You Have Been Misled As to the Meaning of the Word

"Genocide"

You have been taught that nationalism is the primary source of "genocide" -- that nationalists perpetrate "genocide" and that ridding the world of nationalism is an important, perhaps the most important step in eradicating the threat of "genocide".

You have been taught, and are now a believer in, the exact opposite of the truth.

Raphael Lemkin and his work with the Geneva Conventions led the term "genocide" to be incorporated into the Geneva Conventions.

Here is Lemkin's definition:

"Generally speaking, genocide does not necessarily mean the immediate destruction of a nation, except when accomplished by mass killings of all members of a nation. It is intended rather to signify a coordinated plan of different actions aiming at the destruction of essential foundations of the life of national groups, with the aim of annihilating the groups themselves. The objectives of such a plan would be the disintegration of the political and social institutions, of culture, language, national feelings, religion, and the economic existence of national groups, and the destruction of the personal security, liberty, health, dignity, and even the lives of the individuals belonging to such groups. Genocide is directed against the national group as an entity, and the actions involved are directed against individuals, not in their individual capacity but as members of a national group."

Cited in "Beyond the 1948 Convention -- Emerging principles of Genocide in Customary International Law," Maryland Journal of International Law and Trade, vol. 17, no. 2, Fall 1993, ppp. 193-226.

The conclusion is inescapable:

Those who have taught you that:

"Genocide can be eradicated by eradicating nationalism."

are actually perpetrators of genocide under its proper definition within the Geneva Conventions.

Furthermore, since the pervasive teaching of this ideology has been the primary moral force for the disintegration of, not one, but most national identities during the last half of the 20th century, its teachers have been and are by definition the primary perpetrators of genocide over the last half century.