ASSEMBLY: IRREVERSIBLE TREND HAS COMMENCED IN TURKEY

PanARMENIAN.Net
19.12.2008 18:39 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ An irreversible trend has commenced in Turkey,
said Executive Director of the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly).

"Over 12,000 people in Turkey want history to be recorded truthfully,
having already signed the internet-based petition apologizing for
what they call the ‘Great Catastrophe’ that befell the Armenians of
Ottoman Turkey in 1915. This public apology is a first step in that
direction and will inevitably lead to Turkey coming to grips with
its genocidal past," Bryan Ardouny said.

"This process was encouraged in 2003 by the International Center
for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), which concluded that "the Events
[of 1915], viewed collectively, can thus be said to include all of
the elements of the crime of genocide as defined in the Convention."

Noting the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama and Vice
President-elect Joseph Biden next month and Obama’s statement from
October which read, "Joe Biden and I believe that the Armenian Genocide
is not an allegation, a personal opinion, or a point of view, but
rather a widely documented fact supported by an overwhelming body
of historical evidence," Ardouny said, "They are both on record as
supporting Turkey’s reconciliation with its past, and affirmation
of the Armenian Genocide. Coupled with Obama’s recent selection
of Senator Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, the Obama-Biden
Administration has an opportunity to clearly affirm the Armenian
Genocide and, at the same time, help Turkey reverse its policy of
denial. It will also send a message that the U.S. will no longer
shelter Turkey from criticism if it continues to persecute leading
intellectuals by invoking Article 301 of its Penal Code."

Some 14 thousand people have already signed the online public apology
for the Armenian Genocide.