Turkey attitude to Armenian Genocide – Basic test of Turkish democracy

Pan Armenian News
21.04.2005 04:03

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “The Turkish state repudiating the crime it has
committed has to learn a lesson of what it has perpetrated. It is
first of all necessary for Turkey and its people,” Nagorno Karabakh
Republic President Arkady Ghukasian stated when addressing Ultimate
Crime, Ultimate Challenge: Human Rights and Genocide international
conference. His statement reads: “Turkey working for accession to
the EU today is on the verge of a pivotal choice of the further way
of development of the state and the society. In this respect Turkey’s
attitude towards the fact of the Armenian Genocide is a basic test of
the Turkish democracy, as well as a litmus paper, which determines the
country’s readiness to take a worthy place in the commonwealth of the
European states. Surely, it is not an easy choice. However, it is
inevitable. And it will determine not only Turkey’s image tomorrow,
but also its further role in forming the geopolitical and geoeconomic
architecture of the region, including in the South Caucasus. One
thing is clear: Turkey fulfilling an exclusive geopolitical function
in the South Caucasian region, including that in conflict settlement
and specifically in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, require a high
level of political ripeness and capacity to conceptual review of
its attitude towards the region, as well as factors determining the
attitude of the peoples of the region to the Turkish state. Today
the international community, first of all Turkey, should answer the
following question: which is more rightful and acceptable from the
point of view of civilization, international law, international
stability and security – the policy of denial of the Armenian
Genocide, which admits the continuation of the international crime,
or search for ways of penitence and facilitation of the Genocide
consequences, which embodies historical and political courage? No
Turkish government, replacing its predecessor, can avoid the burden
of growing responsibility. In two days the Armenians of the world,
all progressive humanity will pay tribute to victims of the Genocide
of our people in Ottoman Turkey. Irrespective of how many years pass,
we will always feel our pain and it will follow the Armenian people
throughout its future history. Much time will pass until our pain
will become the pain of the entire humanity. And that time will come
sooner or later. Our duty – the duty of the whole of the progressive
humanity is to speed up the coming of that time. April 24 will serve
an eternal reminder to future generations that crimes against humanity
cannot have a statute of limitations.”