NETHERLANDS’ ARMENIANS TO ORGANIZE DEMONSTRATION TO MARK 95TH ANNIVERSARY OF GENOCIDE

PanARMENIAN.Net
22.03.2010 16:27 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The 24 April Committee of FAON and the Hay
Tad Holland cooperating as "Joint Armenian Organisations of the
Netherlands" intend to organise a commemorative demonstration to mark
the 95th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

FAON calls on all other Armenian organisations and all Armenians in
the Netherlands for a massive demonstration to enforce claims for
recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Turkey and for implementation
of the Motion by Rouvoet by the Dutch government. This Motion has
been adopted unanimously by the Dutch Parliament in 2004.

The demonstration will take place in Het Plein square, The Hague,
The Netherlands on Tuesday, 20 April 2010.

"It is of utmost importance that we, as the Armenian community in
the Netherlands, give a strong signal to show our horror about the
Armenian Genocide and about the fact that after 95 years the Genocide
is still denied and trivialized in a repulsive way by Turkey and even
speaking about it in Turkey is still punishable.

Although there is an extensive recognition of the Armenian Genocide,
the international community does not effectively succeed to make clear
to Turkey that the pattern of denial and trivialisation is unacceptable
and to take the appropriate measures for preventing this practice.

This same attitude of the world made it possible that in 1915 the
Armenian Genocide could take place under the eyes of the world.

It is therefore important that we work together to commemorate this
95th anniversary. We call on everyone to participate in the joint
demonstration in The Hague, the city of international law," FAON
statement said.

The demonstration is intended to enforce the requirement that Turkey
recognizes the Armenian Genocide, implementation of the Rouvoet’s
Parliamentary Motion from 2004, which asks the Dutch government to
put constantly and expressly on the agenda the recognition of the
Armenian Genocide by Turkey and the need to establish a memorial in
The Hague, city of international law, for commemorating the victims
of the Armenian Genocide, as an example of how the international
community should not handle such disastrous events.

The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic
destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during
and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres, and
deportations involving forced marches under conditions designed to
lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths
reaching 1.5 million.

The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the
Genocide survivors.