ZHARANGUTIUN PROPOSES MARKING APRIL 24 ALSO AS CONDEMNATION DAY OF HOMELAND DEPRIVATION

NOYAN TAPAN
NOVEMBER 2, 2009
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 2, NOYAN TAPAN. RA National Assembly Zharangutiun
(Heritage) faction deputies on November 2 by the order established by
the NA Regulations sent a bill On Making an Amendment to the RA Law On
RA Holidays and Memory Days to NA Speaker Hovik Abrahamian. The bill
proposes restating Article 5 of the law, according to which April 24 is
marked as Commemoration Day of Genocide Victims. Zharangutiun proposes
marking that commemoration non-working day also as Condemnation Day
of Homeland Deprivation.

The motivation attached to Zharangutiun’s legislative initiative,
in particular, read:

"Genocide’s consequence was that the Armenians were deprived of
their homeland. The people slaughtered just on its native land was
deprived of its historic homeland. This fact is a common tragedy which
makes more complete the fact of the Genocide. We should perceive the
tragedy within that entity and appreciate the commemoration day in
that context. The adoption of that law will complete the real picture
of Genocide, will stipulate the condemnation of deprivation of its
native heirs of legal and historic rights for the Armenian lands.

The Genocide not only took away lives of 1.5 million innocent people
but also deprived millions of Armenians of their own homeland: it is
a murder of not only a people but also a culture, a whole way of life,
therefore that fact should be also recorded and mentioned. It will not
permit to raze this crime from our people’s collective memory, which
deprived the Armenian generations of their civilization, heritage,
and homeland.

It should be recorded that this problem is as actual on the political
agenda of the Republic of Armenia as never: not to renounce and to keep
the memory of Genocide victims, statehood’s dignity. The Republic of
Armenia should double the potential of stopping the denial going on for
centuries until the international community recognizes aforethought
deprivation of a whole people of its homeland. By adopting this
law the Republic of Armenia will again value the memory of Genocide
victims and the fact of homeland deprivation.