Turkey preparing alternatives in response to Armenian Genocide resolution

March 24, 2010 - 18:14 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey is preparing alternatives in response to passage of Armenian Genocide resolution in foreign parliaments.

According to Turkish Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Burak Ozugergin, in future Turkey might resort to the standards of international law. As he noted, parliament is not the right place to discuss historic issues.

The resolution can have a negative effect on bilateral relations, TRT-Russian cited the spokesman as saying.

On March 4, 2010, with a vote of 23 to 22, the House Foreign Relations Committee successfully passed House Resolution 252 (H. Res. 252) pushing the Resolution in Congress for a final vote yet to be scheduled.

On March 11, 2010, the Swedish Parliament recognized the Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Empire in 1915 by 131 votes in favor and 130 against,

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.