Aram I: Turkey recognition central to demands

PanARMENIAN.Net - Recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Turkey remains at the core of Armenian demands, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I said in his message marking the genocide anniversary.

“We reject any diplomatic or economic relations with Turkey and Azerbaijan that would contradict our supreme national rights. Recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Turkey, the return of the people of Artsakh, and the restoration of autonomy with international guarantees, protection of religious and historical monuments, and the release of Armenian prisoners in Baku by Azerbaijan remain the foundations of our demands,” Aram I said.

He added that Armenian claims must not retreat.

“No matter how much time distances us from 1915, the Armenian Genocide must never be overshadowed in the national consciousness of the Armenian people. We must continue to remember the massacres of our fathers and mothers, the caravans of death, our martyrs left unburied in Deir ez-Zor, the slaughter of our intellectuals, the burning of our villages. We must remember the Genocide committed against the Armenian people.

I do not believe there is a single Armenian on this planet whose blood, identity, and consciousness are not intertwined with the Armenian Genocide; otherwise, it would be a denial of Armenian identity,” Aram I said.