Italian Abruzzo region passes resolution on Genocide recognition

October 29, 2015 - 15:40 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Italian region of Abruzzo on Tuesday, October 27 passed a bill to recognize the Armenian Genocide.

According to Armenia's Foreign Ministry, in a resolution adopted unanimously, the regional council expressed its solidarity with the Armenian people on the big tragedy’s centennial, thus supporting the nation-wide efforts towards the recognition of historical truth and the protection of human rights.

Council member Luciano Monticelli hailed the move, describing it as a remarkable historic achievement.

“Today, we wrote a very nice chapter in our region’s political history, unanimously adopting this resolution,” he said.

The Abuzzo regional council is the 99th Italian local government body to recognize the Armenian Genocide.

City Councils of Ravenna and Ivrea and the regional council of Marche recognized the Armenian Genocide on October 22, October 12 and October 6, respectively. Besides, the parliament of Italy’s Tuscany adopted a resolution acknowledging the Genocide on March 25 this year.

Over 30 Italian cities have recognized the Armenian Genocide, perpetrated at the hands of the Ottoman government in 1915.

Italy recognized the Genocide in 2000: the denial is criminalized.

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.