Mkrtich Minasyan: in the course of time, world will compel Turkey to recognize Genocide

March 27, 2010 - 17:58 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - International process of Genocide recognition will be activated after Armenian President's visit to Washington, where he plans to participate in global nuclear security summit, RPA member Mkrtich Minasyan said.

"Genocide will be recognized by the international community; we already made sure that some politicians views on the possibility of Armenia-Turkey protocols interfering with international recognition of Armenian Genocide proved wrong," he said, "Armenia-Turkey process triggered a new phase of Genocide recognition process."

Dwelling on Armenia-Turkey rapprochement, Minasyan expressed hope that reason will win and good neighborly relations will finally be established between the two countries. "Sooner or later Turkey will understand it has no other choice," Minasyan told a news conference in Yerevan. "In the course of time, world will compel Turkey to recognize Genocide."

Commenting on Karabakh conflict, RPA member noted that Armenian authorities will succeed in involving NKR in negotiation process. "Armenia will never agree to one-sided concessions," Minasyan stressed, adding that mutual concessions will be impossible until Karabakh status and safety issues are resolved. No final resolution on Karabakh conflict will be taken without NKR's participation, he concluded.

The conflict between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan

The conflict between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan broke out as result of the ethnic cleansing launched by the Azeri authorities in the final years of the Soviet Union. The Karabakh War was fought from 1991 (when the Nagorno Karabakh Republic was proclaimed) to 1994 (when a ceasefire was sealed by Armenia, NKR and Azerbaijan). Most of Nagorno Karabakh and a security zone consisting of 7 regions are now under control of NKR defense army. Armenia and Azerbaijan are holding peace talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group up till now.

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.

The Armenian-Turkish Protocols

The Protocols aimed at normalization of bilateral ties and opening of the border between Armenia and Turkey were signed in Zurich by Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu on October 10, 2009, after a series of diplomatic talks held through Swiss mediation.

On January 12, 2010, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Armenia found the protocols conformable to the country’s Organic Law.

Commenting on the CC ruling, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that “it contains preconditions and restrictive provisions which impair the letter and spirit of the Protocols.” ”The decision undermines the very reason for negotiating these Protocols as well as their fundamental objective. This approach cannot be accepted on our part. Turkey, in line with its accustomed allegiance to its international commitments, maintains its adherence to the primary provisions of these Protocols. We expect the same allegiance from the Armenian government,” the Ministry said.