ANNIVERSARY OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE COMMEMORATED IN FRANKFURT
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Apr 25 2007
FRANKFURT, APRIL 25, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The central event
of commemoration of the 92nd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide took
place with joint efforts of the Armenian Diocese of Germany and the
Board of Germany’s Armenians at the Paulskirsche Hall of Frankfurt
on April 22.
Chairman of the Board of Germany’s Armenians Shavarsh Hovasapian opened
the event. Welcoming those present on behalf of the event organizers,
he noted with satisfaction the interest in recognition of the Armenian
Genocide shown by German state and political circles in recent years
and their steps in this direction. "The history of the Armenian
Genocide has become a history of denial for Turkey. This policy of
denial has caused the death of Hrant Dink," S. Hovasapian said.
Then the Armenian ambassador to Germany Karine Ghazinian, and leader of
the Green party’s parliamentary faction Fritz Kuhn made speeches. Two
years ago F. Kuhn played an important role in adoption of the decision
condemning the extermination of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, which
was passed by the Bundestag. "I was ashamed to discover that German
school textbooks say nothing about the Armenian Genocide," he said,
expressing a hope that German responsible bodies will correct this
mistake in the near future.
German historian Yorn Riuze made a scientific report on the Armenian
Genocide. In particular, he said that the Genocide’s recognition is
necessary not only for Armenians but also for Turks as the current
Turkish generation is a captive of the bitter historical past. "A
murder chases like a shadow those avoiding responsibility. Mass
killings are killings of one’s own humanity and it is impossible to
avoid responsibility by denial or rejection," he noted.
The head of the German diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church
Archbishop Garegin Bekjian delivered the final speech. The event
ended with prayers for peace of the souls of the numerous victims of
the Armenian Genocide.