Buenos Aires Legislature pays tribute to Armenian Genocide victims

April 22, 2016 - 15:11 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Buenos Aires Legislature approved Thursday, April 21 a project to "commemorate the 101st anniversary of the Armenian Genocide perpetrated by the Turkish state" and "adhere to the motto 'I Remember and Demand.'"

The project was presented by legislators of the opposition party Frente para la Victoria: Jose Campagnoli and Javier Andrade as authors and Andrea Conde and Paula Penacca as co-authors. The project makes a reference to the reparations for the Genocide and adopts the motto “I Remember and Demand” presented last year in the Pan-Armenian Declaration on the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide, which "expressed the unified will of the state of Armenia and the Armenian people throughout the Diaspora," Prensa Armenia reports citing the fundamentals of the project.

"We are convinced that the path to justice is through memory, truth and reparation," said Campagnoli.

In this regard, the statement cites as background the National Law 26,199 declaring April 24 of every year as the "Day of action for tolerance and respect among peoples," as well as the historical recognition of Pope Francis on April 12 last year and previous resolutions of the Legislature.

Buenos Aires on Saturday, April 23 will host the main event, commemorating the 101st anniversary of the Armenian Genocide; also a rally will be organized the next day by the youth of the community under the motto "memory, truth, justice and reparation of the Armenian Genocide perpetrated by the Turkish state" and "peace in Nagorno Karabakh, against Azerbaijani aggression."

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.