Turkey’s recognition of Genocide will promote regional stability: PM

September 19, 2014 - 17:05 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey’s recognition of the Genocide will promote the atmosphere of mutual trust and stability in the region, Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan stated at the opening of the 5th Armenia-Diaspora conference.

“The Nagorno Karabakh conflict remains unsettled, while Azerbaijan continues with its bellicose rhetoric and arms race. Turkey, in turn, holds on to its one-sided policy line, keeping Armenia in a blockade.

Complicated Russian-Georgian relations also don’t contribute to the regional stability, preventing Armenia from making full use of transit possibilities and economy ties.

All of the above induces Armenia to be flexible in its foreign policy, with the country’s leadership taking every effort to provide safety and stable development,” Abrahamyan said.

The official further noted the invaluable role of Diaspora in the Genocide recognition campaign. He also slammed Turkey’s inability to come to terms with its past, while promoting its denialist views.

In conclusion, he expressed confidence that with unified efforts, the historical justice will be restored.

The Armenian Genocide

The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres and deportations, involving forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths reaching 1.5 million.

The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the Genocide survivors.

Present-day Turkey denies the fact of the Armenian Genocide, justifying the atrocities as “deportation to secure Armenians”. Only a few Turkish intellectuals, including Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk and scholar Taner Akcam, speak openly about the necessity to recognize this crime against humanity.

The Armenian Genocide was recognized by Uruguay, Russia, France, Lithuania, Italy, 45 U.S. states, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Argentina, Belgium, Austria, Wales, Switzerland, Canada, Poland, Venezuela, Chile, Bolivia, the Vatican, Luxembourg, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Sweden, Venezuela, Slovakia, Syria, Vatican, as well as the European Parliament and the World Council of Churches.