Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation: Difference between revisions
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| ⚫ | The '''Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation''' is a non-profit [[educational organization]] in the [[United States]], established as a result of an [[Act of Congress]] in 1993 with the purpose to commemorate "the deaths of over 100,000,000 victims in an unprecedented imperial [[communist holocaust]]".<ref name=ATL>{{cite news | last=Rauch | first=Jonathan | work=[[The Atlantic]] | date=December 2003 | title=The Forgotten Millions | url=http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200312/rauch | accessdate=November 4, 2009}}</ref> Its name is derived from the [[Victims of Communism Memorial]] in [[Washington, D.C.]] |
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The '''Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation''' is a politically biased<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victims_of_Communism_Memorial#Critical_reaction Professor Andrei P. Tsygankov of San Francisco State University identifies the building of the statue as an expression of the anti-Russia lobby in Washington. He identifies it as a revival of Cold War symbolism.[16] |
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According to Professor Shi Yinhong of the Center of American Studies at the People's University of China, the monument was inappropriate: "In the history of socialist countries such as China and the Soviet Union, there were many dramatic events. In the capitalist countries, many bad things have also happened, but we do not erect monuments to the victims of capitalism." [17] |
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A week after the unveiling of the monument and the speeches during the event, Russian President Vladimir Putin responded "We have not used nuclear weapons against a civilian population. We have not sprayed thousands of kilometers with chemicals, or dropped on a small country seven times more bombs than in all the Great Patriotic War."[17] |
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In China, the Foreign Ministry lodged stern representations at the United States in response to the inauguration of the statue. The country's Foreign Ministry spokesman said that there are "there are political forces in the United States that still think in 'cold war' terms and seek to provoke conflicts between different ideologies and social systems." He added that that there should be an end by the U.S. of "interfering in the internal affairs of other countries, do more to promote dialogue and cooperation.[18] |
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Russian politician and legislator Gennady Zyuganov, leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation said that U.S. President Bush's appearance before the unveiling of the monument was a "clumsy propaganda attempt to divert the world public opinion's attention from the true, bloody crimes of U.S. imperialism in general and the current administration in the White House in particular." Zyuganov also added that the monument was inappropriate: "How can an American president open given the blood of civilians in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Serbs in Kosovo, Guantanamo Bay, as well as CIA prisons in Eastern Europe are part of the black list of crimes of the globalists...." [19] |
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In Ukraine, there was a response to open a museum for U.S. imperialism in Simferopol. Communist Party Leader Leonid Grach stated, "Is our response to George Bush, who opened the Victims of Communism Memorial in Washington, and to [pro-Western Ukrainian President] Viktor Yushchenko, who initiated the construction of the Museum of Soviet occupation in Kiev." The museum focused on the repression of Native Americans, slavery, and racism. The museum also highlights interventions in foreign countries.</ref> [[organization]] in the [[United States]], established as a result of an [[Act of Congress]] in 1993 with the purpose to commemorate. The organization does not include respecting the hundreds of million victims of capitalist countries. Capitalist countries are responsible for a higher number of deaths.<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victims_of_Communism_Memorial#Critical_reaction Noam Chomsky, for example, writes that Amartya Sen in the early 1980s estimated the excess of mortality in India over China due to the latter's "relatively equitable distribution of medical resources" at close to 4 million a year. Chomsky therefore argues that, "suppos[ing] we now apply the methodology of the Black Book and its reviewers" to India, "the democratic capitalist 'experiment' has caused more deaths than in the entire history of... Communism everywhere since 1917: over 100 million deaths by 1979, and tens of millions more since, in India alone."</ref> It has been criticized for being politically biased, Professor Shi Yinhong "In the capitalist countries, many bad things have also happened, but we do not erect monuments to the victims of capitalism."<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victims_of_Communism_Memorial#Critical_reaction</ref> |
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| ⚫ | <ref name=ATL>{{cite news | last=Rauch | first=Jonathan | work=[[The Atlantic]] | date=December 2003 | title=The Forgotten Millions | url=http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200312/rauch | accessdate=November 4, 2009}}</ref> Its name is derived from the [[Victims of Communism Memorial]] in [[Washington, D.C.]] |
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==Background== |
==Background== |
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[[File:Goddess of Democracy DC defy censorship.JPG|thumb|left|The [[Victims of Communism Memorial]]. The statue is a recreation by Thomas Marsh of the "Goddess of Democracy", which was brutally destroyed in [[Tianamen Square]] by the government of the [[People's Republic of China]]]] |
[[File:Goddess of Democracy DC defy censorship.JPG|thumb|left|The [[Victims of Communism Memorial]]. The statue is a recreation by Thomas Marsh of the "Goddess of Democracy", which was brutally destroyed in [[Tianamen Square]] by the government of the [[People's Republic of China]]]] |
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According to Title IX, Section 905 of Public Law 103-199, the [[National Captive Nations Committee]], Inc. (NCNC) was to establish an independent organization to construct, maintain and operate the [[Victims of Communism Memorial]] in Washington, DC, as well as to collect the contributions for the establishment of the memorial and to encourage the participation of all groups suffered under Communism |
According to Title IX, Section 905 of Public Law 103-199, the [[National Captive Nations Committee]], Inc. (NCNC) was to establish an independent organization to construct, maintain and operate the [[Victims of Communism Memorial]] in Washington, DC, as well as to collect the contributions for the establishment of the memorial and to encourage the participation of all groups suffered under Communism.<ref name=s905>[http://www.mega.nu/ampp/pl103-199.html Public Law 103-199]</ref> |
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==Activities== |
==Activities== |
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BATTLE AGAINST COMMUNISM: Taiwan's top envoy to the US met the US president at a Washington ceremony and received a signed memorial pamphlet" ''Taipei Times'' 14 June 2007 [http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2007/06/14/2003365171/print p. 3 / online].</ref> |
BATTLE AGAINST COMMUNISM: Taiwan's top envoy to the US met the US president at a Washington ceremony and received a signed memorial pamphlet" ''Taipei Times'' 14 June 2007 [http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2007/06/14/2003365171/print p. 3 / online].</ref> |
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An ongoing project of the Foundation is the [[internet]]-based '''Global Museum on Communism'''. Among other exhibits and facitities, the Museum provides an interactive registry.<ref>[http://www.globalmuseumoncommunism.org/museum_overview Global Museum on Communism: Overview]</ref><ref>{{cite news | work=[[The Washington Examiner]] | last=Mooney | first=Kevin | date=June 11, 2009 | title=Online museum devoted to telling horrors of communism goes active Tuesday | url=http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/Online-museum-devoted-to-telling-horrors-of-communism-goes-active-Tuesday-47859907.html | accessdate=November 7, 2009}}</ref> |
An ongoing project of the Foundation is the [[internet]]-based '''Global Museum on Communism'''. Among other exhibits and facitities, the Museum provides an interactive registry to collect the personal stories of the victims of communism.<ref>[http://www.globalmuseumoncommunism.org/museum_overview Global Museum on Communism: Overview]</ref><ref>{{cite news | work=[[The Washington Examiner]] | last=Mooney | first=Kevin | date=June 11, 2009 | title=Online museum devoted to telling horrors of communism goes active Tuesday | url=http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/Online-museum-devoted-to-telling-horrors-of-communism-goes-active-Tuesday-47859907.html | accessdate=November 7, 2009}}</ref> |
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== People == |
== People == |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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* [[Criticism of the United States]] |
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* [[Terrorism by the United States of America]] |
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* [[The Black Book of Capitalism]] |
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* [[The Black Book of Capitalism: A farewell to the market economy]] |
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* [[Anti-capitalism]] |
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* [[Critique of capitalism]] |
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* [[Memorial (society)]] |
* [[Memorial (society)]] |
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* [[Museum of Communism]] |
* [[Museum of Communism]] |
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Revision as of 14:08, 11 May 2013
| Founded | 1994 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Lee Edwards[1] Lev Dobriansky[1] Grover Norquist[1] Zbigniew Brzezinski[1] |
| Type | Educational |
| Location | |
Key people | George W. Bush, Honorary Chairman[2] Lee Edwards, Chairman[2] Jay Katzen, President[3] Ed Priola, Director of Public Affairs |
| Website | http://www.victimsofcommunism.org |
The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation is a non-profit educational organization in the United States, established as a result of an Act of Congress in 1993 with the purpose to commemorate "the deaths of over 100,000,000 victims in an unprecedented imperial communist holocaust".[3] Its name is derived from the Victims of Communism Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Background
In 1991, Senator Steve Symms and Representative Dana Rohrabacher introduced concurring resolutions in the United States Congress urging the construction of "an International Memorial to the Victims of Communism at an appropriate location within the boundaries of the District of Columbia and for the appointment of a commission to oversee the design, construction and all other pertinent details of the memorial."[4][5] In 1993, Rohrabacher and Senator Jesse Helms sponsored amendments which authorized such construction into the FRIENDSHIP Act.[6] The Act was signed into law by President Bill Clinton on December 17, 1993.[7]
According to Title IX, Section 905 of Public Law 103-199, the National Captive Nations Committee, Inc. (NCNC) was to establish an independent organization to construct, maintain and operate the Victims of Communism Memorial in Washington, DC, as well as to collect the contributions for the establishment of the memorial and to encourage the participation of all groups suffered under Communism.[8]
Activities
The Foundation, chaired by Lee Edwards,[9] was established by the NCNC due to a caveat in the establishing law that required that no government funds be used to construct the memorial.[10] The original plans for the Foundation included raising $100 million for a museum and memorial. The museum, originally planned to be housed in the Tariff Commission Building in Washington, DC, was to have a Hall of Heroes featuring statues of notable anti-communists, a section of the Berlin Wall, a re-creation of a gulag, and a large statue of the Goddess of Democracy.[1] By 1999 only $500,000 had been raised.[10] Major donors to the Foundation include the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, Eagle Publishing Chairman Thomas L. Phillips, the Pew Charitable Trusts, and the Earhart Foundation.[11] The Foundation annually presents its Truman-Reagan Medal of Freedom at an event which honors opponents of communism, and has been used to raise funds for the construction of the memorial.[12]
The memorial was dedicated on June 12, 2007 - the 20th anniversary of President Ronald Reagan's "Tear down this wall" speech in Berlin. The unveiling of the statue in Washington DC brought international press attention to both the Victims of Communism Memorial and the Foundation.[13][14]
An ongoing project of the Foundation is the internet-based Global Museum on Communism. Among other exhibits and facitities, the Museum provides an interactive registry to collect the personal stories of the victims of communism.[15][16]
People
The honorary Chairman of the Board is George W. Bush, former President of the United States. The chairman is Lee Edwards. Its chairman emeritus is Lev Dobriansky (deceased).[2]
The national advisory council includes David Manker Abshire, Robert Conquest, Dennis DeConcini, Bob Dole, Edwin Feulner, Paul Hollander, William Eldridge Odom, Richard Pipes, Rudolph Rummel, John K. Singlaub, and George Weigel. Former (deceased) members include Jack Kemp.[17]
The international advisory council includes Sali Berisha, Vladimir Bukovsky, Emil Constantinescu, Árpád Göncz, Mart Laar, Vytautas Landsbergis, Guntis Ulmanis, Lech Wałęsa, Armando Valladares, and Harry Wu. Former members include Brian Crozier, Yelena Bonner and Václav Havel.[18]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e Smith, Dinitia (December 23, 1995). "For the Victims of Communism". The New York Times. Retrieved November 4, 2009.
- ^ a b c "Principal Officers & Directors". Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. Archived from the original on 2011-05-20. Retrieved 2011-05-20.
- ^ a b Rauch, Jonathan (December 2003). "The Forgotten Millions". The Atlantic. Retrieved November 4, 2009.
- ^ "S. CON. RES. 55". thomas.loc.gov. Library of Congress. Retrieved November 5, 2009.
- ^ "H. CON. RES. 228". thomas.loc.gov. Library of Congress. Retrieved November 5, 2009.
- ^ "U.S. Laws Catch Up to the New Russia". The New York Times. November 29, 1993. Retrieved November 5, 2009.
- ^ "Bill Summary and Status". thomas.loc.gov. Library of Congress. Retrieved November 5, 2009.
- ^ Public Law 103-199
- ^ Chick, Kristen (June 12, 2007). "Statue honors victims of communism". The Washington Times. p. 1.
...said Mr. Edwards, chairman of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.
- ^ a b Miller, John (May 28, 2007). "A Goddess for Victims". The National Review. Retrieved November 4, 2009.
- ^ Miller, John (December 12, 2005). "Memorial Day: Honoring the victims of Communism". The National Review. Retrieved November 4, 2009.
- ^ Clyne, Meghan (December 13, 2005). "D.C. Monument To Be Built In Honor of Victims of Communism". The New York Sun. Retrieved November 4, 2009.
- ^ [Staff writer] "Bush Blames 100 Million Deaths on Communists" Kommersant: Russia's Daily Online 13 June 2007 online.
- ^ Staff Writer with CNA "Bush shakes hands with Joseph Wu; BATTLE AGAINST COMMUNISM: Taiwan's top envoy to the US met the US president at a Washington ceremony and received a signed memorial pamphlet" Taipei Times 14 June 2007 p. 3 / online.
- ^ Global Museum on Communism: Overview
- ^ Mooney, Kevin (June 11, 2009). "Online museum devoted to telling horrors of communism goes active Tuesday". The Washington Examiner. Retrieved November 7, 2009.
- ^ "National Advisory Council". Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. Archived from the original on 2011-05-20. Retrieved 2011-05-20.
- ^ "International Advisory Council". Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. Archived from the original on 2011-05-20. Retrieved 2011-05-20.