UN DOES NOT AVOID DISCUSSION OF EVENTS OF 1915 NOT CALLING THEM GENOCIDE

Pan Armenian News
21.04.2005 05:55

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ «My position does not allow me evaluating
the events of 1915, however it does not mean I avoid these
evaluations,» Juan Mendez, Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on
the Prevention of Genocide, stated answering a question why he does
not qualify the massacre of Armenians as a genocide. In his words,
as a UN representative, he has to express the position of that
organization. «However, as a private person I have not studied
the events of 1915 enough and it is hard to me to define them,»
Juan Mendez added. «My mandate provides for discussion of issues
of prevention of genocides in the future and I cannot accentuate a
specific event,» he emphasized. At that he added that the fact that
the UN does not call the events of the past century a genocide does
not mean that the organization avoids discussion of the issue. The
UN is a structure that includes many countries and all UN members
should come for it giving a specific evaluation for the UN to do
it. Juan Mendez welcomed the UN passing a resolution referring to the
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
on 20 April. Armenia has authored the resolution. In Juan Mendez~Rs
words, the adoption of the resolution evidences the UN is interested
in preventing future genocides.

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