Shugaryan Response to Article on Armenian Genocide in Corriere della Sera NewspaperNovember 18, 2005 - 19:16 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - October 17 Corriere della Sera well-known Italian newspaper published Sergio Romano's article titled «Jewish Holocaust and Massacre of Armenians: Two Different Stories,» the State Commission for Organization of Events Marking the 90th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide told PanARMENIAN.Net The article was published in response to a query of a reader, in whose words, « the Genocide of over 1.5 million of Armenians is merely an occasion for hampering Muslim Turkey accession to Europe, as Germany is accepted in Europe in spite of the slaughter of 6 million Jews.» The article notes that the response to the issue lies in difference of approaches and positions of Germany and Turkey over past crimes committed by them. The publication also attempts to differentiate the two genocides from the point of view of their grounding. The article specifically notes, «Jews did not pose a threat to Germany. Their slaughter was an outcome of absurd decisions grounded in Hitler racist hatred and anti-Semitism of some strata of the society. The Ottoman Empire considered the Armenian national movement a sword of Damocles for the Turkish statehood.» It should be noted that S. Romano is a well-known historian and has lectured in some Italian and European university International Relations History, he was Italian Ambassador in Moscow in 1985-1989.Armenian Ambassador to Italy Ruben Shugaryan sent a response letter to Corriere della Sera that was published in October 22 issue of the newspaper. The letter specifically says, «I hesitated over the response to Two Different Stories article. I decided to write this letter not so much against unfair and inaccurate presentation of some facts of World War I. The uncommon comments and horrifying conclusions urged me to respond. The article and the ideology it rests upon suggest that there are two types of slaughter: «grounded» - the massacre of 1.5 million Armenians in Ottoman Turkey in 1915, and «not grounded» - the murder of 6 million Jews that did not pose a threat to Germany. The first crime - the Genocide against Armenians, who were allied with Russia in World War I - is called a slaughter, thus justifying in some way Turkey that is going to join the EU. I do not intend to open a debate over the history of Armenians and Turks. My goal is to stress the degree, to which an attempt to qualify crimes against humanity by motivation or greater of less responsibility, is dangerous. This is important and appropriate specially today - during the fight against terror. There can be no two different stories regarding crimes against humanity. However the history is different on the one hand by acknowledgement of the horrible crime against the Jewish people and Germany's readiness to overcome the past without any preconditions, on the other - Turkey's denialist policy.» Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Putin congratulates Pashinyan’s birthday Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on his birthday on June 1. Opposition motorcade en route to Gyumri for large rally A motorcade of protesters headed by Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan is heading to the city of Gyumri. Ruling MPs, Foreign Minister talk Armenia-Azerbaijan processes MOs from the ruling Civil Contract party met with the Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan in the Armenian parliament. Russia: Armenia’s frozen membership weakens CSTO position in Caucasus A Russian envoy said any step that could alienate the CSTO member states from each other is “deeply wrong”. |