Armenia has to be actively involved in international process of Genocide recognition

March 24, 2010 - 18:33 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - I beg to differ from RPA representatives, who maintain that Armenian Genocide recognition issue in US is an internal matter, ARF Dashnaktsutyun parliamentary group secretary Artyusha Shakhbazyan said.

As he noted at joint news conference in Yerevan with RPA parliamentary group member Sukias Avetisyan, Armenia has to be actively involved in international process of Genocide recognition. "We have to continue drawing international community attention to Genocide recognition issue to cause Turkey give the fact more thought," he noted.

Sukias Avetisyan, in turn, stated that recognition of Genocide in any country provides Armenia with additional leverage of pressure on Turkey.

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.

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.