Montel Williams and Dean Cain, executive producers of the documentary “Architects of Hate,” say that U.S. refusal to recognize the Armenian genocide allows genocide to continue.
“If you don’t call it what it is, and you let it be covered up, it allows it to be continued,” Cain said in an interview with TheWrap’s Stuart Brazell. “Genocide denied is genocide continued. We use the Armenian genocide [in ‘Architects of Denial’] to show you how a whole number of genocides are being committed today.”
And the reason the federal government won’t formally recognize what took place as genocide is simple, Cain says. “It’s politics … You can’t deny the historical fact. It absolutely took place, there’s no question about it. So the only reason it hasn’t been recognized is politics.”
“It’s time for this to stop,” added Williams.
Williams and Cain themselves exist on opposite ends of the political spectrum, but the two men say they’re able to find common ground as friends to advocate for positive action.
“There’s a respectful dialog between us,” said Cain. “We may not agree on politics or policies, but we talk about it and we find common ground. And that is something that is sorely lacking in today’s political climate.”
“We seem to believe that difference of opinion means confrontation,” said Williams. “I don’t have to dislike Dean. We are friends. We don’t agree, but I give him his right to his space and he gives me my right to mine.”
“We agree on one thing. That is, hate has to stop,” he continued. “Hate is the genesis of genocide.”
Watch the video above.