TURKEY TOO POWERFUL A STATE TO RECOGNIZE GENOCIDE – US-ARMENIAN JOURNALIST
17:21 * 22.04.15
Turkey, as a state far more powerful than Armenia, will be too
much influenced by pressures to ever dare to recognize the Armenian
Genocide, according to Harut Sassounian, a columnist for The California
Courrier.
Speaking at the anti-Genocide forum in Yerevan, the journalist said
he feels that the country is more likely to pursue its own interests
rather than stand up for a universal cause for justice. According to
him, Turkey will not dare to acknowledge the tragedy even if all the
world countries do so.
“We are not, of course, a powerful state and do not have a powerful
army; otherwise the Turks would have recognized [the Genocide] and
offered reparation. Turkey is powerful, but we are not. So truth and
justice have no value in the world when your army is weak. They will
if you have a strong army,” he noted.
Commenting on Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s recent
condolence address, Sassounian said he finds the move part of Turkey’s
foul tricks aimed at cheating the world.
“They express sorrow to both the Turks and the Armenians who died
during the First World War. But they died because of them, standing
up against powerful states. Yet, we aren’t victims of war; we are
innocent victims of Genocide,” he said, noting regretfully that the
world is still very often misguided by Turkish lies.
As for the Turkish authorities’ plan to celebrate the Gallipoli
Campaign centennial on the April 24 Genocide Remembrance Day,
Sassounian said he is sure that the country has intentionally sought
such a coincidence. “Turkey did that deliberately, scheduling it for
the wrong day. The purpose is one: to disrupt the April 24 events in
Armenia,” he added.