Network of Concerned Historians NCH Annual Report 2021 http://www.concernedhistorians.org INTRODUCTION This twenty-seventh Annual Report of the Network of Concerned Historians (NCH) contains news about the domain where history and human rights intersect, in particular about the censorship of history and the persecution of historians, archivists, and archaeologists around the globe, as reported by various human rights organizations and other sources. It mainly covers events and developments of 2020 and 2021. Disclaimer. The fact that the NCH presents this news does not imply that it shares the views and beliefs of the historians and others mentioned in it. Download this report at: http://www.concernedhistorians.org/ar/21.pdf Cite this report as: Network of Concerned Historians, Annual Report 2021 (http://www.concernedhistorians.org/ar/21.pdf). For the complete set of NCH Annual Reports, see: http://www.concernedhistorians.org/content/ar.html Or click: 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 This year’s report was compiled and edited by Antoon De Baets and Ruben Zeeman. Previous Annual Reports (1995–2020) were compiled by Antoon De Baets. Please send any comments to [email protected]. Network of Concerned Historians, Annual Report 2021 (July 2021) 2 ____________________________________________________________ AFGHANISTAN Previous Annual Report entries: 2000–2016, 2018. In January 2021, Akal, a publisher in Madrid, issued the book Afganistán, Una república del silencio: Recuerdos de un estudiante afgano (Afghanistan, a republic of silence: memories of an Afghan student), written by A.K. (1994–). An autobiography of 208 pages, it told the history of the Hazara ethnic group, a Farsi-speaking minority, who are of Mongolian and Central Asian descent and are mainly Shia Muslims. It included an account of the 1890 genocide of Hazaras by Pashtuns and instances of contemporary violence and corruption by the Taliban, Al Qaeda, Islamic State, and Hizb ut-Tahrir. A.K. was a history teacher, educated at the University of Herat and the University of Santiago de Compostela. He completed the book manuscript in Afghanistan. A.K.’s life was possibly in danger after the book’s publication.1 See also United States. ALBANIA Previous Annual Report entries: 1996, 2012, 2015−2020. On 2 March 2021, the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) stated that Albanian prosecutors had still not issued orders to exhume suspected mass gravesites where people who went missing during the Communist dictatorship (1944–1991) could be buried. In 2018, after eight years of negotiations, the government had agreed with the ICMP to investigate and identify the remains of over 6,000 Albanians who were killed or disappeared during that era. The ICMP was not the first international body to examine the issue. The United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances visited Albania in December 2016 and published a critical report in 2017, finding that “Albania had yet to deal adequately with the gross human rights violations committed between 1944 and 1991.” In May 2018, the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances encouraged Albania to “redouble its efforts to effectively shed light on enforced disappearances that took place during the communist regime.” Albania should investigate these crimes, 1 “Afganistán, una república del silencio: Recuerdos de un estudiante afgano,” Akal book presentation (8 May 2021); “Un erasmus afgano de la USC podría ser asesinado en su país por escribir un libro,” El Correo Gallego (9 June 2021); A.K., personal communications (8–11 May 2021). Network of Concerned Historians, Annual Report 2021 (July 2021) 3 ____________________________________________________________ prosecute those responsible and provide reparations to the victims and their families, the committee said [See also NCH Annual Reports 2017, 2020].2 See also Kosovo. ALGERIA Previous Annual Report entries: 1996, 2001–2019. In October 2020, forty-two peaceful demonstrators were arrested in Algiers while commemorating the 1988 youth protests. Thirty-three were provisionally released, and nine imprisoned in El Harrach prison, Algiers, before eventually being released. The 1988 protests, between 5 and 11 October, started in Algiers and spread to other cities, resulting in about 500 deaths and 1000 wounded.3 On 27 October 2020, presidential adviser Abdelmadjid al-Sheikh said that Algeria did not rule out international arbitration to resolve its dispute with France over the archives of the French colonial era. Algeria claimed that during the colonial period (1830–1962) French forces smuggled hundreds of thousands of maps and historical documents, including those dating back to the Ottoman era (1518– 1830), into France. France claimed that colonial-era related archives were part of France’s sovereignty [See also NCH Annual Report 2017].4 See also France, Morocco. ANGOLA Previous Annual Report entries: 2003, 2009, 2017, 2020. 2 Fjori Sinoruka, “Albania’s Search for Communist-Era Missing Persons Stalled,” Balkan Insight (2 March 2021); Fred Abrahams, “Communist-Era Disappearances Still Haunt Albania,” Human Rights Watch (17 March 2021). 3 Amnesty International, Report 2020/21: The State of the World’s Human Rights (London: AI, 2021), 63. 4 Abdurazzak Abdallah, “Algeria May Take France to Arbitration over ‘Stolen’ Archive,” Anadolu Agency (27 October 2020); “France Speeds Up Access to Secret Algeria War Archives,” RFI (10 March 2021); Hossam El Din Islam, “French Move to Declassify Archive Draws Mixed Reactions in Algeria,” Anadolu Agency (19 March 2021). Network of Concerned Historians, Annual Report 2021 (July 2021) 4 ____________________________________________________________ ARGENTINA Previous Annual Report entries: 1997–2020. Twenty-six years after the terrorist attack perpetrated against the headquarters of the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA) in Buenos Aires on 18 July 1994, which resulted in the death of 85 people and serious injuries to at least 151 others, court battles continued and no one had been convicted. In September 2020, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) found Argentina responsible for violating the rights to life and physical integrity of the victims, as well as for cover-up operations that resulted in impunity. On 25 March 2021, the IACHR referred to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights a case on the state’s responsibility. It was brought by the Asociación Civil Memoria Activa (Citizens’ Association for Active Memory), victims and relatives of victims of the attack, who complained that much of the documentation was held secret by the intelligence agencies [See also NCH Annual Reports 2011, 2014, 2016–2020].5 Pardons and amnesty laws shielding officials implicated in crimes committed under the dictatorship (1976–1983) were annulled by the Supreme Court and federal judges in the early 2000s. As of September 2020, the Attorney General’s Office reported 3,329 people charged, 997 convicted, and 162 acquitted. Of 597 investigations into crimes against humanity, judges had issued rulings in 246. As of August 2020, 130 people illegally taken from their parents as children during the dictatorship had been identified and many had been reunited with their families. The large number of victims, suspects, and cases of alleged crimes of the dictatorship made it difficult for prosecutors and judges with limited resources to bring those responsible to justice.6 See also Israel. 5 Human Rights Watch, World Report 2021: Events of 2020 (New York: HRW, 2021), 43; Amnesty International, State of the World’s Human Rights 2020/21 (London: AI, 2021), 69; Archives and Human Rights: News from the Section on Archives and Human Rights, no. 136 (March 2021), 10; “IACHR Refers Case on Argentina to the Inter-American Court” (press release; 26 March 2021). 6 Human Rights Watch, World Report 2021: Events of 2020 (New York: HRW, 2021), 39. Network of Concerned Historians, Annual Report 2021 (July 2021) 5 ____________________________________________________________ ARMENIA Previous Annual Report entries: 2005–2006, 2010, 2014–2016. In January 2021, Facebook’s Oversight Board upheld a ban on a post that purported to show historical photos of churches in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, with a caption that the Oversight Board said indicated “disdain” for Azerbaijani people. The caption in Russian claimed that Armenians built Baku and that this heritage, including the churches, had been destroyed. It used the term “Taziks” to describe Azerbaijanis, who “were nomads” and “had no history compared with Armenians.” The post ended with a call to end “Azerbaijani aggression” and “vandalism.” The Oversight Board said that the problematic term “Taziks” could be understood as wordplay on the Russian word “aziks,” a derogatory term for Azerbaijanis, featuring on Facebook’s internal list of slur terms. The user appealed the decision, arguing that he intended to highlight the destruction of cultural and religious monuments.7 See also Azerbaijan, United States. AUSTRALIA Previous Annual Report entries: 1997, 2001, 2003, 2007–2009, 2014–2016, 2018–2020. On 24 May 2020, mining firm Rio Tinto destroyed the 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge caves (rock shelters) in the Pilbara region, Western Australia [See also NCH Annual Report 2020]. In August 2020, CEO Jean Sébastien Jacques was fined almost $5 million in bonuses and the head of Rio Tinto’s Australian