GOAL OF ARFD’S ACTIONS IS TO ONCE MORE RAISE ISSUE OF GENOCIDE BEFORE TURKISH PRESIDENT, ARMEN RUSTAMIAN SAYS

Noyan Tapan
Sep 4, 2008

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 4, NOYAN TAPAN. Armen Rustamian, a representative
of the ARFD Armenian Supreme Body, assured that the actions to
be initiated by Dashnaktsutiun on the day of Turkish President
Abdullah Gul’s visit are not aimed either against the foreign
policy of Serzh Sargsyan inviting him to Armenia or against A. Gul’s
visit. As he stated at the September 4 press conference, the goal of
Dashnaktsutiun’s actions is to once more raise the issue of Genocide
before Gul and to personally present the demand of recognition of the
fact of Genocide to him. According to A. Rustamian, unless such actions
are organized, on the very day following the visit the Turks will
announce all over the world that in the presence of their President
Armenians "did not say a word" about the issue of Genocide. After
that Turkey, according to A. Rustamian, the international community
will say that its observations that the Genocide is the problem of
the Armenian Diaspora and not of Armenia were right.

The ARFD figure informed those present that party’s activists will
start their actions on September 5, from the moment of A. Gul’s
arrival, at the airport. The next day, the day of Armenia-Turkey
football match, the demonstrants will visit Tsitsernakaberd Memorial
Complex and will keep lighting torches there during the whole
game. And appeals to recognize the Genocide will be voiced at the
stadium during the game. Meanwhile A. Rustamian stressed that ARFD
calls its supporters for not yielding to provocations and not making
clashes with Turkish football fans.

He classed as "extreme" the mood in Armenian society in connection
with the anticipated visit of the Turkish President. "They are so
happy that one forms an impression that we are meeting our missing
brother," A. Rustamian said. According to him, it was also unnecessary
that the Football Federation very quickly changed its logo replacing
the image of Mount Ararat by the image of a ball.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress