The Guardian: Britain sidesteps Armenian genocide recognition a century after killings

April 23, 2015 By administrator

1915 Turkish tools, for Armenian Genocide, Photograph: David Mdzinarishvili/REUTERS

Armenia and its tragic history has had an intensive blast of media coverage in the run-up to the April 24 centenary of what is now widely – though not universally – referred to as the genocide of 1915. Presidents Vladimir Putin and Francois Hollande will be in Yerevan representing Russia and France, the two most important countries to have risked Turkey’s wrath and use the G-word with reference to the mass deportations and killings in the final days of the Ottoman Empire. The US, which also does not use it, is sending the Treasury Secretary, Jack Lew. Britain will be represented by John Whittingdale, the Conservative chairman of the all party committee on Armenia.

No disrespect intended to Whittingdale, to the UK ambassador to Armenia or to the Bishop of London, who will also be there. But the level of UK representation is far below that of the three other permanent members of the UN security council. Another point of comparison is that the Prince of Wales is leading the UK delegation to the Gallipoli centenary commemoration on the same day. And the date for that, Armenians believe, was chosen deliberately by the Turks – long loyal Nato allies – to overshadow their own event at the Genocide Memorial in Yerevan.

Britain’s position on genocide recognition is not new. But documents released under the freedom of information act – though heavily redacted – shed light on an internal government debate 18 months ago about whether its policy should change. The outcome of the discussion – apparently between the embassy in Yerevan and the minister for Europe in London – was to continue the policy while taking a “forward-leaning” stance on participation in commemoration events. “But we should ensure that this is not mis-read as lack of recognition (in the wider sense) of the appalling events of 1915-16,” the anonymous official commented. “It would be right to participate more actively in 2015 centenary events, as well as continue efforts to promote reconciliation.” The foreign office insists that the presence of Whittingdale and co. does indeed represent more active involvement.

Ironically, back in May 1915, when the horrors of Armenian suffering in eastern Anatolia were being extensively reported, Britain, with its French and Russian allies, condemned what they called a “crime against humanity” – then a novel phrase. The modern position, however, is that it is not up to governments to decide what constitutes genocide. “The UK recognises as genocide only those events that have been found so by international courts (eg, Holocaust, Srebrenica, Rwanda) and this needs to dictate our approach on recognition,” the document notes. That view has been robustly challenged by Geoffrey Robertson, QC, whose arguments apparently galvanised the FCO into this internal discussion.

Another option was considered in 2013: to follow Russia, France and others and formally recognise the Armenian massacres as genocide – given the May 1915 statement and the preamble to the 1948 UN convention on genocide. That would “be received positively by both the Armenian government and the UK diaspora,” the document noted. It added: “However, this would be a significant and far-reaching change in HMG policy.” Tantalisingly, the next sentence has been redacted. So bizarrely, there is no mention of Turkey at all. Another FCO document on the issue, which reports on the decision of the Swedish parliament to adopt the G-word in 2010, refers to the “drastic effect” on relations between Stockholm and Ankara, including the cancellation of a visit by the then Turkish prime minister and now president Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Britain presumably fears similar retaliation by Turkey if it recognised the Armenian genocide. But freedom of information does not extend to having that obvious and embarrassing objection spelled out.

State Department representative under fire of Armenian Genocide questions

April 23, 2015 By administrator

State Department representative Marie Harf dodged the direct questions about the Armenian Genocide during the briefing in Washington on Wednesday.

Marie Harf admitted that “there are some who I think were hoping to hear some different language this year. We certainly understand their perspective.” However, she noted that the president consistently stated his views about what happened in 1915.

Responding to her remark, the reported added that there were certainly some people who wanted no change.

Asked whether President Obama believes what happened was a genocide, Marie Harf asked to address the question to the White House. State Department representative also dodged the questions about Obama’s campaign pledge to recognize the Armenian Genocide that was not honored.

“The President – and look, we all understand there are some who wanted to hear different language this year, and I do think we can expect that the President will issue a statement this year that marks the historical significance of the centennial, and as in past years, mourns the senseless loss of 1.5 million Armenian lives. So he will speak about this in some way, but I don’t think you should compare any of these issues. I think if you want to talk about Iran and the commitments the President’s made, we can talk about that separately,” Ms. Harf said.

The State Department official admitted “there were discussions inside the interagency about what to say”.

Responding to a remark that the United States never “had this issue in calling the Holocaust what it was,” Marie Harf said she was not going to compare those two events.

Finally asked whether Administration is basically submitting itself to a gag order from the Turks, she made it clear that they “make decisions on our own about what we say and how we talk about things.”

German president: Armenian killings were genocide

April 23, 2015 By administrator

President Gauck spoke on the eve of a debate in the German parliament on the issue

German President Joachim Gauck has described as “genocide” the killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks, a move likely to cause outrage in Turkey.

He was speaking on the eve of a debate in the German parliament on the issue.

The Armenian Church earlier canonised 1.5 million Armenians it says were killed in massacres and deportations by Ottoman Turks during World War One.

Turkey disputes the term “genocide“, arguing that there were many deaths on both sides during the conflict.

On Friday commemorations will mark the 100th anniversary of the killings.

German ‘responsibility’

Speaking at a church service in Berlin, President Gauck said: “The fate of the Armenians stands as exemplary in the history of mass exterminations, ethnic cleansing, deportations and yes, genocide, which marked the 20th Century in such a terrible way.”

Mr Gauck, who holds a largely ceremonial role, added that Germans also bore some responsibility “and in some cases complicity” concerning the “genocide of the Armenians”. Germany was an ally of the Ottoman Empire during World War One.

His comments come as the German parliament, the Bundestag, prepares to debate a motion on the 1915 massacres.

But instead of a clear statement of condemnation, politicians will discuss an opaque, tortuously-worded sentence, which aims to be unclear enough to keep everyone happy – with the sort of convoluted phrasing that the German language is so good at, the BBC’s Damien McGuinness in Berlin reports.

Germany joins Armenia genocide debate

Explosive issue

Earlier on Thursday, the Armenian Church said the aim of the canonisation ceremony near the capital Yerevan was to proclaim the martyrdom of those killed for their faith and homeland.

After the ceremony, bells tolled in Armenian churches around the world.

The beatification at the Echmiadzin Cathedral did not give the specific number of victims or their names.

It is the first time in 400 years that the Armenian Church has used the rite of canonisation.

The use of the word “genocide” to describe the killings is controversial. Pope Francis was rebuked recently by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for describing it as the “first genocide of the 20th Century”.

On Friday, a memorial service will be held in Turkey and its prime minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, has said the country will “share the pain” of Armenians.

However, he reiterated Turkey’s stance that the killings were not genocide.

“To reduce everything to a single word, to put responsibility through generalisations on the Turkish nation alone… is legally and morally problematic,” he said.

Mr Davutoglu did acknowledge the deportations, saying: “We once again respectfully remember and share the pain of grandchildren and children of Ottoman Armenians who lost their lives during deportation in 1915.”

What happened in 1915?

Hundreds of thousands of Armenians died in 1915 at the hands of the Ottoman Turks, whose empire was disintegrating.

Many of the victims were civilians deported to barren desert regions where they died of starvation and thirst. Thousands also died in massacres.

Armenia says up to 1.5 million people were killed. Turkey says the number of deaths was much smaller.

Most non-Turkish scholars of the events regard them as genocide – as do more than 20 states, including France, Germany, Canada and Russia, and various international bodies including the European Parliament.

Turkey rejects the term genocide, maintaining that many of the dead were killed in clashes during World War One, and that many ethnic Turks also suffered in the conflict.

Turkey’s bark is much worse than its bite. Erdogan’s Rage at Armenian Genocide Recognition Hurts the Turks

April 23, 2015 By administrator

The Turkish president’s ‘hot-headedness’ is becoming more and more a sideshow as the world recognizes the genocide, says Louis Fishman.

What is Turkey thinking?

That is the question some analysts are asking themselves in the days following Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s condemnation of Pope Francis I. Francis referred to the Armenian “Genocide” as one of the three greatest mass murders of the 20th century in a joint mass with Armenian priests. He grouped the Armenian Genocide with the Holocaust and Stalinism in the same breath. Just yesterday, Austria also recognized the Armenian Genocide, prompting Turkey to recall its ambassador.

As Erdogan has reacted in the past, he was furious. He said the Pope would be wise not to make the same mistake again. In that, Erdogan extended the same angry response he had used against France several years ago against one of the most popular social and political figures on the planet.

It is a public relations disaster says Professor Louis Fishman of Brooklyn College, who focuses on Turkish Affairs.

“Due to the elections, the ‘angry’ part was revived. But, it’s not like it used to be.”

That is the assessment of the International Crisis Group’s Nigar Göksel, who wrote this week, “The nationalist vote is up for grabs in this June’s general election, leaving the incumbent AKP especially wary of being seen as bowing to foreign parliamentary resolutions.”

Yet these reactions have not been isolated to election cycles. Generally speaking, Fishman emphasizes that “Turkey should understand its reaction is really bad for public relations.”

Yet paradoxically, Erdogan’s Islamist AKP party has been given a lot more credit recognizing anything happened at all to the Armenians than previous Turkish governments.

Even if the government refuses to recognize it as a genocide, there are groups within its supporters that do openly recognize it as a genocide,” says Fishman. “In fact, if one reads PM Davutoglu’s recent statement, it is clear that the government has taken steps in recognizing the injustice. However, of course, the words need to be met with actions.”

“Beginning last year, it expressed condolences to the Armenians on the anniversary of the killings,” says Amberin Zaman of the Economist. “Yet there is a strong whiff of political expediency about its magnanimity.”

But the politics cuts both ways. The main Kurdish HDP party in Turkey has formally apologized to Armenians for acts conducted by Kurds in the genocide. Again, political expediency is leading to an opening. But still, the Kurdish party is to the left of Erdogan, who is courting votes on the other side of the spectrum.

So does Erdogan represent an older way of thinking in Turkey?

“Let us remember that Erdogan is the President, and even if the full powers are vested in the PM, he does set the trend. There is no doubt that his hot-headed reactions do not help, and partially set the stage.”

“However, the recalling of ambassadors is a short-sighted policy and regardless of who setting the stage, this seems simply to be motivated by a flawed policy. ”

When asked if the Turkish president understood the ramifications of taking on such a massive figure like the Pope, Fishman said that he probably thought the Pope was a soft target.

Fishman is referring to the reverse effect the warning has had. Since Erdogan’s backlash at the Pope, the European Parliament has also voted in favor of recognizing the Armenian Genocide. The language referred several times to using “the commemoration of the centenary of the Armenian genocide” as a launching point for political reconciliation, but the message was clearer than ever that Europe wants that reconciliation to involve acknowledgement.

However, the fallout has its limits. President Obama is still hesitant to use the term, presumably because of Turkey’s strategic value in American efforts against ISIS or in any number of other regional issues.

Yet, people like the President of the United States and perhaps the Prime Minister of Israel might take into account that any fallout over this issue alone would likely be temporary (not withstanding other issues between Israel and Turkey).

When asked if the repercussions for Turkish public relations were quantifiable, Fishman said the Turks’ reaction is not having the impact President Erdogan would like it to have.

“To be frank, it seems that the world is no longer surprised by the short-sighted actions of the Turkish government. Many countries are thus dealing with it accordingly, knowing that Turkey’s bark is much worse than its bite.”

Source: israelnationalnews.com

NPR: Last Armenian Village In Turkey Keeps Silent About 1915 Slaughter

April 22, 2015 By administrator

Photo 12/Photo12/UIG/Getty Images

Armenian refugees on the deck of the French cruiser that rescued them in 1915 during the massacre of the Armenian populations in the Ottoman Empire. The photo does not specify precisely where the refugees were from. However, residents of Vakifli, the last remaining Armenian village in Turkey, were rescued by a French warship that year.

A hundred years ago this week, the Ottoman Empire began the killings and forced marches of Armenians in what most historians call the first genocide of the 20th century.

Turkey staunchly denies that label, saying the deaths — estimated by historians at around 1.5 million — were part of widespread ethnic fighting in a civil war.

Regardless of the label used, the result was destruction of virtually every Armenian community in the Ottoman Empire, which collapsed after the war. What was left of the country transitioned into the modern-day Republic of Turkey.

Today, Vakifli, in central southern Turkey near the border with Syria, is the only Armenian village that remains. Residents there are still hesitant to raise the past. Report NPR

The village — perched on a mountainside, with fragrant fruit trees, clear air, and stunning views of the Mediterranean Sea that are a draw for tourists — survived the massacres and forced marches with courage and luck a century ago.

But now, the village is facing another battle for survival. Most young people have fled the village for better opportunities in cities. The population has dwindled to 135 mostly elderly residents.

Silence is the survival strategy. Even as others mark the anniversary of their tragic history, the Armenians of Vakifli remain wary of public ceremonies here, fearing a Turkish backlash.

Cem Capar, chairman of the Foundation of the Vakifli Surp Asdvadzadzin Church, sums it up this way: “People come and ask, ‘What are your ideas about the Armenian genocide?’ And I say, ‘I don’t want to think about that.’ ”

On a walk from the church along the cobbled streets of the village, he stops to emphasize his point about the upcoming commemorations.

Politicians are exploiting Armenians’ history, Capar insists: “They are hurting us, and that’s why I don’t want to talk about it.”

Richard Hovannisian says the residents of Vakifli are inherently cautious when speaking to outsiders. Hovannisian was born into an Armenian family that escaped the massacres; he’s now a scholar of Armenian history at UCLA.

“It’s very touchy being an Armenian in Turkey,” he says. The elderly residents of Vakifli have concluded that “any commemoration would not be good for them.”

But Vakifli’s history is dramatic. Residents fought against the Ottoman onslaught in a story that later was recounted in a novel, The Forty Days Of Musa Dagh, which was followed by a movie.

Vakifli residents, along with those in surrounding villages, headed up Moses Mountain, or Musa Dagh, and held out until a passing French warship spotted the banner they had hoisted: “Christians in distress: Rescue.”

The French warship evacuated more than 5,000 Armenians. They only returned after the war when the area came under Syrian control. When the province became part of the Turkish Republic in 1939, many Armenians fled again. Only the villagers of Vakifli stayed on and eventually became Turkish citizens.

“Turkey is my country; yes, I’m an Armenian who lives in Turkey,” says Capar.

In the runup to the centennial, Turkey’s official position has only hardened. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has become more combative, challenging the pope and European governments that have called the events of 1915 a genocide.

The controversy tests Capar’s identity as an Armenian and as a Turk. To an outsider, he appears to defend Turkey’s position.

“Any attack that happens to Turkey, I take it as an attack on myself,” he tells a group of journalists who have come for a visit to Vakifli.

Hovannisian, who has often visited Vakifli, says the residents “don’t want to be regarded as disloyal.”

Identity is a complicated matter. Everyone in Vakifli is proud to be descendants of Armenians who resisted the brutal Ottoman campaign. Mayor Berc Kartun asks if I’ve seen the movie about Vakifli’s history — but also points out that Vakifli’s survival now depends on the generosity of the Turkish government.

“We cannot deny that our government is helping us a lot,” he says.

The restoration of the Armenian church, repairs to the roads, and an organic farming plan are all government programs. There is enough economic opportunity to keep his son, Haroot, 28, from going elsewhere.

But his generation feels the acute shadow of history

“We are a small village — we are a minority here,” Haroot says. “That is why I feel the same pressure, the same as my father.”

Residents say the Turkish government now protects Christians, offering refuge to neighboring Syrian Christians fleeing Islamist radicals, including some who have been sheltered in Vakifli. Still, the 100-year-old history, Vakifli’s legacy, will not be commemorated here.

“It is an old-age rest home,” says Hovannisian. There is not even a school in the village, he says — the kids have to be bused outside for education.

It’s part of the Turkish policy to disperse Armenians in the province, he adds. So, in the long shadow of history, the Armenians in the last remaining village in Turkey have to wonder how long they can keep their heritage alive.

The Guardian: A small country but a big nation: how genocide shaped the Armenia of today

April 22, 2015 By administrator

As Armenians mark the beginning of violence that left 1.5 million dead, Turkey’s lack of contrition leaves descendants struggling to reconcile loss and renewal

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Mount Ararat, Photograph: Maxim Shipenkov/EPA

In the beginning you hardly notice them: little lapel buttons in purple, yellow and black to mourn the dead and a lost homeland. But then there are the posters, T-shirts, umbrellas, bumper stickers, even cakes, all bearing the same forget-me-not flower designed to commemorate the tragedy of a nation.

It is the symbol of the centenary of the Armenian genocide of 1915, being marked this week in solemn ceremonies in Yerevan and wherever in the world this ancient people fled in the wake of the mass atrocities suffered in the dying days of the Ottoman empire.

This newly invented tradition, a poppy-like throwback to the killing fields of eastern Anatolia, has triggered complaints about commercialisation. But it has caught on. Across Armenia, in schools and homes, and as far away as the diaspora community of Glendale, California, children have picked up crayons and scissors to make their own paper flowers or have planted the real thing in remembrance of the horrors that beset their forebears.

Rosa and Tamara, Yerevan sisters of 10 and six, wrote a name on the back of their homemade forget-me-nots: Raphael Lemkin, the Polish -Jewish scholar who coined the word genocide in 1944 – and cited the Armenians as a seminal example.

Source: The Guardian

Syrian Parliament Speaker Calls for Genocide Recognition

April 22, 2015 By administrator

YEREVAN—On the sidelines of a global forum on crimes against humanity and genocide being held in Yerevan, Armenia’s President Serzh Sarkisian met with Syria’s Speaker of Parliament Mohammad Jihad al-Laham, who called for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

Sarkisian welcomed the dignitary to his country and thanked him for his participation in the forum, which, according to Sarkisian, once again speaks to the “sincere respect of the friendly Syrian people toward the Armenian people.” The President expressed his gratitude to the People’s Council of Syria, as the Syrian parliament is called, for its steps aimed at the recognition of the Armenian Genocide. The President praised the special session of the People’s Council of Syria held in March in connection with the Armenian Genocide and the influential speech delivered by Speaker al-Laham.

Al-Laham conveyed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s warm regards and best wishes to President Sarkisian and stressed that Syrians have a special attitude towards Armenia and the Armenian people. He noted that the participation of his delegation in the Yerevan forum bears witness to the fact that Syria recognizes the Armenian Genocide committed by the Ottoman Empire. Speaker al-Laham said that the global forum, titled “Against the Crime of Genocide,” is a good opportunity to mobilize the efforts of the international community and prevent the repetition of such crimes in the future.

President Sarkisian lamented the internal political situation prevailing in Syria for more than four years now and expressed the hope that the friendly country of Syria will grow stronger as a result of this hardship and will manage to ensure domestic peace and stability.

At the meeting, the parties also attached value to the strengthening of inter-parliamentary ties which lie at the core of relations between Armenia and Syria.

Turkey Stops Serb Leader from Traveling to Armenia

April 22, 2015 By administrator

SARAJEVO (Daily Star)—Turkish authorities on Wednesday stopped Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik’s airplane from flying over Turkish territory, preventing him from attending a ceremony to mark the centenary of the Armenian Genocide in Yerevan, Dodik’s office reports.

“Although all authorizations for this flight had been obtained, Turkish authorities did not allow the flight over their territory,” Dodik’s cabinet said in a statement to the Daily Star of Lebanon.

The plane carrying the president of Republika Srpska, a Serb-run entity of Bosnia, returned to his capital Banja Luka after spending four and a half hours at an airport in eastern Bulgaria, waiting in vain for authorization to fly over Turkish territory, the statement said.

Hundreds of thousands are expected to flock to genocide memorial in Armenia’s capital Yerevan on Friday to mark the start of a tragedy that still stirs deep divisions.

Ex-Soviet Armenia and the huge Armenian diaspora worldwide have battled for decades to get the World War I massacres at the hands of Ottoman forces between 1915 and 1918 recognized as a genocide. But Turkey rejects the term or any responsibility for crimes against humanity and has fought against the recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

French President Francois Hollande and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin are among those expected to attend Friday’s ceremonies.

Earlier this month Dodik submitted to the Republika Srpska’s parliament a declaration recognizing the Armenian Genocide.

The legislative body will likely adopt the declaration in the coming days.

But Bosnian Muslim political leaders, who view Turkey as their main international ally, have criticized the initiative.

Turkish History Professor Taner Akcam, Said was “a shame” that Obama again avoid the term Genocide

April 22, 2015 By administrator

Noah Rayman @noahrayman,

President Barack Obama won’t use the term “genocide” in remarks Friday marking the 100th anniversary of the killing of more than a million Armenians, officials said Tuesday, igniting disappointment from critics who say the President is catering too much to Turkey. Report Time

Activists had hoped that the President would realize a 2008 campaign pledge and use the term for the first time in office, particularly as other governments and world leaders, including Pope Francis, have referred to the massacres as “genocide” in recent days.

But in a meeting with Armenian American leaders on Tuesday, administration officials said Obama would not use the term. “President Obama’s surrender to Turkey represents a national disgrace. It is, very simply, a betrayal of truth, a betrayal of trust,” ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian said in a statement Tuesday.

The Turkish government has consistently rejected the term—President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned the Pope not to repeat the “mistake” of using it—and the White House has long been reluctant to risk relations with a key ally in a tumultuous region.

Taner Akcam, a history professor at Clark University who was one of the first Turkish academics to openly call the killings “genocide,” said it was “a shame” that Obama was set to again avoid the term.

“The United States is always emphasizing its exceptionalism in supporting liberal values and human rights at home and across the world,” Akcam said. “But Obama and the Americans should also recognize that one should uphold human rights not only when it’s convenient.”

Impunity begets more crimes – Serzh Sargsyan’s address at global anti-genocide forum

April 22, 2015 By administrator

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has delivered a speech at the International Social and Political Global Forum against the Crime of Genocide, calling for support to the prevention of the universal crime against humanity and considering its impunity a pre-requisite for more crimes.

His full address is presented below:

“Distinguished guests,

“Dear participants of the global forum,

“I welcome you at the International Social and Political Global Forum against the Crime of Genocide. Thank you for accepting our invitation, and your most important contribution. The impressive and venerable list of this forum’s participants gives us hope that the forum will become an important platform to comprehensively discuss, and further improve the mechanisms for the prevention of genocide that is the crime of all crimes. I strongly believe that the remarks delivered, and the views expressed here will trigger a broad international reaction that in its turn may produce an invaluable impact on the raising of global awareness on this key issue.

“The international organizations’ agendas, diplomatic efforts exerted by the small and large states alike, international media’s headlines have recently been specifically addressing one of the tremendous challenges humanity faces. I speak of the Middle East, the modern civilization’s cradle, where the surging extremism and intolerance resulted in violence and, at some places, even in genocidal acts against a number minorities. This is yet another warning to the international community alerting that the threat of the crimes of genocide, and other crimes against humanity, has not been eliminated, and requires consolidated and consistent efforts by the international organizations, states and civil society.

“Dear participants,

“This forum is one of the central events to mark the Armenian Genocide Centennial. As you are aware, commemoration events are being held in different countries of the world, supported by the four fundamental pillars. Those are remembrance, gratitude, prevention, and revival. These are also the messages that the Republic of Armenia, and Armenian Diaspora communities that emerged because of the Genocide in different countries wish to deliver to the international community and coming generations upon the Centennial. These four notions are also deeply symbolic for the commemoration of all other crimes of genocide committed throughout the human history.

“One of the topics to be discussed during the forum refers to the role of the memory and truth in overcoming the consequences of genocide. That is, truly, the most accurate way to pin it down since, as far as the crimes of genocide are concerned, the remembrance and contemporary reality are unavoidably interlaced. Genocide is a crime of such a vast scale, with such a severe damage inflicted that even many decades later its impact is felt by the descendants of both the victims and perpetrators, as well as by the entire international community.

“For us, Armenians, remembrance is a moral obligation and, at the same time, inalienable individual and collective right. It is our moral duty and right to commemorate the one and a half milion of victims, inhumane sufferings endured by the hundreds of thousands, loss of the material and spiritual heritage accumulated by our people throughout millenia, extermination of the substantial part of the early 20th century Armenian intelligentsia, who mainly resided in Constantinople, that led to the mass slaughter. It is because of this cohesion of the right and duty that we have adopted the motto “I remember and demand” for the commemoration events.

“It is impossible to disagree with the Holocaust survivor and Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel, who notes that “to forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time.” Remembrance, meanwhile, is the best remedy for the descendants of those who perpetrated genocide to face their own history, and the best oportunity to restore the justice.

“The crimes of genocide – Medz Yeghern, Shoah, those commited in Cambodia, Rwanda, Darfur and elsewhere, shall be commemorated by both the successors of the victims and perpetrators. The path to reconciliation is not paved by denial, but rather by the consciousness of memory.

“Dear participants,

“Perpetration of genocide is both an aftermath of the inner developments in a given state or society, and failure of the entire system of international relations. It has been demonstrated on numerous occasions that impunity is a prerequisite to the recurrence of the crime of genocide. The Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust were committed in the course of, respectively, the World War One and Two. The international community proved unable to prevent them and other crimes of genocide. Remembrance is the only possible way to reveal nowadays the enormous losses that the global civilization has suffered as in the aftermath of the crimes of genocide. It is impossible to describe by words the scope and level of the distortion of human values that resulted in the initiation of such a heinous crime.

“In our recollections of the crimes of genocide a specific significance has been reserved the notion of gratitude in order to acknowledge the human virtue that saved thousands of living souls. There have been numerous narratives, such as the activities of Irena Sendler and Raoul Wallenberg during the Holocaust, Paul Rusesabagina during the Rwandan Genocide, Van Chhuon during the Cambodian Genocide; they all ensured the physical security of the people they rescued, and inspired hope at the times of overwhelming domination of cruelty and hatred.

“The Armenian people has not forgotten and is grateful to those Kurds and Turks, who covertly saved lives of their Armenian neighbors. We are indebted to the Arab people, who gave shelter to those, who had narrowly escaped the Turkish yataghan, as well as the Russians, Americans and Europeans, who took care of the Armenian orphans or partook in the humanitarian efforts.
Equally, our gratitude is well-earned by the public figures, clergymen, missionaries, diplomats, and those nations that demonstrated righteousness and civic courage since their actions had been guided by the noble ideas of humanism.

“Dear participants,

“Alongside with our consistent efforts toward the recognition, condemnation of the Genocide and elimination of its consequences, the prevention of the crimes of genocide is yet another key mission on our foreign policy agenda. Needless to say, these efforts are interrelated since the recognition and condemnation of the past crimes of genocide play invaluable role in the prevention of the crimes against humanity. For that reason we attach utmost importance to the genocide prevention, and emphasize once again our firm resolution and political will in combating crimes incompatible with the human civilization.
Armenia’s active engagement with the international community’s efforts toward the prevention of the crime of genocide has been time and again demonstrated through the relevant UN resolutions adopted by consensus throughout years upon our initiative. The most recent one was adopted in March of this year by the United Nation’s Human Rights Council. The resolution, inter alia, condemned the international public denial of crimes of genocide and crimes against humanity since public denials created a risk of further violations and undermined efforts to prevent genocide.

“Denial, in conjunction with the creation of genocidal environment and extermination itself, is a vertex of that very triangle. The denial of genocide is fraught with inciting a new xenophobic wave, and is often accompanied by intolerance and justification of the already commited crimes of genocide. However, under strong international pressure denial aqcuires a seemingly softer yet eqaually dangerous nature overshadowed or dissolved in the history revision campaigns.

“Dear ladies and gentlemen,

“It is unambiguous that considerable contribution has been made so far by the international law experts and historians toward the legal definition of the term “genocide,” and development of the punishment mechanisms for this crime. Likewise unambiguous has been the contribution of the social and political circles, journalists, and parliamentarians, who without any hesitation very often took the lead in that respect. The aforesaid is absolutely applicable also to the case of the Armenian Genocide. In 1915-16 the world press was replete with horrendous articles describing the Armenian massacres. The New York Times covered the issue extensively publishing some 145 articles in 1915 alone with headlines like “Appeal to the Ottoman Empire to Stop Massacres.” The newspaper characterized the crime perpetrated against the Armenian people as “systematic,” “authorized,” and “organized by the government.”
On May 24, 1915 the Allied Powers, Great Britain, France, and Russia jointly issued a statement, describing the crime perpetrated against the Armenian people as a “crime against humanity and civilization”, which was the first time ever that definition was aired on such a high level.

“Subsequently, these notions were introduced into the fundamental language to define that crime – the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, and other most important documents of the international law.

“The recurrence of the crimes against humanity and genocide has also been caused by the lack of adequate adequacy, consistency, unity and determination of the international community for the recognition, and condemnation of the committed crimes of genocide, as well as for the elimination of the genocidal environment and denial. Parliaments and their members, as cornerstones of the democratic values, have a significant role to play in that regard.

“I deem it important that in the framework of this conference a special discussion will be held on the invaluable role of the legislators. Their messages, decisions and statements are significant both for the restoration of justice, and for the emancipation of the given societies, especially the coming generations from the clutches of the consequences of the evil of genocide.

“I welcome and value the two documents adopted by the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia this year – the Statement Condemning the Genocide of the Greeks and Assyrians Perpetrated by the Ottoman Turkey, and the amendments introduced in the Law on Holidays and Memorial Days. In accordance to the latter December 9 is designated as the day for condemnation and prevention of the crimes of genocide, which is highly symbolic, as the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide had been adopted on the very that day.

“Ladies and gentlemen,

“In this context revival is the last one amongst the most important messages of ours. A hundred years ago the Armenian people survived through the darkest and brutal page of their history. The calamity that befell upon our ancestors was indeed unprecedented by its scale. Today, a hundred years thenceforth, the Armenian people commemorates its martyrs, and presents itself to the world with the independent state, emancipated Artsakh, and viable Diaspora that strives to preserve the Armenian identity and to develop Armenia proper. Now our overarching objective is to contribute anew to the development of universal civilization.

“All those achievements have been based upon the revival of the Armenian people. Perhaps, it has been the demonstration of the most salient feature of our people – upholding the faith toward the universal human values, in spite of all the complications and calamities, and the ability to find the strength within to build and create anew. Yet in 1918 the Armenian statehood, lost centuries ago, had been restored. Later on, during the Soviet times the Armenian people created numerous spiritual and tangible values thus partaking in the enrichment of the world scientific and cultural repository. The revival of the Armenian people culminated in the 1991 national awakening with the accession of the newly independent Republic of Armenia to the international family of sovereign states.

“The Armenian nation revived not only in the homeland, but also in Diaspora. The sons and daughters of Armenia, who had found refuge in many countries of the world because of the Armenian Genocide, successfully integrated in the societies that adopted them, and meanwhile preserved their Armenian identity, their sense of deep bond with the Armenian homeland.

“Therefore, on the Armenian Genocide Centennial we declare confidently in broad daylight that the perpetrators of the Genocide failed to achieve what they planned. Moreover, our response to the attempt to annihilate the Armenian nation is the state building, our ongoing revival that is now no longer reversible.

“Dear participants,

“In conclusion, I would like to reiterate that today’s Forum, along with the discussions to be held, shall send the following powerful and pragmatic message to the international community: the crimes of genocide have not in the least ceased to be a threat to the humanity, and the overcoming of their consequences, and prevention shall become a top priority. The lessons of the past simply oblige us to do so. The civilized humanity shall joint its efforts to eradicate eventually the evil of genocide, and its underlying circumstances.

“It is a well-known truth that everything is interconnected in the universe. It is also true for the civilization since humanity establishes itself as a harmonious and complete continuum within the patchwork of its diverse races, nations, cultures, and religions. Genocide is a crime that is intended to tear a branch off from the tree of the global civilization. The loss of any branch may be fatal to the rest that tree.
Hence, being determined to state “Never again” let’s make our modest contribution towards the universal objective that unites us all – a more adequate accomplishment of the international community’s mission to prevent the crime of genocide.

“Once again, I thank you for being with us in Yerevan these days, and wish you a fruitful work.

“Thank you.”