Arthur Ghazaryan: Turkish flag will be burnt unless Turkey acknowledges Genocide

April 30, 2010 - 14:54 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkish flag will be burnt on the night of every April 24 unless Turkey acknowledges the Armenian Genocide, a representative of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun youth wing said.

“Claims are not reduced to opening of the Armenian-Turkish border or recognition of the Armenian Genocide. If Turkey respects its state symbols and doesn’t want to witness this tradition, it should recognize the Genocide and recoup the consequences,” Arthur Ghazaryan said.

For his part, secretary of Prosperous Armenia party’s committee on youth issues Gevorg Manukyan said that his party “adheres to civilized methods of problem settlement.”

Representative of Social Democratic Hunchakian party Gagik Melikyan remarked that the Armenian-Turkish dialogue has hit a deadlock. “I think neither Armenia nor Turkey is willing to continue the process of ratification of Protocols on normalization of relations,” he said.

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.

The Armenian-Turkish Protocols

The Protocols aimed at normalization of bilateral ties and opening of the border between Armenia and Turkey were signed in Zurich by Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu on October 10, 2009, after a series of diplomatic talks held through Swiss mediation.

On January 12, 2010, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Armenia found the protocols conformable to the country’s Organic Law.

Commenting on the CC ruling, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that “it contains preconditions and restrictive provisions which impair the letter and spirit of the Protocols.” ”The decision undermines the very reason for negotiating these Protocols as well as their fundamental objective. This approach cannot be accepted on our part. Turkey, in line with its accustomed allegiance to its international commitments, maintains its adherence to the primary provisions of these Protocols. We expect the same allegiance from the Armenian government,” the Ministry said.