EVENTS MARK ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Margarita Kiaou

Athens News Agency, Greece
April 22 2007

The 92nd anniversary of the Armenian genocide by Turkey was observed in
Greece on Sunday through events organised in Athens and the northern
Greek city of Thessaloniki by the Armenian National Committee of
Greece.

The main speaker at the events in Athens was New Democracy MEP Ioannis
Varvitsiotis, who stressed that Turkey’s refusal to recognise the
genocide of the Armenians was a political issue. He noted that
it had recently also reached the United States in the form of a
Congress resolution that would define the mass killings of 1.5 million
Armenians during World War I as genocide, sparking heated debates as
its sponsors try to seek a House vote in the face of opposition from
the White House.

Varvitsiotis pointed out that the European Parliament had recognised
the genocide in 1987, while at the same time appealing to Turkey to
begin negotiations with the Armenian people and was continuing to exert
pressure in this direction. He stressed that it was an obligation that
Turkey had to cover since it was seeking to join the European Union.

Brief speeches were also made by Deputy Development Minister Anastasios
Nerantzis, who represented the Greek government and MP Fotis Kouvelis,
the chairman of the Greek Parliament’s Greece-Armenia friendship
group, who represented the Parliament President Anna Psarouda-Benaki,
among others.

Central speaker at the events organised in Thessaloniki was Cypriot
MEP and former Cyprus foreign minister Ioannis Cassoulides, who said
that MEPs had succeeded in making Ankara’s recognition of the Armenian
genocide before its EU accession included in reports concerning Turkey.

Caption: Greek MP Sylvana Rapti deposits a wreath at the tomb of the
Unknown Soldier to commemorate the 92nd anniversary of the Armenian
genocide on Sunday, April 22, 2007.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress