Activist Yves Engler wants to run for NPD Leadership, but some are trying to block his approval. Show your support here. (lemmy.ca)

submitted 1 day ago by brianpeiris@lemmy.ca to c/canada@lemmy.ca

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/52502868

I'm still learning more about Yves, but I like what I've seen so far. Apparently some people are calling for him to be blocked from the leadership race because of his pro-palestine, anti-zionist, and anti-genocide views. Contrary to their complaints, he is not antisemitic.

Yves Engler’s campaign for the leadership of the New Democratic Party represents a defining moment in Canadian politics. For too long, the NDP has drifted toward centrism, attempting to appease corporate interests and mainstream media narratives rather than boldly representing the working class. Engler’s vision is different. He stands unapologetically for democratic socialism — a society rooted in economic justice, peace, democracy, and the empowerment of working people.

More info here:
https://yvesengler.com/
https://yvesforndpleader.ca/about-yves/

Send a letter to support his approval:
https://actionnetwork.org/letters/dont-let-genocide-supporters-hijack-ndp-leadership-race

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[-] Binzy_Boi@piefed.ca 10 points 1 day ago

This guy questions the Rwandan Genocide.

That immediately turned me away from supporting him in any capacity.

[-] NoneOfUrBusiness@fedia.io 6 points 1 day ago

The real Rwanda genocide story has no Canadian heroes.

I have no horse in this race, but I mean he calls it a genocide in the first sentence of the article and keeps calling it a genocide. He's questioning the Western (and specifically Canadian) narrative surrounding the genocide, not in any way the genocide itself.

[-] brianpeiris@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Thanks for pointing that out. I don't have a good understanding of the Rwandan genocide, so I can't really speak to it, but of course I don't care to diminish the suffering of any group of people.

Here's Engler's article that seems to be the cause of concern. https://yvesengler.com/2017/09/22/statistics-damn-lies-and-the-truth-about-rwanda-genocide/

From what I can tell, he doesn't deny the genocide, but he does claim that the narrative around it was manipulated to benefit western powers.

Praise for Dallaire’s role in Rwanda is based on a highly simplistic account of what transpired in 1994. In their haste to promote a Canadian saviour in Africa, left/liberals have confused international understanding of the Rwandan tragedy, which has propped up Kagame’s dictatorship and enabled his violence in the Congo.

When commentators are claiming more Tutsi were killed than lived in the country it’s time to revaluate popular discussion of Rwanda’s tragedy.

Engler's blog post was from 2017 and it seems, according to Wikipedia, his claims have gained more backing from others: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rwandan_genocide#Death_toll_and_timeline

The succeeding RPF government claims that 1,074,017 people were killed in the genocide, 94% of whom were Tutsi. In contrast, Human Rights Watch, following on-the-ground research, estimated the casualties at 507,000 people. According to a 2020 symposium of the Journal of Genocide Research, the official figure is not credible as it overestimates the number of Tutsi in Rwanda prior to the genocide. Using different methodologies, the scholars in the symposium estimated 500,000 to 600,000 deaths—around two-thirds of the Tutsi population in Rwanda at the time.

[-] sbv@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

lolwut

Edit: sorry, I mean that seriously. Questioning the Rwandan genocide seems so random and counterfactual.

[-] NoneOfUrBusiness@fedia.io 6 points 1 day ago

He's not doing that, actually. He's questioning the Canadian narrative surrounding the genocide and how it directly leads to support for the current dictatorship in Rwanda, but he's pretty clear on the fact that it was a genocide.