Italy’s L'Aquila City Council recognizes Armenian Genocide

Italy’s L'Aquila City Council recognizes Armenian Genocide

PanARMENIAN.Net - Italy’s L'Aquila City Council has recognized the Armenian Genocide on November 26.

In a letter to Armenia’s Embassy to Italy and the Union of Armenians of the country, L'Aquila City Mayor Massimo Cialente stated that the Council recognizes the Genocide and expresses solidarity with the Armenian people in support of historical truth and protection of human rights.

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, 2015.

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, stipulating for 3-year imprisonment and a fine.

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.

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