CE COMMISSION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS REFERRED TO ARMENIAN GENOCIDE ISSUE

Panorama.am
15:55 23/03/2010

Politics

Historical controversies should not hold human rights hostage.

One-sided interpretations or distortions of historical events have
sometimes led to discrimination of minorities, xenophobia and renewal
of conflict. It is crucial to establish an honest search for the truth,
CoE website quotes Thomas Hammarberg, Council of Europe Commissioner
for Human Rights, as saying.

"Coming to terms with history is always essential, but particularly
crucial in cases of massive atrocities and human rights violations.

Such crimes cannot be ignored without severe consequences. Prolonged
impunity or lack of acknowledgment over several generations tends
to create bitterness among those who identify themselves with the
victims. This, in turn, can poison relations between people who
were not even born when the events in question took place" said the
Commissioner.

Highlighting past events whose interpretation is still controversial,
the Commissioner stresses that more efforts are needed to disclose the
truth. "Establishing true accounts of previous human rights violations
is indeed essential for building the rule of law in all post-conflict
situations. In the immediate aftermath this is crucial to bring those
responsible to justice, to compensate the victims and to take actions
to prevent the recurrence of these crimes."

The Commissioner also underlines the importance of a proper education
and the need to further those initiatives aimed at fostering
multi-perspective history teaching.