspeak.webnode.com, www.greeksofarmenia-com.webnode.com, https://frommushtoartsakh.webnode.com/
When ISIS overtook the Shengal region of northern Iraq in August 2014, it massacred Ezidi men, older women, and older boys and kidnapped women, girls, and young boys. Since then, the Ezidi community has worked tirelessly to locate and rescue the captive women and children and welcome them back into the community. The painful legal and communal question of how to define the belonging of children born of genocidal rape has lingered, causing great hardship to the mothers and children involved as well as to their families and communities.
IIn this episode, Irene and Elisa discuss this issue with Dr. Amy Beam, author of The Last Yezidi Genocide, and Farhad Shamo Roto, a Ezidi human rights advocate and survivor of the 2014 genocide. He is also president of Voice of Ezidis, which can be found here.
Irene and Elisa are back to discuss the Iraq Project's May 8 Statement on Israeli violence in Jerusalem, in which we protest the genocidal violence directed at Palestinians and Palestinian life. We talk about how we make the decision to use the term genocidal and genocide, and what it means to identify genocidal patterns in conflict. We also discuss our ongoing work in Iraq, sharing stories from our work there in 2016 and 2017.
The team is back for another in-depth conversation with Maung Zarni about the Myanmar military (the Tatmadaw) and how it became so powerful; the reasons popular support for the Tatmadaw evaporated after the February coup; the emergence of a revitalized and inclusive civil society in Myanmar; and what you can do right now to support this civil society (see below for more on that!).
Irene and Elisa also bring you up-to-date on the news, including:
- A Guardian investigation that links illegal EU policies towards refugees to at least 2000 refugee deaths;
- Continuing cultural genocide by Azerbaijan against Armenian heritage sites, including the destruction of the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in the city of Shushi in Nagorno-Karabakh;
- New reports predicting 500,000 to 1 million deaths in India from Covid-19 by July 2021;
- US President Biden's decision to suspend patents for Covid vaccines in order to respond to the growing pandemic crisis in India and elsewhere; and
- Renewed Israeli attempts to erase Palestinian life from Jerusalem.
To take action to support civil society in Myanmar:
- Sign a petition to Chevron: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/demand-chevron-stop-bankrolling-the-myanmar-military?clear_id=true&source=email-stop-chevron-bankrolling-the-myanmar-military-coup-day-9
- Sign a petition to President Biden: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/myanmar-military-coup-tell-president-biden-to-impose-sanctions
- US residents: Tell your Senators to support the Rohingya Genocide Determination Act of 2021 (S. 1142): https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-your-senators-co-sponsor-the-rohingya-genocide-determination-act-of-2021-s1142
- Join the Coalition Against Chevron in Myanmar: https://www.facebook.com/groups/263548775494329
Join us in an interview with Assyrian-Armenian scholar and human rights advocate Dr. Anahit Khosroeva to discuss US President Joe Biden's April 24, 2021 recognition of the Armenian Genocide. We discuss the history of Armenian Genocide recognition in the United States, the implications of Biden's decision, the importance of recognition to reconciliaton, and the relevance of this recognition to Armenia's future, to the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, and to the wider Christian world in the Middle East, with particular focus on the Assyrian populations.
We also bring out listeners up-to-date on recent news in genocide and its prevention, including:
- UK House of Commons recognition of the ongoing genocide in China against the Uyghur people;
- The struggle to identify and bury the victims of the Anfal genocide in northern Iraq;
- Recent attacks by Turkish forces against the PKK in northern Iraq;
- Threat of famine in the Tigray region in northern Ethiopia;
- Recent testimony by Armenian POWS and survivors of torture during detention in Azerbaijan; and
- Why Israel refuses to recognize the Armenian Genocide.
Join the Anti-Genocide Coffee Break team f0r an interview with Burmese scholar-activist Maung Zarni, who discusses the relationship between scholarship, activism, and truth-telling; his childhood in Burma; his formative influences, especially his mother and father; his decision to pursue activism against the autocratic Myanmar state; and the seismic shift that has occurred in Myanmar since the February 2021 military coup.
We also discuss recent news, including:
- Leaked cables that show neglect of migrants in the Mediterranean by Italian and Libyan officials, which led to the deaths of over 100 people in one specific instance;
- State violence against residents of favelas in Brazil;
- A new Rwandan government report on France's role in the Rwandan genocide;
- Threats by Azerbaijan to invade Armenian territory; and
- Struggles of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh during Ramadan.
Co-hosts Elisa von Joeden-Forgey and Irene Massimino welcome guest co-host Luciana Minassian, Argentine lawyer and Assistant Professor at the University of Buenos Aires Law School, to discuss the Second Artskah War and Azerbaijan's new Military Trophy Park, which includes displays of helmets of killed Armenian soldiers and racist wax figures depicting Armenian soldiers in various positions, including poses that suggest they are in the process of dying or already dead.
Luciana shared her experiences visiting Artsakh in December 2016 and discusses the question of indigeneity, self-determiniation, war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, the mistreatment of Armenian POWs, and the power and varieties of activism.
At the end of the podcast they ask whether Azerbaijan may have gone one step too far with the Military Trophy Park, even for its most blind and willing supporters.
The hosts also discuss Amnesty International's recent report on Boko Haram and crimes against women and girls in Nigeria, the upcoming House of Commons vote in the UK about the Uyghur genocide, and the doctored photos of Tuol Sleng/S21 victims from the Cambodian genocide.
As always, you can find all the articles and news discussed on our podcast at our website - iraqproject.org - and can subscribe to our podcast on Patreon. All subscription proceeds go to supporting the Iraq Project for Genocide Prevention.
n this episode we discuss Turkish foreign policy, the position of Armenia in the global order, the war in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh), the Grey Wolves terrorist organization, anti-Armenianism, and the way forward for the Middle East.
The hosts dedicate this podcast to Yeghia Tashjian's father, Sarkis Tashjian.
Among other things, our interview covers:
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Yeghia's early life in Lebanon and introduction to politics;
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Turkish-Azerbaijan military collaboration and Turkey's involvement in the Second Artsakh War;
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How Armenia's foreign policy miscalculated of European support;
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Armenia's domestic politics and the up-coming 'snap elections';
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Armenia, Turkey and Azerbaijan's relationships with China, Russia, Iran, and south Asia.
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The role of human rights in foreign policy;
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The need for Armenia to invest in cultural diplomacy to counteract Turkish and Azerbaijani propaganda;
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The fight against racism;
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How to counteract growing Anti-Armenianism worldwide, especially though collaboration with other non-dominant groups in the Middle East;
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The Indigenous People of Asia Minor conference;
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Turkey's rightward shift under Erdogan and the violence of the Grey Wolves terrorists;
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Demographic engineering in Turkish-controlled northern Syria;
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The growing use of mercenaries by Turkey all over the world, including the Sadat mercenary company;
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Armenian Genocide recognition, genocide denial, and the proliferation of genocide in the future.
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Yeghia's work with the Paris-based NGO Women in War.
In this episode we speak with Dr. Amy Beam, expert on the Yezidi genocide and author of the book, The Last Yezidi Genocide (available at Amazon.com). Dr. Beam has spent many years working closely with the Yezidi people since ISIS's 2014 invasion of the Shengal territory in Northern Iraq, which led to a genocide against the Yezidi people that is still ongoing.
Dr. Beam speaks with us about the regional politics that created and empowered ISIS, the controversy surrounding the pullout of the Kurdish military (the peshmerga) from Shengal just hours before ISIS's arrival, what regional and world powers may have known about ISIS's planned invasion of Shengal before it occurred, why ISIS may have been allowed to invade by internal and external decision-makers, and how ISIS instrumentalized gender roles to commit genocide. She brings us up-to-date on the plans for a tribunal to try ISIS militants for atrocity crimes in Iraq, including the crime of genocide, and offers listeners many ways in which they can be involved in helping the Yezidi people in their ongoing struggle for security and justice.
Dr. Beam can be reached at: amybeam@yahoo.com. She accepts donations for her humanitarian work among the Yezidi through Paypal using her email address. She is offering a free copy of her book to anyone who donates $50 or more.
CORRECTIONS: Dr. Beam's list of countries attending the meeting in Amman, Jordan in May 2014 should not have included Kuwait but instead Qatar. Kuwait was not represented at the meeting. Also, Mosul is east of Shingal, not west.
Global affairs expert Yeghia Tashjian speaks to us about global politics, Turkish foreign policy, hard and soft power, indigenous solidarity in the Middle East, and Armenia's future in episode 5 of our podcast. The full episode will be published on Sunday, April 4 and is available for our Patreon subscribers. Subscriptions start at only $2/month. Please join us!
Co-hosts Elisa von Joeden-Forgey, Irene Victoria Massimino, and Hoshman Ismail engage in a wide-ranging discussion of the news of the past two weeks, including news from Brazil, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, France, Rwanda, Turkey and Iraq, and do a deeper dive into the pandemic and inequality.
Listen to the full episode by subscribing to our Patreon. Subscriptions start at just $2/mo. All proceeds go to supporting the genocide-prevention work of the Iraq Project for Genocide Prevention (iraqproject.org).
Co-hosts Elisa von Joeden-Forgey, Irene Massimino, and Hoshman Ismail return to discuss recent news across the world related to genocide, to do a deep dive into Turkish foreign policy, and offer a quick update on Iraq.
To commemorate the 33rd anniversary of the Halabja genocide on March 16, Hoshman shares his experiences as a ten year old boy during the chemical attacks. Other news briefly mentioned are the new report from the nonpartisan US-based Newslines Institute for Strategy and Policy on "The Uyghur Genocide"; the coup in Myanmar; recent atrocities in Mozambique; continuing conflict and genocide in the Tigray region of Ethiopia; and renewed threats to Armenian territorial integrity from Azerbaijan and Turkey.
The "In Depth" segment involves a wide-ranging discussion of Turkish foreign policy in Syria, Iraq and the South Caucus in the past decade based on Hoshman's research, outlining Turkish links to ISIS and longer-term aims in the region.
Finally, the hosts discuss the recent rejection by Yazidi elders of children born to Yazidi women who were held captive and raped by ISIS militants.
Co-hosts Elisa von Joeden-Forgey, Irene Massimino, and Hoshman Ismail introduce the Anti-Genocide Coffee Break: A Multinational Podcast. They also discuss the Iraq Project for Genocide Prevention (IPG) and Pope Francis's recent visit to Iraq!
Along the way, Elisa reads the Al Jazeera Op-Ed written by Cal State professor Ibrahim Al-Marashi entitled "Pope Francis’s Visit to Iraq: Beyond the Symbolism" in which he argues that "Interfaith dialogue is important, but the fate of Iraqi minorities is hinged on the success of state-building in Iraq." The team agrees, but also points out the political implications and ramifications of the Pope's message to Iraqis.