Armenian Genocide Testimonies 2nd volume presentation held in Yerevan

June 13, 2011 - 15:04 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - On June 13, the National Library of Armenia hosted a presentation of the second volume of Armenian-born Lebanese writer Haroutune Iskahadian's Armenian Genocide Testimonies.

As Iskahadian told journalists in Yerevan, the third volume of the series will be published in 3 months.

The book is a summary of Genocide memoirs published in different years; with over 150 memoirs analysed in two volumes.

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.