FORMER Cabinet minister Clare Short is to speak at a Memorial Day for victims of the Nazi Holocaust in Huddersfield.

The event will be at the town hall on Monday, January 26.

Holocaust Memorial Day, January 27, marks the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp in 1945.

It also aims to remember all victims of persecution and genocide.

This year, to mark the 10th anniversary of the Rwanda genocide - 100 days when nearly 1m Tutsis were murdered while the world stood by - the theme for 2004 is From the Holocaust to Rwanda.

Last year, Ms Short, the former International Development Secretary, launched the Aegis Trust's Rwanda Fund.

It is supporting the rebuilding of people's lives in Rwanda, through the creation of memorial and education resources.

Ms Short resigned her Government post last May because of disagreements with the Government on the Iraq war.

The evening of presentations, hosted by Kirklees Mayor Clr Barbara Allonby, will include personal testimonies and readings from survivors of the Holocaust, as well as music, poetry and dance from the local African and Kurdish communities.

Students from Huddersfield New College will give a presentation about fighting racism across Europe.

They were among delegates at the first Young People's Twin Town International Conference in Huddersfield last October.

They will be summarising the conference and its effects on the young people from this country, Germany, France and Poland.

There will also be an extract from The Ghost Lesson, a performance that includes references to Auschwitz and the persecution of gypsies.

The event starts at 7.15pm, and ends with an Act of Commemoration.