Koen Kluessien (1991) graduated from the ‘Holocaust and genocide studies’ Master’s program of the University of Amsterdam. Since then he has worked for the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust, and Genocide Studies; the Centre for Historical Research and Documentation on War and Contemporary Society (CEGSOMA); and currently works as an Independent Researcher on behalf of the IHRA Committee on Holocaust, Genocide, and Crimes against Humanity. Koen’s research interests include genocide denial, propaganda, and transitional justice. For whatishappeningnow.org Koen will scrutinize the unique role of online media in modern terrorist organizations; the structures behind the Islamic State and the Assad regime; genocide denial in general and denial by Serbian politicians in particular.
Articles
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Exposing “Ghosts” – An Online Hunt for Assad’s Thugs in Europe
By Koen Kluessien – “We love Assad because the government gave us all the power – if I wanted to take something, kill a person or rape a girl I could […]. The government gave me 30,000 Syrian pounds… Continue Reading
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Film Review: A Good Wife – The Family Life of a War Criminal
By Koen Kluessien and Marieke Zoodsma – Perhaps one of the most disturbing (moving) images from the wars in the former Yugoslavia are those shot on the so-called Scorpion Tape. The tape is named after the paramilitary unit that… Continue Reading
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Mass Atrocities in the Digital Age – Can We Stop a Genocide With Our Cell Phone?
By Koen Kluessien – “Never again” is an oft-repeated quote at Holocaust remembrances and unlike the adagio “lest we forget”, it encompasses a call to action to prevent future mass atrocities. The idea is that through remembering past atrocities… Continue Reading
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Two Steps Forward and One Step Back – The Dynamics of Denial in Post-Milošević Serbia
During the 20th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide, Bosnian Muslim protesters held up a banner with Aleksander Vučić’s war-time statement that for every dead Serb, 100 Muslims should be killed. Photo by: Marieke Zoodsma By Koen Kluessien – … Continue Reading
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The Land of Blood and Honey – Western Media and the Framing of the Western Balkans
By Koen Kluessien – It has often been stated that the history of the western Balkans is “written in blood”. With the assassination of archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo igniting the First World War, the occupation and resistance… Continue Reading
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“We Fought With Our Bodies and Voices, Not With Guns and Weapons” – Interview With the Cast of ‘A Syrian Love Story’
By Tayfun Balçik – The IDFA-screening of A Syrian Love Story – a documentary depicting 5 years of the life of a troubled Syrian family filmed against the background of the war,– caused many emotional reactions among… Continue Reading
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The enemy’s enemy is a friend: turning a blind eye to the atrocities of the Assad regime
By Koen Kluessien – Palmyra, once a hub of Greek, Roman and Persian cultures and an important center of the ancient world, has now become known for the bloodbath perpetrated by the Islamic State and the possible destruction of its… Continue Reading
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Exposing “Ghosts” – An Online Hunt for Assad’s Thugs in Europe
