Netherlands' Armenians to organize demonstration to mark 95th anniversary of Genocide

March 22, 2010 - 16:27 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The 24 April Committee of FAON and the Hay Tad Holland cooperating as "Joint Armenian Organisations of the Netherlands" intend to organise a commemorative demonstration to mark the 95th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

FAON calls on all other Armenian organisations and all Armenians in the Netherlands for a massive demonstration to enforce claims for recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Turkey and for implementation of the Motion by Rouvoet by the Dutch government. This Motion has been adopted unanimously by the Dutch Parliament in 2004.

The demonstration will take place in Het Plein square, The Hague, The Netherlands on Tuesday, 20 April 2010.

"It is of utmost importance that we, as the Armenian community in the Netherlands, give a strong signal to show our horror about the Armenian Genocide and about the fact that after 95 years the Genocide is still denied and trivialized in a repulsive way by Turkey and even speaking about it in Turkey is still punishable.

Although there is an extensive recognition of the Armenian Genocide, the international community does not effectively succeed to make clear to Turkey that the pattern of denial and trivialisation is unacceptable and to take the appropriate measures for preventing this practice.

This same attitude of the world made it possible that in 1915 the Armenian Genocide could take place under the eyes of the world.

It is therefore important that we work together to commemorate this 95th anniversary. We call on everyone to participate in the joint demonstration in The Hague, the city of international law," FAON statement said.

The demonstration is intended to enforce the requirement that Turkey recognizes the Armenian Genocide, implementation of the Rouvoet's Parliamentary Motion from 2004, which asks the Dutch government to put constantly and expressly on the agenda the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Turkey and the need to establish a memorial in The Hague, city of international law, for commemorating the victims of the Armenian Genocide, as an example of how the international community should not handle such disastrous events.

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.