Raffi Hovannisian: Turkey to face tough choice in 2 years

April 24, 2013 - 16:23 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Heritage party leader Raffi Hovannisian led a procession to Tsitsernakaberd Memorial to Genocide Victims.

“On the threshold of the 100th anniversary of the Genocide, our nation must take every effort to create a constitutional state and change the world’s perception of Armenia.

The new Armenia must be capable of standing up for its national interests so that in 2 years Turkey is left with no choice but to open the border without preconditions, or, if the denial policy continues, to be able to pose demands,” he said.

Hovannisian announced April 24 as the day of national unity, noting that “April 25 will be a new day for a new Armenia.”

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.