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ARKA News Agency
April 24 2005
Armenia, NKR, Diaspora must combine efforts toward recognition of
Armenian Genocide: Arman Melikyan
Armenian Genocide result of lack of Armenian statehood: Serge
Sargsyan
Turkey will not be admitted to EU without admitting Armenian
Genocide: David Harutyunyan
Turkey will have to make clear political appraisal of Armenian
Genocide: Artur Baghdasaryan
Change possible in Turkey's attitude to Armenian Genocide: RA Premier
Entire world will recognize Armenian Genocide, Turkey will not be
exception: Georgy Boos
Armenians throughout world mark 90th anniversary of Armenian Genocide
************************************************** *******************
ARMENIA, NKR, DIASPORA MUST COMBINE EFFORTS TOWARD RECOGNITION OF
ARMENIAN GENOCIDE: ARMAN MELIKYAN
YEREVAN, April 24. /ARKA/. Armenia, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
(NKR) and Diaspora must combine their efforts toward the recognition
of the Armenian Genocide, NKR Foreign Minister Arman Melikyan told
reporters. He singled out two directions efforts should be made in.
`First, the public and shaping of the necessary opinion of the
international community. Secondly, the policy to be implemented by
the two states, as well as by the Diaspora,' the Minister said. `We
must be consistent in struggling for punishment for that crime,'
Melikyan said. P.T. -0--
************************************************** *******************
ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESULT OF LACK OF ARMENIAN STATEHOOD: SERGE
SARGSYAN
YEREVAN, April 24. /ARKA/. The Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman
Empire was the result of lack of Armenian statehood, RA Minister of
Defense Serge Sargsyan told reporters. He pointed out that visiting
the Memorial to the victims of the Armenian Genocide every year, he
becomes more and more convinced that the state's principal task is
ensuring its people's physical security. The Minister stressed that
for dozens of years Turks tried to destroy Armenian, convert them
into another faith, assimilate hem. But when they failed, they made a
crueler decision, namely, physical destruction. `And no matter how
long they try to deny this fact, it is impossible, and I hope that
many countries will recognize the Armenian Genocide, like 18
countries have already done this,' Sargsyan said.
The Minister stressed that the Armenian pogroms in Azerbaijan in 1988
were another testimony to the fact that the government's priority
task is to ensure the population's physical security. `The Genocide
was the result of lack of statehood. For 70 years Azerbaijan had been
ousting Armenians from Nagorno Karabakh, and all Armenians are now
sure that if the NKR gets into Azerbaijan's hands, no Armenians will
remain there, and another Genocide awaits the population,' Sargsyan
said. P.T. -0--
************************************************** *******************
TURKEY WILL NOT BE ADMITTED TO EU WITHOUT ADMITTING ARMENIAN
GENOCIDE: DAVID HARUTYUNYAN
YEREVAN, April 24. /ARKA/. Turkey will not be admitted to the EU
without admitting the Armenian Genocide, RA Minister of Justice David
Harutyunyan told reporters. According to him, Turkey itself will soon
put up with the idea that it must admit the crime and apologize for
it. `It is a matter of time. Today, tomorrow, in year, in five years,
but I do not think it will be later,' Harutyunyan said.
Speaking of compensations to the descendants of the Genocide victims,
he reported that the RA Ministry of Justice prepared and sent
necessary documents. `Thereafter, a newly formed commission is to
start examination and, if necessary, inquire for additional
documents. But we think that we have managed to prepare a package of
documents that does not need any additional information,' Harutyunyan
said. On the other hand, the Minister said that it is not a rapid
process, and the task is to be seriously considered by an American
commission, after which it will get in touch with the persons that
lay claims to compensations.
On April 30, 2004, the US court approved an agreement with the US New
York Life insurance company. Under the agreement the company is to
pay 11mln USD to the descendants of the clients that had insurance
policies and were killed during the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman
Empire. The company's lists include 2,300 names. P.T. -0
************************************************** *******************
TURKEY WILL HAVE TO MAKE CLEAR POLITICAL APPRAISAL OF ARMENIAN
GENOCIDE: ARTUR BAGHDASARYAN
YEREVAN, April 24. /ARKA/. Turkey will have to make a clear political
appraisal of the Armenian Genocide of 1915, as `history is impossible
to bury,' Speaker of the RA National Assembly Artur Baghdasaryan told
reporters. He pointed out that `important processes related to the
Armenian Genocide are now going on in the world,' and more and more
European countries and Parliaments are recognizing and condemning the
Armenian Genocide now. According to Baghdasaryan, in the 21st century
all the civilized people will condemn the Armenian Genocide without
forgetting Adolf Hitler's words: `Who remembers the Armenian Genocide
now?' `That expression was behind the Jewish Genocide. We, in
cooperation with the entire civilized world, will struggle for
prevention of genocides, and I am sure we will succeed,' Baghdasaryan
said. According to him, Turkey is seeking EU membership, but the
application of double standards is inadmissible. Baghdasaryan
believes that Turkey's admission to the EU can be a good opportunity
for it to admit that crime against humanity. P.T. -0--
************************************************** *******************
CHANGE POSSIBLE IN TURKEY'S ATTITUDE TO ARMENIAN GENOCIDE: RA PREMIER
YEREVAN, April 24. /ARKA/. A change may take place in the issue of
Turkey's admission of the Armenian Genocide, RA Premier Andranik
Margaryan told reporters. According to him, the number of those
recognizing and condemning the Armenian Genocide is increasing from
year to year. `I hope that EU member-countries will continue
recognizing the Genocide this year, and we expect a change when the
issue of Turkey's admission to the EU will be discussed,' Margaryan
said. He pointed out that it is important for Armenia to aim not at
whether Turkey will admit the Armenian Genocide or not, but at
negotiations for establishing diplomatic relations, re-opening of
borders, establishing economic ties between Armenia and Turkey.
According to Margaryan, this process will contribute to the
settlement of the issue of admission of the Armenian Genocide in the
future. P.T. -0--
************************************************** *******************
ENTIRE WORLD WILL RECOGNIZE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE, TURKEY WILL NOT BE
EXCEPTION: GEORGY BOOS
YEREVAN, April 24. /ARKA/. The entire world will recognize and
condemn the Armenian Genocide, and Turkey will not be an exception,
Vice-Speaker of the RF State Duma Georgy Boos told reporters after
visiting the Memorial to the victims of the Armenian Genocide in the
Ottoman Empire. `Turkey must admit the Armenian Genocide. I cannot
say when, but I am sure that it will happen,' Boops said. P.T. -0--
************************************************** *******************
ARMENIANS THROUGHOUT WORLD MARK 90TH ANNIVERSARY OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
YEREVAN, April 24. /ARKA/. Today, Armenians throughout the world are
marking the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman
Empire. On April 24, 1915, 800 renowned representatives of Armenian
intelligentsia - scientists, writers, painters, teachers, doctors,
publicists, clergymen and public figures - were imprisoned and later
killed in Turkey. The slaughter of the best representatives of the
Armenian nation is considered a symbolic Day of memory of victims of
the Armenian Genocide.
After the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, the Christian peoples of
the Baltic countries threw off the yoke of the Ottoman Empire. By
1912, the Ottoman Empire had lost almost all its territorial
possessions in Europe except for Istanbul and its suburbs. As a
result, the Armenians of Western Armenia were the largest Christian
people that remained under the imperial yoke. To retain power in the
Asian part of the territory, the imperial Government set itself the
task of violent assimilation or annihilation of Western Armenians
that were an obstacle to the formation of a pan-Turkic state.
The consistent policy of destroying Armenians in their historical
land was launched in the 90th of the 19th century and reached its
climax during World War I, when about 1.5mln fell victim to massacre
and deportation, and 350,000 Armenians fled to the Caucasus and
Europe. As a result only 150,000 Armenians remained in Turkey of the
2,000,000 that had resided in that country by early 20th century. The
reason why Turkish pogrom-makers could easily killed so many
Armenians is that the Armenian population and political parties were
not prepared for the impending danger of annihilation. However, in
some places the Armenian population offered resistance to Turkish
vandals. The Van Armenians organized self-defense and successfully
rebutted the enemy's attacks. They succeeded in keeping the city
under their control until the arrival of Russian troops and Armenian
voluntaries. The Armenians in Shapin Garakhisar, Mush, Sasun, Shatakh
offered armed resistance to the enemy that exceeded them in strength
many times. The defense of Mount Musa in Suetin lasted for 40 days.
Armenians' self-defense in 1915 is a heroic chapter of the people's
national-liberation struggle.
The immediate mastermind of the Genocide was the Young Turkish party
Unity and progress, which was supported by the Government of the
Kaiser Germany, the ally of the Ottoman Empire in World Ware I. The
organizers of the crime could avoid punishment, but the leaders of
Young Turks were found and destroyed by Armenians patriots in various
parts of the world.
Modern-day Turkey does not consider the events genocide and has not
so far admitted this disgraceful fact, denying both the massacre of
hundreds of thousands of Armenians and moral, historical and
financial responsibility. In 1965, in Soviet Armenia the movement for
recognition of the Armenian Genocide was revived in Armenia, which
resulted by the recognition of this fact by 15 countries and
international organizations. Most countries recognized the Armenian
Genocide after 1998, when this issue was put on the agenda of
Armenia's foreign policy. Over the last few years, the recognition of
the Armenian Genocide has been widely advocated, and draft
resolutions on the Armenian Genocide have been put on the agenda of
Parliaments and international organizations. During the Genocide, the
Armenian people was supported by the best representatives of the
world intelligentsia: Anatol France, Franz Werfel, Valery Bryusov,
Maxim Gorgy, Frittef Nansen and others.
Today, the international community is more actively raising its voice
of indignation at what was committed against the Armenian people,
which will prevent similar crimes in the future. Many politicians and
representatives of intelligentsia state that timely recognition and
condemnation of the Armenian Genocide early in the 20th century would
have prevented many tragedies of last century, such as the Jewish
Holocaust, genocides in Cambodia, Sudan, Rwanda.
The Armenian Genocide in 1915-1923 was the first Genocide of the 20th
century organized and consistently committed by the Young Turkish
Government. The admission of the Armenian Genocide by Turkey is of
principal importance for the Armenian people, for the Genocide was
aimed at putting an end to the Armenian Cause. The admission of of
the Armenian Genocide implies the admission of the Armenian people's
legal; right to its territories and financial compensation for the
damage and hardship.
The Armenian Genocide in Turkey caused a tremendous damage to the
Armenian people's spiritual and material culture. Thousands of
Armenian manuscripts kept in Armenian monasteries, hundreds of
historical and cultural monuments were destroyed, and the people's
holy places were defiled. The destruction historical and
architectural monuments, misappropriation of the Armenian people's
cultural values continues in Turkey now as well. P.T. -0--
April 24 2005
Armenia, NKR, Diaspora must combine efforts toward recognition of
Armenian Genocide: Arman Melikyan
Armenian Genocide result of lack of Armenian statehood: Serge
Sargsyan
Turkey will not be admitted to EU without admitting Armenian
Genocide: David Harutyunyan
Turkey will have to make clear political appraisal of Armenian
Genocide: Artur Baghdasaryan
Change possible in Turkey's attitude to Armenian Genocide: RA Premier
Entire world will recognize Armenian Genocide, Turkey will not be
exception: Georgy Boos
Armenians throughout world mark 90th anniversary of Armenian Genocide
************************************************** *******************
ARMENIA, NKR, DIASPORA MUST COMBINE EFFORTS TOWARD RECOGNITION OF
ARMENIAN GENOCIDE: ARMAN MELIKYAN
YEREVAN, April 24. /ARKA/. Armenia, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
(NKR) and Diaspora must combine their efforts toward the recognition
of the Armenian Genocide, NKR Foreign Minister Arman Melikyan told
reporters. He singled out two directions efforts should be made in.
`First, the public and shaping of the necessary opinion of the
international community. Secondly, the policy to be implemented by
the two states, as well as by the Diaspora,' the Minister said. `We
must be consistent in struggling for punishment for that crime,'
Melikyan said. P.T. -0--
************************************************** *******************
ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESULT OF LACK OF ARMENIAN STATEHOOD: SERGE
SARGSYAN
YEREVAN, April 24. /ARKA/. The Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman
Empire was the result of lack of Armenian statehood, RA Minister of
Defense Serge Sargsyan told reporters. He pointed out that visiting
the Memorial to the victims of the Armenian Genocide every year, he
becomes more and more convinced that the state's principal task is
ensuring its people's physical security. The Minister stressed that
for dozens of years Turks tried to destroy Armenian, convert them
into another faith, assimilate hem. But when they failed, they made a
crueler decision, namely, physical destruction. `And no matter how
long they try to deny this fact, it is impossible, and I hope that
many countries will recognize the Armenian Genocide, like 18
countries have already done this,' Sargsyan said.
The Minister stressed that the Armenian pogroms in Azerbaijan in 1988
were another testimony to the fact that the government's priority
task is to ensure the population's physical security. `The Genocide
was the result of lack of statehood. For 70 years Azerbaijan had been
ousting Armenians from Nagorno Karabakh, and all Armenians are now
sure that if the NKR gets into Azerbaijan's hands, no Armenians will
remain there, and another Genocide awaits the population,' Sargsyan
said. P.T. -0--
************************************************** *******************
TURKEY WILL NOT BE ADMITTED TO EU WITHOUT ADMITTING ARMENIAN
GENOCIDE: DAVID HARUTYUNYAN
YEREVAN, April 24. /ARKA/. Turkey will not be admitted to the EU
without admitting the Armenian Genocide, RA Minister of Justice David
Harutyunyan told reporters. According to him, Turkey itself will soon
put up with the idea that it must admit the crime and apologize for
it. `It is a matter of time. Today, tomorrow, in year, in five years,
but I do not think it will be later,' Harutyunyan said.
Speaking of compensations to the descendants of the Genocide victims,
he reported that the RA Ministry of Justice prepared and sent
necessary documents. `Thereafter, a newly formed commission is to
start examination and, if necessary, inquire for additional
documents. But we think that we have managed to prepare a package of
documents that does not need any additional information,' Harutyunyan
said. On the other hand, the Minister said that it is not a rapid
process, and the task is to be seriously considered by an American
commission, after which it will get in touch with the persons that
lay claims to compensations.
On April 30, 2004, the US court approved an agreement with the US New
York Life insurance company. Under the agreement the company is to
pay 11mln USD to the descendants of the clients that had insurance
policies and were killed during the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman
Empire. The company's lists include 2,300 names. P.T. -0
************************************************** *******************
TURKEY WILL HAVE TO MAKE CLEAR POLITICAL APPRAISAL OF ARMENIAN
GENOCIDE: ARTUR BAGHDASARYAN
YEREVAN, April 24. /ARKA/. Turkey will have to make a clear political
appraisal of the Armenian Genocide of 1915, as `history is impossible
to bury,' Speaker of the RA National Assembly Artur Baghdasaryan told
reporters. He pointed out that `important processes related to the
Armenian Genocide are now going on in the world,' and more and more
European countries and Parliaments are recognizing and condemning the
Armenian Genocide now. According to Baghdasaryan, in the 21st century
all the civilized people will condemn the Armenian Genocide without
forgetting Adolf Hitler's words: `Who remembers the Armenian Genocide
now?' `That expression was behind the Jewish Genocide. We, in
cooperation with the entire civilized world, will struggle for
prevention of genocides, and I am sure we will succeed,' Baghdasaryan
said. According to him, Turkey is seeking EU membership, but the
application of double standards is inadmissible. Baghdasaryan
believes that Turkey's admission to the EU can be a good opportunity
for it to admit that crime against humanity. P.T. -0--
************************************************** *******************
CHANGE POSSIBLE IN TURKEY'S ATTITUDE TO ARMENIAN GENOCIDE: RA PREMIER
YEREVAN, April 24. /ARKA/. A change may take place in the issue of
Turkey's admission of the Armenian Genocide, RA Premier Andranik
Margaryan told reporters. According to him, the number of those
recognizing and condemning the Armenian Genocide is increasing from
year to year. `I hope that EU member-countries will continue
recognizing the Genocide this year, and we expect a change when the
issue of Turkey's admission to the EU will be discussed,' Margaryan
said. He pointed out that it is important for Armenia to aim not at
whether Turkey will admit the Armenian Genocide or not, but at
negotiations for establishing diplomatic relations, re-opening of
borders, establishing economic ties between Armenia and Turkey.
According to Margaryan, this process will contribute to the
settlement of the issue of admission of the Armenian Genocide in the
future. P.T. -0--
************************************************** *******************
ENTIRE WORLD WILL RECOGNIZE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE, TURKEY WILL NOT BE
EXCEPTION: GEORGY BOOS
YEREVAN, April 24. /ARKA/. The entire world will recognize and
condemn the Armenian Genocide, and Turkey will not be an exception,
Vice-Speaker of the RF State Duma Georgy Boos told reporters after
visiting the Memorial to the victims of the Armenian Genocide in the
Ottoman Empire. `Turkey must admit the Armenian Genocide. I cannot
say when, but I am sure that it will happen,' Boops said. P.T. -0--
************************************************** *******************
ARMENIANS THROUGHOUT WORLD MARK 90TH ANNIVERSARY OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
YEREVAN, April 24. /ARKA/. Today, Armenians throughout the world are
marking the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman
Empire. On April 24, 1915, 800 renowned representatives of Armenian
intelligentsia - scientists, writers, painters, teachers, doctors,
publicists, clergymen and public figures - were imprisoned and later
killed in Turkey. The slaughter of the best representatives of the
Armenian nation is considered a symbolic Day of memory of victims of
the Armenian Genocide.
After the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, the Christian peoples of
the Baltic countries threw off the yoke of the Ottoman Empire. By
1912, the Ottoman Empire had lost almost all its territorial
possessions in Europe except for Istanbul and its suburbs. As a
result, the Armenians of Western Armenia were the largest Christian
people that remained under the imperial yoke. To retain power in the
Asian part of the territory, the imperial Government set itself the
task of violent assimilation or annihilation of Western Armenians
that were an obstacle to the formation of a pan-Turkic state.
The consistent policy of destroying Armenians in their historical
land was launched in the 90th of the 19th century and reached its
climax during World War I, when about 1.5mln fell victim to massacre
and deportation, and 350,000 Armenians fled to the Caucasus and
Europe. As a result only 150,000 Armenians remained in Turkey of the
2,000,000 that had resided in that country by early 20th century. The
reason why Turkish pogrom-makers could easily killed so many
Armenians is that the Armenian population and political parties were
not prepared for the impending danger of annihilation. However, in
some places the Armenian population offered resistance to Turkish
vandals. The Van Armenians organized self-defense and successfully
rebutted the enemy's attacks. They succeeded in keeping the city
under their control until the arrival of Russian troops and Armenian
voluntaries. The Armenians in Shapin Garakhisar, Mush, Sasun, Shatakh
offered armed resistance to the enemy that exceeded them in strength
many times. The defense of Mount Musa in Suetin lasted for 40 days.
Armenians' self-defense in 1915 is a heroic chapter of the people's
national-liberation struggle.
The immediate mastermind of the Genocide was the Young Turkish party
Unity and progress, which was supported by the Government of the
Kaiser Germany, the ally of the Ottoman Empire in World Ware I. The
organizers of the crime could avoid punishment, but the leaders of
Young Turks were found and destroyed by Armenians patriots in various
parts of the world.
Modern-day Turkey does not consider the events genocide and has not
so far admitted this disgraceful fact, denying both the massacre of
hundreds of thousands of Armenians and moral, historical and
financial responsibility. In 1965, in Soviet Armenia the movement for
recognition of the Armenian Genocide was revived in Armenia, which
resulted by the recognition of this fact by 15 countries and
international organizations. Most countries recognized the Armenian
Genocide after 1998, when this issue was put on the agenda of
Armenia's foreign policy. Over the last few years, the recognition of
the Armenian Genocide has been widely advocated, and draft
resolutions on the Armenian Genocide have been put on the agenda of
Parliaments and international organizations. During the Genocide, the
Armenian people was supported by the best representatives of the
world intelligentsia: Anatol France, Franz Werfel, Valery Bryusov,
Maxim Gorgy, Frittef Nansen and others.
Today, the international community is more actively raising its voice
of indignation at what was committed against the Armenian people,
which will prevent similar crimes in the future. Many politicians and
representatives of intelligentsia state that timely recognition and
condemnation of the Armenian Genocide early in the 20th century would
have prevented many tragedies of last century, such as the Jewish
Holocaust, genocides in Cambodia, Sudan, Rwanda.
The Armenian Genocide in 1915-1923 was the first Genocide of the 20th
century organized and consistently committed by the Young Turkish
Government. The admission of the Armenian Genocide by Turkey is of
principal importance for the Armenian people, for the Genocide was
aimed at putting an end to the Armenian Cause. The admission of of
the Armenian Genocide implies the admission of the Armenian people's
legal; right to its territories and financial compensation for the
damage and hardship.
The Armenian Genocide in Turkey caused a tremendous damage to the
Armenian people's spiritual and material culture. Thousands of
Armenian manuscripts kept in Armenian monasteries, hundreds of
historical and cultural monuments were destroyed, and the people's
holy places were defiled. The destruction historical and
architectural monuments, misappropriation of the Armenian people's
cultural values continues in Turkey now as well. P.T. -0--