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IT'S DANGEROUS TO DENY ARMENIAN GENOCIDE - ARMENIAN FM IN LITHUANIA
Baltic News Service
January 26, 2012 Thursday 2:33 PM EET
VILNIUS, Jan 26, BNS - Denial of the Armenian genocide during World
War I is a dangerous policy, visiting Armenian Minister of Foreign
Affairs Edvard Nalbandian said following a Thursday meeting with
Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Azubalis commenting
on France's decision to criminalize denial of the Armenian genocide.
"I think that this is a very important step which brought to a new
height the cause of protection of human rights and also prevention
of new crimes against humanity which could be only applauded and
supported by other countries," the Armenian minister told BNS.
"I think that it is very important for Turkey itself. The reaction,
overreaction from the Turkish side proves that this law is very
important and it was necessary to adopt such a law. Because the law
concerns not any country or Turkey, it concerns concrete denial in
France. But with this kind of reaction by Turkey they're saying that
they are taking responsibility for policy of government-level denial
and this is a very dangerous policy," Nalbandian said.
He also thanked Lithuania for having recognized the Armenian genocide
in 2005, and underlined that it was necessary to close this page
in history.
"We have to turn the sad page of our common history with the Turkish
side but through the recognition not through denial," the Armenian
minister.
Meanwhile Azubalis noted that 2011 was declared the Year of Remembrance
of Holocaust Victims in Lithuania. He also said that Lithuania was
making efforts for crimes of totalitarian communist regimes to be
evaluated across Europe. In his opinion, "no one has successfully
fought against history and the past."
"Sooner or later history knocks at the gates of our present, and we
have to open them. We have to deal with that history, we have to
evaluate it in an open, blunt and fair way what happened. Without
that we will never have peace in inter-state relations. This is why I
believe that right are those politicians who say that we should talk
bout and discuss history, the past, and those who say that we should
leave to historians and the past are wrong. As long as we don't settle
accounts with the past, residue and bitterness in mutual relations
will remain," the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The Armenians claim that around 1.5 million Armenians were killed by
the Ottoman Empire in 1915-1923. Turkey denies the fact of genocide
saying that 300,000-500,000 Armenians and around the same number of
Turks were war casualties.
Baltic News Service
January 26, 2012 Thursday 2:33 PM EET
VILNIUS, Jan 26, BNS - Denial of the Armenian genocide during World
War I is a dangerous policy, visiting Armenian Minister of Foreign
Affairs Edvard Nalbandian said following a Thursday meeting with
Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Azubalis commenting
on France's decision to criminalize denial of the Armenian genocide.
"I think that this is a very important step which brought to a new
height the cause of protection of human rights and also prevention
of new crimes against humanity which could be only applauded and
supported by other countries," the Armenian minister told BNS.
"I think that it is very important for Turkey itself. The reaction,
overreaction from the Turkish side proves that this law is very
important and it was necessary to adopt such a law. Because the law
concerns not any country or Turkey, it concerns concrete denial in
France. But with this kind of reaction by Turkey they're saying that
they are taking responsibility for policy of government-level denial
and this is a very dangerous policy," Nalbandian said.
He also thanked Lithuania for having recognized the Armenian genocide
in 2005, and underlined that it was necessary to close this page
in history.
"We have to turn the sad page of our common history with the Turkish
side but through the recognition not through denial," the Armenian
minister.
Meanwhile Azubalis noted that 2011 was declared the Year of Remembrance
of Holocaust Victims in Lithuania. He also said that Lithuania was
making efforts for crimes of totalitarian communist regimes to be
evaluated across Europe. In his opinion, "no one has successfully
fought against history and the past."
"Sooner or later history knocks at the gates of our present, and we
have to open them. We have to deal with that history, we have to
evaluate it in an open, blunt and fair way what happened. Without
that we will never have peace in inter-state relations. This is why I
believe that right are those politicians who say that we should talk
bout and discuss history, the past, and those who say that we should
leave to historians and the past are wrong. As long as we don't settle
accounts with the past, residue and bitterness in mutual relations
will remain," the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The Armenians claim that around 1.5 million Armenians were killed by
the Ottoman Empire in 1915-1923. Turkey denies the fact of genocide
saying that 300,000-500,000 Armenians and around the same number of
Turks were war casualties.