ARMENIAN DIASPORA INTENDS TO CREATE A SPECIAL BODY TO RESOLVE THE ARMENIAN ISSUE

Regnum, Russia
April 23 2007

It is necessary to spare no effort to achieve recognition of the
Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire of 1915 by the international
community and Turkey as well, Executive Director of Armenia’s Community
of Land Unions Andranik Arshakian said at a news conference today.

According to him, a specially established organizational committee is
now busy with preparation of a forum in France within next two years
of Western Armenians’ descendants, who managed to escape the Armenian
Genocide in the Ottoman Empire in the beginning of the 20th century.

"The main task of the forum is to establish an authoritative body of
Western Armenians that will be engaged in settling the Armenian issue,"
Arshakian said. According to him, in case the Armenian Genocide is
recognized, the question arises: what is next? The body will decide
on it, he said.

In his turn, deputy editor-in-chief of the Armenian Encyclopedia
Genrikh Khachantrian who is also one of the forum initiators, said that
forums dedicated to discussion of the Armenian issue, were twice held
in Yerevan, in 1917 and in 1919. According to him, an encyclopedia will
be written soon that covers the whole period of the Armenian issue.

Meanwhile, Member of the Armenian National Academy of Sciences
Alexander Manasyan said that such a forum would encourage not only
proposing a new method of resolving the Armenian issue, but will even
more unite descendants of the Western Armenians in the whole world.