States not recognizing Armenian Genocide are guided by political reasons

April 24, 2011 - 12:33 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Volunteer from Germany Johan Lepkas and tourist Christine Indingi say they know that April 24 is a very important day for the Armenian people. Being in Yerevan, they visited the Memorial to commemorate the Armenian Genocide victims. “I decided to visit the Memorial to pay a tribute to the Armenian Genocide victims,” Lepkas told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

According to him, it will be an important decision for Turkey to recognize the Genocide.

“I know many Turks, who recognize the Genocide, but it is a political step that should be taken at the state level,” the volunteer said.

Indingi also attached importance to the Armenian Genocide recognition. As for its recognition by the world community, Indingi said “it is a complicate issue, while those countries that do not recognize the Armenian Genocide are guided by political reasons.”

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.