Special committee instituted to promote acknowledgement of Armenian Genocide

April 23, 2011 - 17:44 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - By the decree of the Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, a governmental committee was created to promote the international acknowledgement and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide and coordinate the events in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of massacres.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan is appointed as the head of the committee.

A number of instructions were given to Armenia’s diplomatic representations as well as Armenia’s National Academy of Sciences.

Armenian Foreign Ministry and Diaspora Ministry were instructed to assist in formation of Diaspora coordinating commissions. The Embassies, general consulates and representations of Armenia in international organisations were assigned to intensify efforts towards the recognition of the Genocide.

By the presidential decree, the first session of the committee is due May 30, 2011 in Yerevan, presidential press service reported.

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.