SPEECH BY ARMENIAN MP IN THE CYPRUS PARLIAMENT VARTKES MAHDESSIAN AT THE POLITICAL GATHERING IN PASYDY HALL – NICOSIA – CYPRUS, AT THE 95TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE COMMEMORATION OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Alexander-Michael Hadjilyra

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Saturday 24 April 2010

Nicosia – Today marks the completion of 95 whole years since the
first great Genocide of the 20th century, one of the darkest pages
in history.

Like every year this day, we experience a mixture of feelings. They
are feelings of emotion, sorrow and indignation for the extermination
of one and a half million innocent people, whose only "mistake"
was their ethnicity and religion.

Although the official Turkish position is that the death of
thousands of Armenians was a tragic but unintentional consequence
of the War, recent studies by both Western and Turkish analysts
in Ottoman documents of the time, especially military and judicial
records, parliamentary minutes, letters and testimonies of Western
eye-witnesses, bring out the organised and co-ordinated attempt of
the Ottoman state, the governing "Union and Progress" Young Turks’
party, as well as of the military forces, to wipe out the Armenians
and the other Christian minorities, in order to build a purely Turkish
national state.

The plan to exterminate the Armenians did not start in 1915, but
much earlier. Specifically, Sultan Abdul Hamid, convinced that the
misfortunes of the Ottoman Empire originated from Christians, ordered
the massacre of about 300.000 Armenians between 1894 and 1896. The
great Genocide was also preceded by the slaughter of 30.000 Armenians
in 1909 in Adana.

In 1915, Turkey took advantage of the unsettled situation that had been
created with World War I, when the Great Powers were fighting between
them, to carry out undisturbed her unholy plan, the annihilation of
the Armenians.

Despite the inhuman and fierce plans of the Turks, the Armenian
Nation has managed to survive and preserve its national conscience,
language and religion. The survivors of the horrific massacres and the
Genocide originally fled to the neighbouring Middle Eastern countries,
amongst them Cyprus, establishing communities. Gradually, some moved
to Greece and other European, African, Asian and American countries,
creating the Armenian Diaspora.

For decades, the Armenian Genocide remained on the sidelines until,
after long-lasting struggles, the re-introduction of the Armenian
Question to the international stage was made possible in 1965,
when the Parliament of Uruguay recognised the Genocide and the late
President Spyros Kyprianou made reference to it for the first time
from the podium of the United Nations’ General Assembly.

Ever since, this issue has become a hot topic for Turkey, as country
after country and International Organisations, like the European
Parliament, have gradually recognised the Armenian Genocide, while
Turkey responds in fits and starts, attempting to avert its global
conviction with threats and extortion.

On the other side of the Atlantic, the Armenian Genocide is recognised
today by 43 states of America. Last year, from this podium I had
expressed the wish that Barrack Obama’s pre-election commitments for
the official recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the United States
become a reality, something that will lead the way for its global
recognition. However, after recent events and the marginal Congress
resolution for the recognition of the Genocide and Obama’s reaction
to it, I am sorry to say that our hopes have unfortunately gone up
in smoke. However, the recent recognition of the Genocide by Wales,
Catalonia and Sweden are shining examples.

For Armenians, and the entire humanity, the question of recognising
the Armenian Genocide is a matter of order and moral satisfaction. Its
global recognition will be the minimal proof that International Law
and human values prevail over financial, political and other interests.

The crimes of Turkey, other than the Armenian Genocide, include the
Pontian, Assyrian, Greek, Kurdish and other Genocides, the brutal
invasion and for 36 years illegal occupation of a large part of Cyprus’
soil and the continuous oppression of Armenians, Greeks and other
minorities living in a country that wants to become a member of the
European family.

As long as Turkey continues to stubbornly deny the crimes it has
committed, humanity will be at a loss, the crimes it committed will
go unpunished and the people that were subjected to these crimes will
be unjustified.

For the non-admission of the Armenian Genocide by the Turkish state and
the non-taking the responsibility for it, the psychology and culture
of the Turkish society play an important part, as it is unwilling to
come to terms with its criminal past. An equally important factor is
the fact that Turks cannot read written documents of the time, such
as newspapers, letters and journals, as in 1928, within the context
of the reformations introduced by Kemal Ataturk, the Turkish alphabet
was changed from Arabic to Latin script. Modern Turks are, therefore,
fully depended on history, as it has been forged and compiled by the
Turkish state.

Thus, modern Turkey remains stigmatised by the fact that it does
not find the courage to apologise, which although it will not erase
yesterday, it will still be a prerequisite for a better tomorrow. Not
only it remains unrepentant, but it also uses communication tricks
and diplomatic games, trying to project to the outside the image of
a peacemaker and a peripheral power that poses a stabilising factor
in the sensitive Middle East region.

Perhaps the most characteristic of Turkey’s diplomatic games,
ultimately aiming at renouncing its responsibilities for the Genocide,
has proven to be the recent trick with the Armenia-Turkey protocols,
the signing of which raised a huge wave of protest in Cyprus and the
entire Armenian Diaspora. Wrapping up, without wishing to elaborate,
I will only mention that the signing of the protocols took place on 9
October 2009. Their ratification, however, has not yet materialised
until today, as Turkey continuously blackmails for returns in order
to proceed to their ratification.

Hoping for better days, I leave the conclusions to you …

Thank you for your attention.