Deir ez-Zor liberation important in view of Armenian Genocide: Aram I

September 8, 2017 - 13:03 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - His Holiness Aram I has said that the liberation of Deir ez-Zor is important for the Armenian people taking into account that 1.5 million Armenians were killed in the Genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire, with hundreds of thousands of them being marched to death to Deir ez-Zor.

Aram I on Thursday, September 7 met UN special envoy for Syria Steffan de Mistura at the Palais des Nations, the main building of the United Nations Office at Geneva.

Also attending the meeting were Prof. Teni Perri-Simonian, president of the Swiss Armenian Foundation: ARMENOFAS and Rev. Bedros Manuelian, the head of Information and Communication department at the Catholicosate of Holy See of Cilicia.

At the meeting, the sides discussed and assessed the current situation in Syria.

De Mistura revealed his viewpoint regarding peace-building and negotiations in the war-torn Middle Eastern country, while His Holiness welcomed the gradual establishment of peace in Syria and noted that the liberation of Deir ez-Zor had an important significance for Armenians as it symbolizes the Armenian Genocide which was planned and executed by Ottoman Turkey.

Some three dozen states, hundreds of regional government bodies and international organizations have so far recognized the Genocide. Turkey denies to this day.

Talking about the rehabilitation and rebuilding process of Syrian Armenian community, His Holiness stated that the community has already embarked on the process of identifying its priorities for community building.

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.