ARMENIA VIEWS ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RECOGNITION AS IMPORTANT MEANS OF PREVENTING FUTURE GENOCIDES

NOYAN TAPAN
JUNE 16, 2010
YEREVAN

The main and only reason for suspending the Armenian-Turkish
normalization process was Turkey’s attempt to link other issues with
the normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey, Armenian
Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said in an interview with Austrian
news magazine “Profil”. He underlined that the international community
has publicly admitted that the solution of the Nagorno Karabakh
problem has no relation to the Armenian-Turkish normalization and
any attempts to link them may harm the two processes.

Speaking about the Turkish prime minister’s statement about deportation
of Armenians, E. Nalbandian noted that some leaders of present-day
Turkey have not given up the intolerant and racist approaches of the
Ottoman period. “The Armenian Genocide started with such statements
made in 1914-1915. Later, at the end of the 20th century, the massacres
and deportations of Armenians in Azerbaijan were also accompanied by
such racist statements,” the Armenian foreign minister reminded.

When asked why Armenia attaches so much importance to the recognition
of the Genocide by Turkey, E. Nalbandian explained that the recognition
and condemnation of the first genocide of the 20th century is viewed
not only as tribute to the memory of the Genocide victims, but also
as an important means of preventing future genocides.

From: A. Papazian