Turkey slams Czech recognition of Armenian Genocide

Turkey slams Czech recognition of Armenian Genocide

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey on Thursday, April 27 condemned a resolution adopted by the lower house of the Czech Republic's parliament on the Armenian Genocide, Anadolu Agency reports.

"We condemn and reject in the strongest terms the resolution adopted by the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic on April 25," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"We are also disappointed by President [Milos] Zeman’s letter of 24 April 2017 addressed to the Armenian diaspora in his country with regard to the events of 1915, as it includes serious inconsistencies," it said.

The Chamber of Deputies - the lower house of the Czech Parliament—unanimously approved a resolution on Tuesday, April 25, condemning the Armenian Genocide and genocides of other religious and national minorities in the Ottoman Empire during WWI.

Armenia's foreign minister Edward Nalbandian hailed the move.

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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