Uruguay President urges Turkey to face dark pages of its history

January 21, 2015 - 16:11 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The outgoing President of Uruguay pledged to cooperate in organizing the Armenian Genocide centenary commemorative events, Causa Armenia reports.

As Jose Mujica stated at the farewell meeting with the country’s Armenian community, he’s ready to take every possible effort and brave the displeasure of Ankara to contribute to the recognition of the crime against humanity.

“Solution of this painful issue might be prevented by state interests. However, the least Turkey can do today is face the dark pages of its history and accept the autrocities committed,” the outgoing leader stressed.

Recognition of the Armenian Genocide by various world parliaments was spearheaded by Uruguay's Parliament, when in 1965 it became the first country in the world to recognize the Armenian Genocide.

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.