International process of Armenian Genocide recognition will continue

April 23, 2010 - 16:07 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - On the occasion of the 95th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy joins all the democratic forces and the European Armenian communities to pay homage to the 1,500,000 victims of the 20th century’s first genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman government, the EAFJD said in a press release.

Although it has been attested by a huge majority of historians and recognized by tens of Parliaments and international institutions in the world, this genocide still remains unpunished and denied by successive Turkish governments.

The European Armenian Federation states that, whatever the political and economic threats Turkey makes on the countries which recognize this genocide, the international process of recognition will continue until the recognition by the Turkish State itself.

Aware of the moral and material prejudices generated by the genocide, the European Armenian Federation affirms that as for any crime against humanity, the process of reconciliation between the Armenian people and Turkey will have to pass by the re-establishment of the truth, the recognition and the morals and material reparation.

On April 24th, the truth of the extermination of the Armenian people will be commemorated in Armenia, throughout the world and in Europe in particular, where a big number of survivors have found refuge for more than 90 years.

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.