SWEDEN RECOGNIZES ASSYRIAN, GREEK AND ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
By Abdulmesih BarAbrahem
Assyrian International News Agency AINA
M arch 12 2010
Stockholm (AINA) — In a resolution adopted today, the Swedish
parliament (the Riksdagen) referered to the World War I-era killings
of 2.75 million Armenians, Assyrians (also known as Chaldeans and
Syriacs) and Pontic Greeks by the Ottomans as a genocide. Turkey is
regarded legally and politically as the successor state of the Ottoman
Empire but vehemently rejects calling the killing genocide according
to the U.N. definition adopted in 1948, insisting that those killed
were victims of war and uprising.
The genocide claimed the lives of 750,000 Assyrians (75%), 500,000
Greeks and 1.5 million Armenians.
The resolution passed by a single vote after some members of Prime
Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt’s ruling centre-right coalition broke
ranks and voted with the red-green opposition.
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt is cited by Swedish radio news
saying that he regretted the Parliament’s decision and feared it could
"be used" by reform critics in Turkey and that it "will unfortunately
not have a positive effect on the ongoing normalization process
between Turkey and Armenia."
In contrast the Left Party’s foreign policy spokesperson Hans Linde
told The Local newspaper on Thursday that the time had come for Sweden
to take a stand on the issue. "First, to learn from history and stop it
from repeating and second, to encourage the development of democracy
in Turkey, which includes dealing with its own history. The third
reason," added Linde, "is to redress the wrongs committed against
the victims and their relatives."
The Washington Post cites Gulan Avci saying that, "after 95 years it is
time for people who have suffered so long to obtain redress." Gulan
Avci is a Liberal Party lawmaker who broke with her party’s line
and voted to recognize the resolution. Avci is a Kurdish immigrant
from Turkey.
The uniqueness of Sweden’s genocide adoption is that it refers also
to Assyrians and Pontic Greeks. Their suffering during the World
War I has been mostly forgotten for decades, but in December 2007
the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) did vote
overwhelmingly and recognized the genocides of the Assyrian and Greek
populations of the Ottoman Empire between 1914 and 1923. For the
Assyrians in Sweden, the recognition of the genocide, called Seyfo
(sword) in Assyrian, is a milestone in their effort for political
acknowledgment. More than 80,000 Assyrians live in Sweden, and they
closely followed the debate in the parliament.
As expected, Turkey condemned the decision of the Swedish Parliament.
A strong condemnation was voiced in a press release from the Prime
Minister’s office. Turkey recalled its ambassador to Sweden for
consultations and said Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has
cancelled his planned visit to Sweden on the 17th of this month.
Last week a U.S. a congressional committee approved a similar
resolution that would send the measure to the full House of
Representatives. Minutes after the vote, Turkey withdrew its ambassador
to the U.S. Also last year, Turkey also recalled its ambassador to
Canada after Prime Minister Stephen Harper referred to the killings
as genocide.