EUROPEAN ARMENIAN FEDERATION For Justice & Democracy
Avenue de la Renaissance 10
B-1000 Bruxelles
Tel/ Fax: +32 2 732 70 27/26
Website :Eafjd [1]
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PRESS RELEASE

PRESS RELEASE
TUESDAY 7 APRIL 2009

CONTACT : VARTéNIE ECHO

TEL. / FAX. : +32 (0) 2 732 70 27
EUROPEAN CIVIL SOCIETY ASKS OBAMA TO RECOGNIZE THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

— 340 ORGANIZATIONS AND ASSOCIATIONS OF 22 EUROPEAN COUNTRIES ASK
PRESIDENT OBAMA TO HONOUR HIS PLEDGE OF RECOGNIZING THE ARMENIAN
GENOCIDE.–

Brussels, Belgium- On Friday 3 April, the European Armenian
Federation for Justice and Democracy sent a letter to President Obama
signed by more than 340 associations from European civil society when
he was just leaving Europe for Turkey.

All these associations mainly made up by descendants of survivors of
the Armenian Genocide ask the American President to honour his pledge
to recognize the Armenian Genocide.

In this regard, this letter emphasizes various statements made by
President Obama who made far more than his predecessors on the
recognition of the Unpunished Genocide and was a key-point of his
foreign policy. Barack Obama declared his firm conviction `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’ and he affirmed that `as
President’, he will `recognize the Armenian Genocide’ and allow
the pending resolutions in the Congress.

The letter given to the White House on the 3 April takes note of
`the efforts made by entities that do not share’ the US
president’s vision of humanity ` clearly speaking Turkey and
reactionary forces in the United States – and that aim to prevent the
US `administration from pursuing these progressive policies’ on
the Genocide issue to highlight by contrast the positive aspects that
would have such a recognition on International politics and regional
stability.

The petition thus states that European Armenians along with other
European mainstream democratic forces would never accept Turkey’s
membership as long as `the Turkish state denies the Armenian
Genocide, promotes racism and pursues a policy of discrimination
towards its minorities’. It also underscores that the genocide
recognition by the United States `will unleash the momentum of true
change and democratization inside Turkey; a momentum which must lead
to an ultimate recognition of this mass crime by Turkey itself’. The
petition finally stresses that the recognition `will also provide an
unprecedented momentum to the process of dialogue between Turkey and
Armenia’ in making clear that `the way forward will definitely
require of Turkey a fundamental commitment to just peace’.

 `Our approach ` the European citizens’ approach and
especially the one of the European Armenians ` aims at supporting on
this particular issue the vision of the new US administration:
Recognizing the Armenian Genocide means moving toward a durable peace;
it means more stability, more justice and more democracy in the
region. These are European values, these are the ones of the European
Armenian Federation and, with President Obama, we wish that they
become again the ones of the United States stated Hilda Tchoboian, the
chairperson of the European Armenian Federation.

Taking example on the `Turkey’s recent support for the Sudanese
president who is under arrest warrant by the International Criminal
Court’, the call highlights that any step backward on the Armenian
Genocide recognition process `would be interpreted by
genocide-perpetrating governments as full license to continue their
bloody acts and criminal complicities’.

 `Recognizing the Armenian Genocide is not an act of hostility
against Turkey as claimed by hawkish supporters of RealPolitik. On the
contrary, it will help Turkey to be set free from its bloody past to
stand with credibility at the respectable place it seeks among the
International community’ concluded Hilda Tchoboian.

The European Armenian Federation recalls that associations that have
not signed the letter can still do it on the website of the European
Armenian Federation [4].
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Links:
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[1] /extern/url.php?u=3192&qid=784269
[2]
http://a chkhar.eafjd.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/ url.php?u=3193&qid=784269
[3] /extern/url.php?u=3194&qid=784269
[4] /extern/url.php?u=3195&qid=784269

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress