GENOCIDE 100: DASHNAK LEADER SAYS “TSUNAMI” HAS BEGUN

GENOCIDE | 20.04.15 | 15:51

GOHAR ABRAHAMYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter

Giro Manoyan, director of the International Secretariat of the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) Bureau in Yerevan, says the
predicted “tsunami” of publicity has occurred ahead of commemoration
of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

Manoyan told reporters Monday that especially last week when the Pope
recognized the Ottoman Turks’ slaughter of up to 1.5 million Armenians
in 1915 as the first genocide of the 20th century, the Pontiff’s
statement started the tsunami that Turkey is so much afraid of.

“This means that during the following days the tsunami will continue,
especially through different events organized in Yerevan on April
22-24. All this is the result of both decades of work and the work
of the recent years, realized both by individuals and organizations,
institutions and state and the Church,” Manoyan said.

According to Manoyan, Turkey also failed with its initiative of the
centennial of the Gallipoli battle, which was supposed to cast a
shadow on April 24 events devoted to the Armenian Genocide.

“It did not happen and never will, on the contrary, with that
initiative Turkey created excessive interest in our events and in
general, big international organizations will definitely have their
opinion, which Turkey is trying to stop,” Manoyan said adding that
Turkey will not burn bridges with any country which recognized the
Genocide, they will simply make rough announcements during these
months, and then everything will normalize.

Referring to U.S. President Barrack Obama’s broken pledge to use the
word “genocide” in six annual commemoration day speeches, Manoyan
said that president himself made a promise, and if he does not want
to keep his promise, it is his problem.

“If until May 9 when main American events will be taking place in
Washington (Obama) does not fulfill his promise, we should not only
stop inquiring, but also say that we do not want it anymore. It is
a fact now that if the Turkish President says it, the US President
also will,” Manoyan says.