The Armenian National Committee of Romania (ANC Romania), at the behest of His Eminency Bishop Datev Hagopian, Primate of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Romania, held a meeting last week with the ambassador of Switzerland, Jean Hubert Lebet, at the Armenian Prelacy in Bucharest, according to Asbarez.

The objective of the meeting was to convey to the ambassador the imperative for the Swiss government to appeal the European Court of Human Rights’ verdict on genocide denial in Europe, which stemmed from a case involving a Turkish politician, Dogu Perincek. On Dec 17, 2013, Perincek was condemned by the Federal Court of Switzerland for publicly denying the Armenian Genocide, claiming in a series of lectures that “the genocide is an international lie.” The ECHR then ruled that it was not a crime for Perincek to publicly deny the Armenian Genocide, contrary to Swiss and other European laws.

The meeting was assisted by ANC Romania Representative Paul Hagopian, President of the Armenian Union of Romania Varoujan Voskanian, Member of the National Assembly of Romania Varoujan Pamboukjian, and the Reverend Fathers Ezras Bogdan and Hetoum Tarverdian, the spiritual leaders of Bucharest and Pitesht.

The importance of the recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide was discussed once again during the meeting. The participants voiced their protests against the verdict given to Perincek. The participants’ concerns were also submitted in the form of a letter handed to the ambassador, who expressed his concerns over the issue.