April 29 Update: We appreciate all of the inquiries and feedback we have been receiving over the last several days from our community. We have been communicating with key partners for this event and will be hosting a screening of “My Sweet Land” on September 18 when faculty and students will be back on campus and we can ensure we have more staffing to maintain the safety of our attendees. Our postponement has been a security issue, not a substantive one. We have updated our statement to acknowledge the 1.5 million people killed in the Armenian Genocide, and sincerely apologize for the pain we have unintentionally caused the Armenian community.
On April 23, the Human Rights Center (HRC) at UC Berkeley School of Law made the decision to postpone a planned April 24 screening and discussion of “My Sweet Land,” a documentary film focused on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. On April 22, we received notice from Berkeley Law of anticipated protests, including gruesome signs. We also received an email from the Consulate General of Azerbaijan opposing the content of the film which contributed to our understanding that protests may be imminent, but did not influence our decision apart from realizing that we needed more staff and security. We sought guidance from Berkeley Law on the options available to us.
Given the short timeframe, HRC was unable to pull together the staffing necessary to responsibly support an event that could involve protests or risks to the safety of attendees, and made a decision that we felt best preserved the security of our students and our community. Importantly, the decision to postpone the showing of the film was not based on its content or any pressure or protests about the film. Foreign governments do not influence the events we produce. The safety of our students, however, is our highest priority. We deeply regret having to make this decision, and we recognize that our timing — on Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day — caused deep pain for members of the Armenian community. That was never our intention, and we sincerely apologize.
It is a moral imperative to recognize genocide, and our faculty has taught about the history of the Armenian genocide, along with other genocides and crimes against humanity, for decades. Our Center mourns the killing of 1.5 million Armenian people during the genocide and will continue to teach this history.
We are in conversation with our partners and have proposed rescheduling the film screening to September 18. We want this film to be shown at Berkeley Law and it was not possible for us to book a room before April 30, when rooms become unavailable because students are taking final exams. It typically takes us weeks to prepare for an event. We hope that this date will ensure maximum attendance and visibility for this important film, as well as maximum possible security for those who attend. Should there be future resistance to the screening of the film, we will provide adequate staffing and security to address these concerns and to ensure the safety of students while simultaneously protecting freedom of expression.