DALAI LAMA ON THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE AND NAGORNO KARABAKH

ArmRadio.am
16.01.2007 16:55

"Unlike the past, on the whole the contemporary world to some extent
recognizes the right of any community to preserve its ethnic and
cultural identity.

Armenia is a rather big country, a big community with ancient history,"
Dalai Lama XIV said in response to the question of "Komsomolskaya
Pravda" newspaper asking whether the recognition and condemnation of
the Armenian Genocide is a necessary condition for further development
of humanity.

"As for the sufferings that befell you in the past… Today the best
way of conflict resolution is the dialogue in the spirit of truce. And
here the ability to forgive is of special importance. It does not mean
forgetting the events of the past. Remember about your sufferings,
let others also know about these, but at the same time don’t keep
evil in your heart," he advised, noting that it is more proper to
work out mutually acceptable solutions corresponding to new reality.

Does Dalai Lama see similarities between the Nagorno Karabakh conflict
and Tibet issues? "I’ve heard about Nagorno Karabakh, but I’m not
familiar with the details. Most probably, there should be similarities,
but there must be also differences."

As for the self-determination of peoples, Dalai Lama noted that it is
very important. "The self-determination of peoples and preservation of
cultural legacy is important, since cultural legacy has been formed
through evolutional development and corresponds to the demands of
certain people," he said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress