On May 18 Deputy Speaker of the Armenian National Assembly Edward Sharmazanov took part in the international conference “Triad of Genocides: Armenians, Greeks, and Assyrians” in Athens.

Speaking at the event, Sharmazanov reminded that on March 24 the National Assembly of Armenia unanimously adopted a statement, condemning the genocide of the Greeks and Assyrians in Ottoman Turkey. “With this statement we reaffirmed our commitment to struggle for the recognition and condemnation of the phenomenon of genocide,” he said.

“Unfortunately, instead of recognizing the genocides and shaking off the heavy burden the Turkish authorities move along the path of denial, becoming an accomplice in the crime committed a century ago, occupy part of Cyprus, illegally blockade Armenia, keep Article 301, organize “galipolies”, trying to mislead the international community, scold the Pope and the leaders of the countries which recognize and condemn the genocide,” he said.

“We, the representatives of the three nations, should unite our potential for the protection of human rights, restoration of historical justice and struggle against Turkish denialism,” the Deputy Speaker added.

“It is not sufficient any more to struggle only for recognition and condemnation of the genocide of the Christian peoples in Ottoman Turkey: We should reach the criminalization of the Turkish denialism. Keeping silence about genocides can generate new genocides, and the Holocaust, the genocides of Cambodia, Rwanda and Darfur are the evidence of it,” he said.

At all platforms we should be united to voice about the necessity of condemnation of the phenomenon of genocide, we should struggle against Turkey’s policy of denial for excluding the birth of new envers, new taleats, new kemals and eventually new hitlers.”