Police bans Genocide commemoration event in Istanbul

April 24, 2017 - 18:28 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Turkish police in Istanbul has banned the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) from holding an event titled Time to Face the Armenian Genocide commemorating the 102nd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide near the city’s Pangalti Metro, Panorama.am reports citing Ermenihaber news agency.

The source notes that the HDP members held talks with the law enforcement officers to receive permission for organizing the event, however, to no avail. The police informed that they “have orders from higher –ups to ban the event.” Afterwards, the participants of the rally headed to the HDP party’s building to hold the event, waving posters reading “Never let it be forgotten” and “The Genocide won’t stop unless confronted”.

HDP member Melis Tatan delivered a speech at the event, noting that the 1915 Genocide has not ended. “It continues with the assassinations of Hrant Dink, Sevag Balikci and Maritza Kucuk, failing to bring the real culprits to responsibility and concealing the reality,” he added.

Speaker of the Istanbul’s Nor Zartonk initiative Norayr Olgar also delivered a speech, noting that the genocide committed against the Armenians continued in Kurdish provinces of Turkey. He called on Turkey to face the evidence of the past 102 years to prevent the future deportations. “There can be no peace without facing the Genocide,” he added.

Ստամբուլում ոստիկանները թույլ չեն տվել Հայոց ցեղասպանության հիշատակի միջոցառում անցկացնել. Ermenihaber.am

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.