Armenian leader urges increased efforts against “manifestations of genocide”

Mediamax news agency
20 Apr 05

Yerevan, 20 April: The recognition of the Armenian genocide “is
important for Armenian-Turkish relations, because it will give
answers to many questions existing between our two countries and
provide an opportunity to look to the future,” Armenian President
Robert Kocharyan said in Yerevan today.

The Armenian president addressed an international conference called
“Ultimate crime, ultimate challenge: genocide and human rights” today,
Mediamax reports.

“We remember the past with grief but without hate. It is difficult for
us to understand the Turkish side’s aggressive reaction which is being
expressed not only in a denial of the past, but also in a blockade
of present-day Armenia. We have encountered a paradox which needs to
be considered carefully. Resentment has remained with the side which
is responsible for the tragic past, not with the victim. We are sure
that the international recognition of the genocide will help Turkey
to reconcile with its past and overcome a complex which, passing
from generation to generation, is creating fresh complications in
relations between our countries,” Robert Kocharyan stressed.

“The Armenian issue today continues to remain hostage to geopolitical
interests,” President Robert Kocharyan said.

“World War I with its global interests concerning the alteration
of the world and the following great ideological confrontation of
the 20th century were the main obstacles standing in the way of
recognizing the legitimate rights of the Armenian people. We were
a victim of World War I, although we did not start it. Our right to
remember fell victim to the Cold War,” the Armenian president said.

Robert Kocharyan said that “the world community should increase its
efforts towards effective counteraction to manifestations of genocide”.

“It took mankind time to classify genocide as a crime against humanity
with all its consequences,” the Armenian president recalled. He said
that “it took fundamental humanitarian values time to stop being
sacrificed on the alter of the geopolitical interests of superpowers
and morality to become a constituent part of the foreign policy of
the civilized world”.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress