RECOGNITION OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BY TURKEY BECOMES URGENT, IS SAID IN STATEMENT OF RA NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Noyan Tapan
Feb 08 2007

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 8, NOYAN TAPAN. The RA National Assembly on
February 8 issued a statement condemning the murder of Hrant Dink,
the editor-in-chief of the weekly newspaper "Akos". The statement,
which was submitted to NT by the RA National Assembly PR Department,
reads: "The National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia condemns
the assassination of the Akos newspaper’s editor-in-chief Hrant Dink,
qualifying it as a crime against expression freedom, human rights and
a respresentative of the Armenian minority. Expressing its resentment,
the RA National Assembly states that this crime planned by Turkish
chauvinistic circles has taken deep roots as a result of Armenophobia
and anti-Armenian propaganda. The propaganda conducted by the Turkish
authorities and aimed at denial of own history and denial of the
1915 Armenian Genocide, as well as criminal prosecution of numerous
intellectuals for having discussed this issue caused a desire among
nationalists to silence the voice of freedom by such a criminal act. At
the same time, we express our concern about the latest developments
in Tukey in connection with this barbaric crime. The social wrath
following Dink’s murder is now being replaced with the opposite
tendency: Turkish chauvinism, xenophobia, glorification of the criminal
are again rearing head, and as a consequence, new threats are made
against the newspaper edited by Hrant Dink, free-thinking persons and
the Armenian minority. The disclosures that law enforcers were informed
about the planned murder and did not attempt to prevent it are also
alarming and give occasion for deeper examination. The necessity for
the comprehensive detection of this crime, including identification
of those who ordered it, has become a vital need today. The National
Assembly states: This murder once again shows that in order to create
an atmosphere of mutual trust between the two peoples, it has become
urgent for the Turkish authorities to reconcile with own history and
recognize the Armenian Genocide, as well as to meet demand of the
international community to cancel the Criminal Code’s Article 301
that allows violations of speech freedom and similar manifestations."