Swedish MP refutes words ascribed to her by Azeri media concerning Armenian Genocide

June 6, 2011 - 19:43 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Swedish member of the parliament Desire Petrus refuted the words ascribed to her by Azerbaijani media that allegedly recognition of the Armenian Genocide “is a mistake.”

In a letter addressed to representative of the Armenian community of Sweden Vahagn Avetian, Petrus wrote that she has not made similar statements.

“I said that, taking into consideration the stance of the Christian Democratic Party, recognition of genocides by parliaments is not a correct step as a whole. Similar decisions should be adopted by international courts. It would have been correct to recognize the Armenian Genocide. There are not any doubts with respect to it,” reads the letter of Petrus.

Earlier, Azerbaijani media reported that during a meeting with representatives of the Congress of Azerbaijanis in Sweden, Petrus allegedly stated that recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the Swedish parliament is a “historical mistake.”

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.