[legalcorrection]

A convenient sleight of hand for international liberals. To the average person, genocide means extermination by mass murder. So people make that incredibly damning accusation, and then when it's pointed out that no such thing is happening, they retreat into a technical definition that no one outside of the NGO/activist world cares or knows about.

[tnjm]

Is it really sleight of hand, though, when you'd get essentially the same answer when consulting the UN, Wikipedia or... a dictionary?

[legalcorrection]

Yes. We speak to an audience of people, not dictionaries. If you're talking to a conference of international NGO activists, then that's one thing. But mass media headlines are for the consumption of the common person. You choose your words according to what they mean to your audience.