Commandos: “snowballing” process of Armenian Genocide recognition under way

April 24, 2011 - 11:15 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Hero of the Karabakh war, major general Arkady Ter-Tadevosyan (Commandos) said Armenia was rather passive during the first years of its independence as regards the Armenian Genocide recognition.

“It has resulted in deceleration of the recognition process. But, thank goodness, the issue was in focus during the tenure of the second and third Armenia’s Presidents,” said Ter-Tadevosyan.

He noted that currently a “snowballing” process of the Armenian Genocide recognition is under way, with the number of countries recognizing it growing from year to year.

According to Ter-Tadevosyan, Armenia needs to have a national action plan to encourage worldwide discussions.

He added that Armenians can use the example of Jews concerning the Holocaust: “The humanity missed its opportunity to recognize the Armenian Genocide early in the 20th century, thus, similar tragedies continue taking place up to date.”

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.