WE DON'T WANT TO LIVE WITH THIS SHAME ANYMORE: TOZDUMAN CALLS ON VISITING YEREVAN INSTEAD OF CANAKKALE
10:22, 9 February, 2015
YEREVAN, 9 FEBRUARY, ARMENPRESS. What's a shame for Turkey is that
1.5 million people were killed a century ago and nearly that many
people were exiled and were forced to leave their homeland. Now they
are scattered across the globe like particles of a pomegranate. Our
wish is to make sure neither our country nor the countries not having
recognized the Armenian Genocide continue to live with this shame.
This is what speaker of the platform for friendship and cooperation
with the Assyrians of Izmir Zeynep Tozduman said in an interview
with "Armenpress". Tozduman is a representative of one of the Turkish
organizations that recently signed a proclamation addressed to foreign
countries to visit Yerevan instead of Canakkale on April 24th.
"Know that denying and not seeing are also genocide. The reason why
we have become the "voice" of the bodies that were not buried is
because we want to see the Genocide officially recognized and to have
those bodies rest in peace," Tozduman said as she talked about her
organization's decision to join the proclamation. Touching upon the
fact that the official Ankara responded to President of the Republic
of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan's invitation by inviting the Armenian
authorities to Canakkale on April 24th "to respect together the memory
of the victims of Canakkale", Tozduman stated that that was simply
an ugly tactic. "We believe Turkey's response is the country's way of
manipulating history, and it shows that lies and denial still prevail.
Viewing this response as disrespect towards the victims and their
grandchildren the year marking the 100th anniversary of the Genocide,
with this call we tried to address the countries not having recognized
the Armenian Genocide and their conscience," the speaker said.
"We represent a platform for the friendship and cooperation of
Assyrians of Izmir, and we signed that declaration because we don't
want to see genocide in any other land or unknown country. Our call is
to break the silence. In the 100th year, we're persistently waiting
for Turkey to apologize for the victims, including the Armenians,
the Assyrians and the Greeks of Pontos," Tozduman said.
"The conscience of people in this country who think like us has been
seared for a century. We don't want to live with this shame and pain
any longer. As representatives of the platform for friendship and
cooperation of the Assyrians of Izmir, we want to tell all the nations
living in Turkey that that it's impossible to "shake the hand" of peace
with denial and lies. There can't be peace in this land where bones can
be found on any ground you set your foot. Mankind will not flourish
on the lands that are "watered" with sorrow and tears. On behalf of
the platform and on behalf of myself, I apologize once again to the
ancient nations and owners of these lands, that is, the Armenians,
the Assyrians and the Greeks of Pontos who experienced genocide. We
invite the people of any country with conscience and our country not
to Canakkale, but to the Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex in Yerevan
on April 24th. To ignore this great crime against humanity means to
provoke new genocides," speaker of the platform for friendship and
cooperation of the Assyrians of Izmir Zeynep Tozduman said.
http://armenpress.am/eng/news/793239/we-don%E2%80%99t-want-to-live-with-this-shame-anymore-tozduman-calls-on-visiting-yerevan-instead-of-%C3%A7anakkale.html
From: A. Papazian
10:22, 9 February, 2015
YEREVAN, 9 FEBRUARY, ARMENPRESS. What's a shame for Turkey is that
1.5 million people were killed a century ago and nearly that many
people were exiled and were forced to leave their homeland. Now they
are scattered across the globe like particles of a pomegranate. Our
wish is to make sure neither our country nor the countries not having
recognized the Armenian Genocide continue to live with this shame.
This is what speaker of the platform for friendship and cooperation
with the Assyrians of Izmir Zeynep Tozduman said in an interview
with "Armenpress". Tozduman is a representative of one of the Turkish
organizations that recently signed a proclamation addressed to foreign
countries to visit Yerevan instead of Canakkale on April 24th.
"Know that denying and not seeing are also genocide. The reason why
we have become the "voice" of the bodies that were not buried is
because we want to see the Genocide officially recognized and to have
those bodies rest in peace," Tozduman said as she talked about her
organization's decision to join the proclamation. Touching upon the
fact that the official Ankara responded to President of the Republic
of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan's invitation by inviting the Armenian
authorities to Canakkale on April 24th "to respect together the memory
of the victims of Canakkale", Tozduman stated that that was simply
an ugly tactic. "We believe Turkey's response is the country's way of
manipulating history, and it shows that lies and denial still prevail.
Viewing this response as disrespect towards the victims and their
grandchildren the year marking the 100th anniversary of the Genocide,
with this call we tried to address the countries not having recognized
the Armenian Genocide and their conscience," the speaker said.
"We represent a platform for the friendship and cooperation of
Assyrians of Izmir, and we signed that declaration because we don't
want to see genocide in any other land or unknown country. Our call is
to break the silence. In the 100th year, we're persistently waiting
for Turkey to apologize for the victims, including the Armenians,
the Assyrians and the Greeks of Pontos," Tozduman said.
"The conscience of people in this country who think like us has been
seared for a century. We don't want to live with this shame and pain
any longer. As representatives of the platform for friendship and
cooperation of the Assyrians of Izmir, we want to tell all the nations
living in Turkey that that it's impossible to "shake the hand" of peace
with denial and lies. There can't be peace in this land where bones can
be found on any ground you set your foot. Mankind will not flourish
on the lands that are "watered" with sorrow and tears. On behalf of
the platform and on behalf of myself, I apologize once again to the
ancient nations and owners of these lands, that is, the Armenians,
the Assyrians and the Greeks of Pontos who experienced genocide. We
invite the people of any country with conscience and our country not
to Canakkale, but to the Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex in Yerevan
on April 24th. To ignore this great crime against humanity means to
provoke new genocides," speaker of the platform for friendship and
cooperation of the Assyrians of Izmir Zeynep Tozduman said.
http://armenpress.am/eng/news/793239/we-don%E2%80%99t-want-to-live-with-this-shame-anymore-tozduman-calls-on-visiting-yerevan-instead-of-%C3%A7anakkale.html
From: A. Papazian