SOONER OR LATER TURKS WILL REPENT FOR ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Campaign on international recognition of the Armenian Genocide continues to broaden
The Armenians all over the world marked the tragic events of 1915 on April 24. 88 years have passed from the day when the Ottoman Empire government implemented the plan of physical elimination of the population of Western Armenia. But up to now the world community has not given an assessment to one of the cruelest crimes in the history of the humanity – the Genocide of Armenians. However, we are coming closer and closer to the recognition of this fact.
The year 2001 was very important in this context. Then there was a decline because of the consequences of the terrorist acts of September 11. Now we’ll try to describe the events taken place during the last year. Let’s start from America, from the position of which depends a lot.
A year ago in his traditional message to people the U.S. President avoided using the word “genocide” saying “a horrifying tragedy”. Such a formulation could not satisfy the American Armenians, to whom George Bush promised to recognize the fact of the Genocide before the elections. This time, while trying to find a formulation, George Bush underwent an unprecedented pressure from Congressmen insisting on his fulfillment of the promise. 167 members of the House of Representatives signed a letter addressed to Bush urging him to use the tern “genocide”.
In early April congressmen George Radanovich and Adam Shiff submitted to the consideration of their colleagues a draft law condemning the genocides taken place in XX century – Cambodia, Rwanda, as well as the Holocaust. Though it does not contain a direct condemnation of Turkey, in Ankara they understand that adoption of such a document will mean recognition of the genocide o Armenians. This, in fact, is an effort to bring in circulation the modified variant of the “Armenian resolution” which was withdrawn from the agenda of the House of Representatives in 2000. Now it is more difficult for the Turkish lobby to resist to the “Armenian group” of congress, because its number has reached 123.
The Armenian lobbyists continue to work hardly only in Washington but also in the states. In 131 the fact of the genocide has been recognized on the level of legislative bodies.
In Canada the fact of the genocide was recognized and condemned by the Supreme Chamber of the parliament. We can count on the re-discussion of the issue by the Canadian legislators. The same concerns the Swiss parliamentarians. 115 from 200 members of the Swiss parliament have signed a document supporting the draft law foreseeing the recognition of the Armenian genocide. The Armenian National Committee of Europe continues to work with the Parliamentarians of almost all the European states. The legislative bodies of Russia, France, Italy, Sweden, Belgium, Greece, Cyprus, and Vatican already recognized the genocide. Altogether, 14 countries have condemned the government of Ottoman Turkey.
The interest of the international organizations towards the events of 1915 is evident. A year ago the European parliament adopted a resolution on the genocide of Armenians. This time the European legislators demanded that the recognition of the fact of genocide become one of the main conditions for Turkey’s membership in the European Union. The verdict of the International Center of Transitional Justice announced in February was very important. It confirms that “the mass murders of 1,5 millions of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire are laying under the international determination of the genocide”. The Chairman of the Parliament Assembly of NATO Rafael Estrella said in Yerevan: “The events taken place in 1915 in Turkey are to be qualified as genocide”.
We would like to finish this list reminding about the productive activity of the Turkish organizations “Union against Genocide”. It is a tradition that the head of this organization Ali Ertem marks the anniversaries of this tragedy in Yerevan, together with the generation of the victims of the crimes committed in the beginning of last century. The activity of Ertem and hundreds of Turks – members of his organization allows us to hope that the day when the Turkish society will recognize the fact of the genocide and will repent is not very far away.
A year ago in his traditional message to people the U.S. President avoided using the word “genocide” saying “a horrifying tragedy”. Such a formulation could not satisfy the American Armenians, to whom George Bush promised to recognize the fact of the Genocide before the elections. This time, while trying to find a formulation, George Bush underwent an unprecedented pressure from Congressmen insisting on his fulfillment of the promise. 167 members of the House of Representatives signed a letter addressed to Bush urging him to use the tern “genocide”.
In early April congressmen George Radanovich and Adam Shiff submitted to the consideration of their colleagues a draft law condemning the genocides taken place in XX century – Cambodia, Rwanda, as well as the Holocaust. Though it does not contain a direct condemnation of Turkey, in Ankara they understand that adoption of such a document will mean recognition of the genocide o Armenians. This, in fact, is an effort to bring in circulation the modified variant of the “Armenian resolution” which was withdrawn from the agenda of the House of Representatives in 2000. Now it is more difficult for the Turkish lobby to resist to the “Armenian group” of congress, because its number has reached 123.
The Armenian lobbyists continue to work hardly only in Washington but also in the states. In 131 the fact of the genocide has been recognized on the level of legislative bodies.
In Canada the fact of the genocide was recognized and condemned by the Supreme Chamber of the parliament. We can count on the re-discussion of the issue by the Canadian legislators. The same concerns the Swiss parliamentarians. 115 from 200 members of the Swiss parliament have signed a document supporting the draft law foreseeing the recognition of the Armenian genocide. The Armenian National Committee of Europe continues to work with the Parliamentarians of almost all the European states. The legislative bodies of Russia, France, Italy, Sweden, Belgium, Greece, Cyprus, and Vatican already recognized the genocide. Altogether, 14 countries have condemned the government of Ottoman Turkey.
The interest of the international organizations towards the events of 1915 is evident. A year ago the European parliament adopted a resolution on the genocide of Armenians. This time the European legislators demanded that the recognition of the fact of genocide become one of the main conditions for Turkey’s membership in the European Union. The verdict of the International Center of Transitional Justice announced in February was very important. It confirms that “the mass murders of 1,5 millions of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire are laying under the international determination of the genocide”. The Chairman of the Parliament Assembly of NATO Rafael Estrella said in Yerevan: “The events taken place in 1915 in Turkey are to be qualified as genocide”.
We would like to finish this list reminding about the productive activity of the Turkish organizations “Union against Genocide”. It is a tradition that the head of this organization Ali Ertem marks the anniversaries of this tragedy in Yerevan, together with the generation of the victims of the crimes committed in the beginning of last century. The activity of Ertem and hundreds of Turks – members of his organization allows us to hope that the day when the Turkish society will recognize the fact of the genocide and will repent is not very far away.
