EUROPEAN ARMENIAN FEDERATION
For Justice and Democracy
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*European Parliament adopts resolution on Centennial of the Armenian
Genocide, calls on Turkey to reconcile with its past*

Brussels, 15 April, 2015: Today, during its plenary session the European
Parliament adopted , a resolution on the centennial of the Armenian
Genocide. The European Council was represented by Kalinina-Lukaševica and
the European Commission Kristalina Georgieva, Vice-President of the
European Commission and Commissioner for the Budget and Human Resources.
With this resolution, the European Parliament officially marked the
centennial of the Armenian Genocide.

Today’s resolution on the Centenary of the Armenian Genocide was supported
by all political groups in the European Parliament, in which is stated:
“whereas an increasing number of Member States and national
parliaments recognize the Armenian Genocide perpetrated in the Ottoman
Empire, whereas one of the main motivations of the European unification
movement is the will to prevent the recurrence of wars and crimes against
humanity in Europe; …whereas the importance of keeping the memories of
the past is paramount, since there can be no reconciliation without the
truth and remembrance; Pays tribute, on the eve of the Centenary, to the
memory of the one-and-a-half million innocent Armenian victims who perished
in the Ottoman Empire; joins the commemoration of the centenary of the
Armenian Genocide in a spirit of European solidarity and justice; calls on
the Commission and Council to join the commemoration”.

The resolution reminds the Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in
the World 2013 adopted on Mach 12, 2015, and the European Union’s policy on
the matter, where the European Parliament calls on EU member states to
recognize the Armenian Genocide.
In today’s resolution, `the European Parliament calls on Turkey to
come to terms with its past by recognizing the Armenian genocide and
thus pave way for a genuine reconciliation”.

The resolution also recalls the Parliament’s resolution of 18 June 1987 in
which inter alia it has recognized that the tragic events that took place
in 1915 – 1917 against the Armenians in the territory of the Ottoman Empire
represent a genocide as defined in the Convention on the Prevention and
Punishment of the Crime of Genocide of 1948; condemns all occurrences of
crimes against humanity and genocide and strongly deplores any attempts of
their denial.

The European Parliament resolution also asks for the establishment of an
`International Remembrance Day for Genocides’ and stresses
that the timely
prevention and effective punishment of genocide and crimes against humanity
should be among the main priorities of the international community and the
EU.

An unprecedented number of members of the European Parliament took the
stage and showed their solidarity to the Armenian nation in, and in support
of the resolution, and the importance of calling a genocide a genocide.
Pope Francis’ message of reconciliation and peace was also mentioned and
included in the final version of the resolution.

Kaspar Karampetian, President of the European Armenian Federation for
Justice & Democracy (EAFJD) said “Armenians all over the world welcome this
resolution in this centennial year of the Armenian Genocide. The European
Union is a union of values, dignity and human rights, and we expect all
countries willing to join it, to have reconciled with their past, have
friendly relations with their neighbors and look forward to a brighter and
peaceful future without the ultimate of crimes, without Genocide. We expect
Turkey come to terms with its past, and acknowledge the crime it has
committed against the Armenian population 100 years ago, with all its
consequences”. Karampetian also stressed the need for the EU Council and
Commission to show more courage, acknowledge the crime with its proper
name, and not hide behind EU member countries who have not yet recognized
the Armenian Genocide.

Karampetian also said, that Armenians support the democratic forces in
Turkey, who challenge the Turkish state’s denial policy, push for
recognition of the crime of Genocide against Armenians. He also stressed
the well coordinated and organized work of the Republic of Armenia
permanent mission to the EU, Republic of Armenia National Assembly’s
committee on foreign relations and the European Friends of Armenia, whose
efforts succeeded in having this well deserved resolution.

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