RPA: there would be no revolution if Obama used Genocide term

April 24, 2010 - 23:27 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Current process shouldn’t be linked to Obama’s using the term Genocide, as recognition of Armenian Genocide by a number of foreign parliaments suggests progress in the issue, RPA parliamentary group member Karen Avagyan stated.

As he told PanARMENIAN.Net reporter the reasons behind non-recognition of Genocide in some countries are purely political. “After all, there would be no revolution if Obama used Genocide term. We’ll proceed with the policy of international recognition of Genocide to hold Turkey responsible in accordance with international legislation,” he emphasized.

In his annual address to US Armenian community President Obama once again termed the Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Empire as “Mets Yeghern”.

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.