Dirk Davos: entire Armenian nation gathered at Tsitsernakaberd Memorial

April 24, 2010 - 20:41 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Dutch student of journalism department Dirk Davos, who is doing an internship in Armenia, said that they know what happened to the Armenian people in 1915, and they see how important the Genocide remembrance is for Armenians. “There is a Memorial of the Armenian Genocide also in Holland. However, usually it is not attended by crowds of people. Meanwhile, in my opinion, the entire Armenian nation has gathered at Tsitsernakaberd Memorial,” Davos told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

In his opinion, if Turkey plans to become an EU member, it will recognized the Armenian Genocide in a couple of years.

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.