The Grounds of a
Former Catholic Church in Rwanda |
On the eve of the new
millennium, nations seem no closer to stopping
war and ethnic violence than at the beginning
of the millennium. But there is fresh optimism
that at the close of a war-stained century,
nations have found the collective will to
deter and punish the worst crimes against
humanity. International courts have been set
up to enforce new laws against human rights
violations, and new scientific methods are
being employed to trace those who commit war
crimes.
In an in-depth documentary
series, NPR will explore the question of why
these crimes continue and whether they can be
stopped. At the core will be the central
question of whether this kind of collective
violence is an aberration -- or a fundamental
part of human nature, something we carry in
our genes. The documentary will look at the
way governments and victims deal with the
desire for revenge or justice.
|
| PART
ONE: Psychology of War Crimes |
December 1, 1999 -- All
Things Considered
Are war crimes rooted in immutable
historical, ethnic, and religious animosities,
or are they the result of bad leaders
manipulating history and peoples in a quest
for political power? What are the root causes
of war crimes of the 1990s? In the face of
such slaughters, what is our responsibility as
a nation? Can the international community
prevent war crimes by military intervention,
by the creation of international courts? If
not, once the killing occurs, what must the
international community do? Listen as Mike
Shuster sets out all the questions that the
rest of the series will tackle in specific
cases. |
| PART
TWO: The Case of Kosovo |
Grand Hall at
Gracanica, a Serbian Orthodox
Monastery near Pristina and a symbol
of Serbian nationhood |
December 4, 1999 -- Weekend
Edition Saturday
This report by Sylvia Poggioli explores the
historical and psychological origins of the
recent Kosovo conflict. A look at how
nationalism built on the collectivist ideology
of communism, sowing the seeds of ethnic
paranoia and leaving a landscape of
graveyards.
This piece was produced
by Rod Abid.
|
| PART
THREE: What Happens to a Society When
Perpetrators Are Not Punished |
December 6, 1999 --
Morning Edition
The perpetrators of one of history's most
horrifying slaughters have escaped justice for
two decades -- and so far the United Nations
and Cambodia cannot agree on how and where to
try the leaders of the Khmer Rouge. When they
ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979 more than a
million people died of starvation, disease,
torture and execution. As Anne Garrels
reports, though the Khmer Rouge regime was
overturned twenty years ago, its legacy
continues to effect Cambodians politically,
economically and psychologically.
December 7, 1999 --
Morning Edition
NPR's Anne Garrels has the second of two
reports on the legacy of Cambodia's infamous
Khmer Rouge, the brutal Communist regime that
tortured, murdered, and starved more than a
million Cambodians in the 1970's. It's been 20
years since the Khmer Rouge rulers were
overthrown, but Cambodia still hasn't
recovered from the damage they did to the
country and its people.
|
| PART
FOUR: Social Legacy -- Rwanda |
Nyamata, Rwanda |
December 8, 1999 -- All
Things Considered
Five years after the genocide in Rwanda,
NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports that the country
is still trying to deal with those who
committed atrocities and coping with
fundamental issues like how to integrate
Tutsis back into a population that tried to
annihilate.
This piece was produced
by Peter Breslow.
|
| PART
FIVE: The German Experience |
"Only honorable
comrades of German blood, or related
descent, may become allotment
gardeners."
March 22, 1933 |
December 9, 1999 -- All Things
Considered
Germany is the only nation on earth that has
spent a half century coping with the crimes of
its former leaders. For several decades
Germans on both sides of the divide shrank
from a full and open debate on the causes of
the Holocaust and the responsibility of
Germans. But in recent years, a new generation
has sought to confront the past, in writing,
movies, art,
public memorials, and education. Mike Shuster
reports.
This piece was produced by Rebecca Davis. |
| PART
SIX: Truth and Reconciliation Committee in
South Africa |
December 13, 1999 --
Morning Edition
In South Africa, the Truth and
Reconciliation has finished taking testimony
from victims but is still hearing from those
who want amnesty for their crimes. Many
victims of apartheid are waiting to hear what
kind of monetary compensation they will
receive from the government. As in Rwanda,
South Africa is still trying to figure out
what to do with those who committed crimes.
NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports.
This piece was produced
by Peter Breslow.
|
| PART
SEVEN: Forensics of Genocide |
December 15, 1999 -- All
Things Considered
NPR's Chris Joyce reports that creating a
sense of normalcy in the former Yugoslavia
after a decade of war has been a slow and
laborious task. While aid agencies can provide
money and advice, there remains an enduring
wound that is slowest to heal -- the
disappearance of thousands of civilians. One
group, Physicians for Human Rights, has
focused on closing that wound by creating a
system for identifying bodies from mass graves
and counseling the survivors. It has become
perhaps the world's most comprehensive
forensic project designed for the survivors of
war crimes, rather than for those seeking to
prosecute the perpetrators.
This piece was produced
by Jeff Rogers.
|
| PART
EIGHT: International Court |
December 20, 1999 --
Morning Edition
The International Criminal Tribunal for the
Former Yugoslavia in The Hague is one of the
models that have been created to try to deal
with punishing war criminals. Sarah Chayes
goes to the region in Bosnia where the first
tried and condemned criminal came from. She
spoke with people who knew him and who had
testified against him. There is strong belief
in the Tribunal process, but also deep
frustration with the slow pace of the
proceedings. |
Kosovo
refugee released from Serb camp