THE LESSONS OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Yerkir.am
Editorial
June 01, 2007

The International Federation of Journalists held its XXVI congress
in Moscow on May 30. One of the panels of the congress was titled
"For the Global Recognition of the Armenian Genocide Committed in
the Ottoman Turkey and Prevention of Genocides in the XXI Century".

PanArmenian.Net informs that a statement was adopted by the congress
saying, "Mass killings and deportation of the Armenian population
from the Western Armenia (the territory of the modern Turkey) are
defined as the Armenian Genocide.

These crimes were defined as "new crimes against the humanity and
civilization" in the joint statement made by Russia, France and Great
Britain in May 1915.

The crimes assume responsibility for the Ottoman Empire. Turkey was
not punished for these crimes, which caused recurrence of new crimes
against other ethnic groups in Anatolia – the Assyrians, the Greeks,
Kurds.

Today Turkey is isolating Armenia putting forward unjustified
preconditions for establishment of bilateral relations between
Armenia and Turkey. This is unacceptable from the perspective of
international relations.

Official Turkey is denying the historically proven fact of the Armenian
Genocide. It suppresses the freedom of expression and persecutes the
Turkish citizens who have the courage to speak about this issue.

The ethnic Armenian journalist, Turkish citizen Hrant Dink became
a victim of the anti-Armenian and anti-democratic hysteria launched
in Turkey at the state level. The genocides of ethnic and religious
groups committed in our days are a result of absence of a clearcut
approach to the punishment of genocides committed in the past,
including the Armenian Genocide".

The statement stresses that it is necessary to recognize
internationally the crime committed against the Armenian nation as
a result of which the Armenians were deprived of their historical
homeland.

"It is necessary to explore comprehensively all the issues connected
with the Armenian Genocide, publicize the Armenian Genocide among
the Turkish population as a guarantee for preventing future genocides
against other national and religious minorities in Turkey.

It is necessary to support the conciliation spirit and mutual respect
of the Armenian and Turkish nations based on historical memory and
mutual respect for the Genocide trauma. It is necessary to developed
operational mechanisms in the international relations to prevent and
punish genocides in order to prevent future crimes against humanity,"
the statement adopted by the XXVI congress says.