Czech parliament panel passes Genocide centenary resolution

April 15, 2015 - 08:26 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The foreign relations committee of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic unanimously passed Tuesday, April 14, a resolution commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the press office of the Armenian Foreign Ministry reported.

Citing the UN Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, as well as the resolutions of the legislative and executive authorities of the states and international organizations that have already recognized the Genocide (European Council, Uruguay, Canada, France, Sweden, Lithuania, Poland, Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Argentina, Russia, Venezuela, Slovakia, Vatican and others), the document condemns the policy of genocide denial.

Urging the international community to prevent crimes against humanity, Czech lawmakers offered condolences to Armenians across the globe and also honored the memory of the mass killings of Assyrians, Pontiac Greeks and Yezidis.

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.