April 24, 2022 - 13:13 AMT
Turkey parliament speaker returns Armenian genocide bill

Speaker of the Turkish Parliament Mustafa Şentop has returned HDP lawmaker Garo Paylan's bill on the recognition of the Armenian Genocide, maintaining that it contradicts the provisions of the Rules of Procedure, NTV reports.

Paylan submitted the bill on April 22, close to the end of working hours, and Şentop wrote the letter to send it back the next day.

Unveiled on the eve of the 107th anniversary of the 107th anniversary of the Genocide, the bill also provides for the removal of the names of the the masterminds and perpetrators of the Genocide from public places, the naming of those places in honor of officials who opposed the Genocide, as well as the granting of Turkish citizenship to the victims and their families.

On April 24, 1915, a large group of Armenian intellectuals was rounded up and assassinated in Constantinople by the Ottoman government. On April 24, 2022, Armenians worldwide are commemorating the 107th anniversary of the Genocide which continued until 1923. Some three dozen countries, hundreds of local government bodies and international organizations have so far recognized the killings of 1.5 million Armenians as Genocide. Turkey denies to this day.