ArmenPress, Armenia
July 11 2005

URUGUAY DEMAND EU TO DENY TURKISH MEMBERSHIP UNLESS IT RECOGNIZES
ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

YEREVAN, JULY 11, ARMENPRESS: A campaign of signature collection
under a petition asking the European Union to deny Turkey’s
membership unless it acknowledges the Armenian genocide, launched by
Lilian Kechijian, an Armenian member of Uruguay parliament, is
gathering momentum. The campaign is supported by Armenian Cause
office, Armenia youth union and many other local Armenian
organizations. The petition is being co-signed not only by Armenians
but also Uruguayans.
On July 8 Lillian Kechijian met with activists of Armenian
organizations to sum up what they had done to this end. The meeting
decided to make a broader use of mass media to expand the campaign.
In an interview with a local Armenian radio, Lilian Kechijian said
she was happy that the petition was being signed not only by ordinary
citizens, but also by government and parliament members. She said one
of them was the country’s vice-president Nin Nipoa.
Earlier this year the parliament of Uruguay had made a unanimous
decision to ask the country’s foreign ministry to submit to the
United Nations a resolution declaring April 24 as “Genocide
Condemnation World Day.” The parliament decision was largely due to
the efforts of Lilian Kechijian. The decision asked the Uruguay
foreign ministry to ask the UN to consider it at its next session.
Uruguay was the first country to officially recognize the
Armenian genocide, when the country’s Senate and House and
Representatives adopted a resolution on April 20, 1965. On March 26,
2004, the President of Uruguay signed a law designating April 24 as a
“Day of Recognition for the Armenian Martyrs.”