PM: Armenian Genocide is an episode of both Armenian and world history

April 24, 2011 - 10:40 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - On April 24, 2011, Armenia marks the 96th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan said.

“The aim of the monstrous crime planned and perpetrated during the World War I by the the Ottoman Turkish rulers was complete annihilation of Armenians, while its result was the loss of Motherland by Armenians, complete exclusion of physical, historical, spiritual and cultural presence of Armenians on hour historical land,” Sargsyan said in a statement, which goes on saying, “The Genocide is an episode in both Armenian and world history, which cannot be eliminated from diplomatic documents and annals of the 20th century, even from memories of those people whose ancestors perpetrated it.”

Sargsyan noted that the Armenian people’s demand is clear – “the Armenian Genocide should obtain relevant legal, political and moral assessment.”

He also expressed gratitude to those people and states that supported the Armenian people in the joint struggle for the historical truth, prevention and condemnation of genocides.

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.