Spain’s Aragon recognizes Armenian GenocideDecember 2, 2015 - 13:36 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Parliament of Aragon, Spain, adopted Wednesday, December 2, a declaration recognizing and condemning the Armenian Genocide. Introduced by MP Gregorio Briz Sánchez, the document pays homage to the over 1.5 million Armenian victims killed by the Ottoman Empire and calls on all Turkish institutions, including the government, to acknowledge the historical fact. In addition, the text pays tribute to the victims of the Armenian Genocide in a spirit of solidarity and European justice. It underlines that the European Union should make genocide prevention and punishment of crimes against humanity a top priority. The resolution calls also on the government of Turkey to use the commemoration of the Armenian Genocide centenary as an opportunity to recognize it, open its archives and choose the path of reconciliation between the Turkish and Armenian people. It also highlights that a growing number of Turkish intellectuals, politicians and members of civil society have acknowledged the Armenian Genocide and encourages Turkish institutions to do the same. “It is very encouraging to see that this year, not only the European, but also member states and regional parliaments have adopted resolutions recognizing the Armenian Genocide,” Eduardo Lorenzo Ochoa, director of European Friends of Armenia said. “I believe that the move sends a strong message to Turkey, suggesting Europe is waiting for them to recognize their history.” The text further calls on Spain to ensure Turkey keeps its promise to protect and preserve the Armenian cultural heritage on its territory and have a more active role in facilitating reconciliation between Armenia and Turkey. Aragon is the fifth region in Spain to recognize the Armenian Genocide, following the Basque Country, Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Navarre. 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. Top stories The EU does not intend to conduct military exercises with Armenia, Lead Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano says. Hikmet Hajiyev has said that there is no place for USAID operation in Azerbaijan any longer. A telephone conversation between Putin and Pashinyan before the CSTO summit is not planned, Peskov says. London’s Armenian community has been left feeling “under attack” after the city’s Genocide monument was vandalised. Partner news | Russia clarifying reports on Baku’s alleged arms supply to Ukraine Russia says is carefully working to verify reports about alleged arms supplies from Azerbaijan to Ukraine Meeting with U.S., EU not against third parties, says Armenia The meeting scheduled for April 5 is dedicated to strengthening of the Armenia-EU-US cooperation, Yerevan added. Ucom launches network modernization efforts in few regions of Armenia In particular, on March 28, the legacy Mobile Switching Subsystem will be replaced with a new one. Armenia to sing in 2nd semi-final of Eurovision The organizers of Eurovision 2024 have revealed the running order of the countries in the two semi-finals. |