TURKEY OPPOSES MENTIONING OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE AT EXHIBITION DEDICATED TO RWANDA GENOCIDE

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Apr 11 2007

NEW YORK, APRIL 11, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The exhibition
dedicated to the 13th anniversary of the Rwanda Genocide which was to
open on April 9 at the UN central office in New York, was postponed
as the Turkish side opposed mentioning of the Armenian Genocide at it.

According to Radio Liberty, quoting the Associated Press agency,
exhibition initiator James Smith, the Executive Director of the Aegis
Trust organization functioning in Great Britain, UN Public Information
Department affirmed materials to be presented to the exhibition.

In Smith’s words, the exhibition touched upon the Armenian massacres
to explain the meaning of the "genocide" word the definition of which
was in 1943 given by Raphael Lemkin, a lawyer from Poland of the
Jewish origin, having as an example the one happened with Armenians
in the early 20th century and other mass massacres. It was written
on the poster telling about Lemkin that "one million of Armenians
were killed in Turkey during the World War I."

The Turkish diplomat protested against mentioning the Armenian
Genocide, after what Ambassador of Armenia to UN Armen Martirosian
met with Kiyotaka Akasaka, the UN Deputy Secretary-General for Public
Information, and they reached agreement to take "in Turkey" words
out of the above-mentioned text.

However, in Smith’s words, it became known late on Sunday that "the
opening will be postponed or even invalidated."

UN Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq affirmed that Turkey protested on the
occasion of the exhibition, but, in his words, "the main anxiety"
was that the UN principle of taking into consideration "all the sides"
was not kept at the exhibition.

In Haq’s words, "the UN did not express any position on the occasion of
the events taken place much before the foundation of the organization."

"In all cases, Rwanda itself must be in the center of attention during
the anniversary of the Rwanda Genocide," the UN Deputy Spokesman
summed up.

But, Smith stated that as touching upon of the Armenian cases was
already affirmed they consider principle not to take it out: "It is
a way of betrayal, and as an organization relating to the theme of
genocide, we can not do it in the case of any genocide."

The Armenian National Committee of America Washington Office, in its
turn, spread a message in which it seriously condemns the Government
of Turkey for laying obstacles on the way of the exhibition envisaged
at the UN.

"It is just the freshest example how Turkey’s campaign of betrayal of
the Armenian Genocide perpetuates circulation of the genocide, making
the world more dangerous, and future genocides – more probable," Aram
Hambarian, the Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee
of America stated.