RPA: Armenian Genocide shame of civilized humanity

April 24, 2011 - 10:55 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The international recognition of the Armenian Genocide will make Turkey put up with its history, spokesman for the ruling Republican Party of Armenia said.

“The first Genocide of the 20th century resulted in deaths of not only 1.5 million of Armenians but also claimed lives of about a million of Greeks and Assyrians,” Eduard Sharmazanov said. “The Armenian Genocide is the shame of the civilized humanity and its non-recognition can cause future similar crimes.”

As to U.S. President Barack Obama’s regular failure to recognize the Genocide, Sharmazanov noted that 42 U.S. states recognized the Armenian Genocide.

“Armenian people must unite to achieve worldwide condemnation of this horrible crime,” he concluded.

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.