ROBERT KOCHARIAN THANKED STATES WHICH RECOGNIZED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

PanARMENIAN.Net - "I would like to thank all those countries, which at different levels have addressed the issue of the Armenian Genocide and have recognized it, as well as all those individuals and organizations that have contributed towards that recognition", Armenian President Robert Kocharian stated today at the opening ceremony of "Ultimate Crime, Ultimate Challenge. Human Rights and Genocide" International Conference. "The role of Diaspora in that regard is absolutely inestimable. By such recognition states also say that "no" to all possible future genocides. The number of victims of the Armenian Genocide could be incomparably higher and the fate of survivors much more severe if not for a number of outstanding individuals, including Morgenthau, Bruce, Nansen, Verfel, Bryusov, Wegner, Lepsius, and many others, who stood by our people in those terrible days. The Republic of Armenia as an independent state, has to put its position straight forward: recognition of the Armenian Genocide is also important for prevention of future possible genocides. Recognition is important for Armenian-Turkish relations, since it can give answers to many question that exist between our two peoples, it would allow to look ahead. We remember the past with pain but without hatred. For us it is difficult to comprehend the response of the Turkish side, which is represented not only by the denial of the past but also by the blockade of nowadays Armenia. We have come across a paradox that still needs to be apprehended. The perpetrator, not the victim is furious with the past. We are confident that international recognition of the Genocide will help Turkey to come to terms with its own past and to overcome the complex which is inherited from generation to generation and which creates additional complexities in the relations of our neighboring states", the Armenian President stated.