Armenia may declare Dec 9 genocides victims remembrance day

October 21, 2014 - 17:42 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - A member of Heritage opposition party Zaruhi Postanjyan submitted to parliamentary consideration a package of bills on condemnation of the genocides of Pontic Greeks, Assyrians, Yezidis and other ethnicities in the Ottoman Empire, with the draft laws latters included on the agenda of the Cabinet of Ministers’ next session.

The government, however, suggested instead declaring December 9 a commemoration day for the victims of genocides, to mark the United Nations Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide adopted December 9, 1948.

“Based on the abovementioned, the government will consider the initiative acceptable in case its suggestion is approved, with Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan to be appointed as a co-rapporteur in consideration of the initiative,” the government’s statement said.

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.