Expert: Armenians of Ukraine expect Genocide recognition by Kyiv

April 24, 2011 - 14:06 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Head of Analitika.at.ua information analytical center Marat Hakobyan said that many civilized countries have expressed their clear stance on the Armenian Genocide, the first genocide of the 20th century.

Hopefully, the day will come when Ukraine will join them and recognize the Genocide, Hakobyan said.

“The process of the Armenian Genocide recognition in Ukraine started on May 19, 2005, when the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine declared April 24 the Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day. In five years, several regional and city councils applied to the Ukrainian authorities with a request to condemn the Armenian Genocide and recognize it legislatively.

On April 23, 2010, famous Ukrainian political analysts, scientists, public and political activists, as well as representatives of a range of national communities of Ukraine called on the country’s President and parliament to recognize the Armenian Genocide legislatively.

“Armenians of Ukraine expect a decision on the Genocide recognition by official Kyiv,” concluded Hakobyan.

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.