Armenian Genocide May Be Included in Dutch Textbooks

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenians of Holland intend to include the topic of the Armenian Genocide in textbooks. Minister of Immigration and Integration of Holland Rita Verdonk, known for her strict policy regarding foreigners, along with Armenian organizations has proposed to include the topic of the Armenian Genocide in textbooks, as well as to introduce a punishment system for websites, which would deny Armenian Genocide, reports the Yerkir.



Representatives of the Federation of Armenian Organizations in the Netherlands (FAON) met today with Minister of Immigration and Integration Rita Verdonk. As the FAON told the PanARMENIAN.Net earlier, the reason for this meeting was connected with the commotion after the removal of three MP candidates of Turkish descent from the candidates' lists of CDA (Christian Democrat Party) and PvdA (Labor Party) for publicly denying the Armenian Genocide. In response to that Minister Verdonk underlined that in the international context the Dutch government has raised the Armenian question repeatedly, both in EU framework and in the bilateral contacts with Turkey and will continue to do so. The Armenian Federation, that got the ball rolling on the matter of the MP candidates through a letter to the CDA, expressed concern towards the minister on the one-sided way in which particularly Turks in the Netherlands are informed about this episode of the history, which hampers their integration into Dutch society. Moreover, because of current Turkish legislation, it is in fact impossible for Turks, also those living in the Netherlands, to give other opinions on the Armenian Genocide than the official Turkish point of view. The FAON for this reason urged the minister to adapt the education program on this subject. By means of objective material, attention should be paid to this history on different levels, as is the case in neighboring countries, in one package together with the Holocaust and other genocides. The Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies in Amsterdam can play an important role in this matter. Minister Verdonk promised that she will transmit the request of the FAON concerning the adaptation of the history curriculum on this subject to her colleague of Education, Culture and Sciences. The minister subscribes to the need of sound provision of information on the matter.