CHAIRMAN BIDEN SUPPORTS NOBEL LAUREATES APPEAL

ArmRadio.am
19.06.2007 10:42

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joseph Biden, Jr. (D-DE),
commended the 53 Nobel Laureates who signed an appeal by the Elie
Wiesel Foundation for Humanity in support of "tolerance, contact
and cooperation between Turks and Armenians," reports the Armenian
Assembly of America.

Biden’s statement endorses the Laureates’ call for Turks and Armenians
to take steps to lift the blockade, generate confidence through
civil society cooperation, improve official contact and allow basic
freedoms. He also supports their call on Ankara to end all forms of
discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities and repeal of
Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code.

Shortly after Hrant Dink’s murder in January, Biden introduced
legislation, condemning the assassination of the Turkish-Armenian
journalist and honoring his legacy of tolerance and peaceful
change. The resolution, known as S. Res. 65, urges Turkey to
take appropriate action to protect freedom of speech by repealing
Article 301, which criminalizes public discussion on the Armenian
Genocide. S. Res. 65 also calls on Turkey to reestablish full
diplomatic, political and economic relations with Armenia.

"There is no question that Article 301 contributed to the toxic
political environment that led up to Mr. Dink’s assassination in
January," Biden explained in his statement.

Turning to the issue of the Armenian Genocide, Biden reiterated the
need for Turks and Armenians to address the "huge gap in perceptions"
that the Laureates identified. The Laureates called for further study
and dissemination of the International Center for Transitional Justice
(ICTJ) report which concluded that "the Events, viewed collectively,
can thus be said to include all of the elements of the crime of
genocide as defined in the Convention, and legal scholars as well
as historians, politicians, journalists and other people would be
justified in continuing to so describe them."

Biden noted that the independent legal study was corroborated by the
International Association of Genocide Scholars, which determined the
events constituted genocide and conform to the statutes of the United
Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide.

"The existence of these independent evaluations of the Armenian
Genocide and relevant international law should provide an opportunity
for both countries to accept the verdict of history and move forward,"
Biden stated.

"I hope that the words of these Nobel Laureates will encourage the
people of both nations to recognize and ultimately transcend the
legacy of the Armenian Genocide," Biden concluded. "Once this occurs,
I have every confidence that the people of Armenia and Turkey will
be able to rebuild the ties between their countries and forge a new,
enduring peace."