Armenia welcomes Italian parliament's Genocide motion

April 12, 2019 - 10:20 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia welcomes the decision adopted by Italy's Chamber of Deputies with regards to the Armenian Genocide, which reaffirms the country's commitments and obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday, April 11.

"The decision adopted by the Parliament of Italy is yet another important input to the efforts of the international community to respect and restore the rights of the Armenian people who suffered the Genocide," the statement says.

"The act of raising of awareness of the Armenian Genocide by the Italian Parliament is an important message aimed at the prevention of genocides and crimes against humanity."

The Lower House of Italy's parliament on Wednesday approved a motion calling on the Italian government to officially recognise the Armenian Genocide and raise the profile of the issue at the international level.

Armenians commemorate the mass killings on April 24 because on that date in 1915 a group of Armenian intellectuals was rounded up and assassinated in Constantinople by the Ottoman government. On April 24, Armenians worldwide will be commemorating the 104th anniversary of the Genocide which continued until 1923. Some three dozen countries, hundreds of local government bodies and international organizations have so far recognized the killings of 1.5 million Armenians as Genocide. Turkey denies to this day.

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.