Argentine vice president remembers Armenian Genocide

April 25, 2017 - 14:06 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Remembering the Armenian Genocide helps prevent this type of atrocities from happening again in the history of humanity, said Vice President of Argentina Gabriela Michetti during a mass in commemoration of the 102nd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Agencia Prensa Armenia reports.

"When we speak of genocide we are talking about an attack on humanity," said Michetti, who then read a poem by William Saroyan.

"The genocide was recognized by our country in 2007 by Law 26.199," added the Vice President in the Cathedral San Gregorio the Illuminator, referring to the Day of action for tolerance and respect among peoples in commemoration of the Genocide that the Armenian people fell victim to.

102 years have passed since the beginning of the Armenian Genocide, perpetrated in the Ottoman Empire between 1915 and 1923.

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.