Sixth grade students in Uruguay to be lectured on Armenian Genocide

April 19, 2010 - 11:56 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Sixth grade students in Uruguay will be lectured on the Armenian Genocide. The school curriculum and textbooks were filed by four young teachers on the initiative of Uruguayan Deputy Minister of Tourism Lillian Keshishian.

“It’s important for us to tell the young generation about the historical truth. Only recognition of Genocide will help prevention of similar crimes in future,” she said.

Ms. Keshishian will also suggest introduction of a special source in the senior school curriculum.

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.