Armenian Genocide denial policy doomed to failure – experts

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey spends enormous resources to thwart the Armenian Genocide recognition campaign in the U.S., especially now that the situation has deteriorated following its deprivation of European lobby’s support, turkologist Hakob Chakryan and Noravank foundation expert Aristakes Simavoryan said.

As they told a press conference, the Turkish authorities are well aware of advancements in the recognition process and that the denial policy is doomed to fail, though they continue efforts to prove the opposite. Dwelling on the Genocide resolution introduced to the U.S. Congress, the experts voiced skepticism over its adoption, as the U.S. currently prioritizes issues related to Iran and Syria, which necessitate Turkish support.

On March 20, U.S. Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) introduced legislation, S.Res.399, calling upon the U.S. government to properly recognize the Armenian Genocide and to use the lessons of this atrocity to prevent future crimes against humanity.

“It is time for the United States to join the nineteen nations including Belgium, Canada, France, Italy and the European Union that have formally recognized the actions carried out by the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923 as genocide,” Senator Menendez said. “The Armenian Genocide is a historical fact and was one of the incidents upon which the Genocide Convention was predicated. Only by accurately acknowledging the crimes of the past can we ever hope to move forward in a legitimate manner and prevent such human rights crimes from happening in the future.”

“The Armenian Genocide is well-documented and formally recognized by 11 NATO allies and the European Union. This resolution accurately characterizes the events of 1915-1923 as a genocide, honors the memory of the victims, and strengthens America’s moral leadership on human rights and the prevention of mass atrocities around the world,” said a spokesman for Senator Kirk.