Yerevan will host a presentation of the “1915: The Armenian Genocide” book, authored by Hassan Cemal, the grandson of the Genocide orchestrator Cemal Pasha.
The event will be held December 11 in the framework of the Civilitas Foundation project Climbing the Mountain.
A prominent Turkish journalist and writer, Hasan Cemal was the Chief Editor of the Cumhuriyet daily, and columnist for Sabah and Milliyet daily papers. He extensively covered the Kurdish issue and has been criticized by the Turkish government for his publications.
In 2008, after a visit to the Genocide Memorial in Yerevan, Hasan Cemal left a note in the commemorative book, stating that the denial of the 1915 atrocities spells complicity in this crime against humanity. In his book released in 2012, Hasan Cemal highlights his personal experience of going from the Genocide denial to the recognition of the tragedy.
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, the Italian Chamber of Deputies, majority of U.S. states, parliaments of Greece, Cyprus, Argentina, Belgium and Wales, National Council of Switzerland, Chamber of Commons of Canada, Polish Sejm, Vatican, European Parliament and the World Council of Churches.
The Protocols aimed at normalization of bilateral ties and opening of the border between Armenia and Turkey were signed in Zurich by Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu on October 10, 2009, after a series of diplomatic talks held through Swiss mediation.
On January 12, 2010, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Armenia found the protocols conformable to the country’s Organic Law.
Commenting on the CC ruling, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that “it contains preconditions and restrictive provisions which impair the letter and spirit of the Protocols.” ”The decision undermines the very reason for negotiating these Protocols as well as their fundamental objective. This approach cannot be accepted on our part. Turkey, in line with its accustomed allegiance to its international commitments, maintains its adherence to the primary provisions of these Protocols. We expect the same allegiance from the Armenian government,” the Ministry said.