CHILEAN PRESIDENT: ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RECOGNITION BY CHILEAN PARLIAMENT "IS NOT BINDING"
PanARMENIAN.Net
20.07.2007 16:27 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement
Wednesday that Chilean President Michelle Bachelet sent a letter
to Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, saying that the document,
which was adopted in the Chilean parliament on June 5 and referred
to the events of 1915 as the Armenian Genocide was not legally or
politically binding, the Turkish Daily News reports.
June 5 the Chilean government unanimously made a decision to condemn
the Armenian Genocide. The draft project was submitted by Socialist
Party member Ricardo Nunies Munios. The documents reads, in part,
"April 24, 1915 the Turkish government arrested and killed the
leaders of the Armenian people in Constantinople and thus initiated
the policy of extermination of the Armenian nation. In 1915-1923
some 1.5 million of Armenians who lived on their lands during
centuries. This extermination is named the first ethnic cleansing
of the 20th century. The Armenian Genocide was recognized by the UN
subcommittee on discrimination and protection of national minorities in
1985. Considering these facts the Senate of Chile decreed to recognize
the Armenian Genocide and condemn it. It also called to the Chilean
government to join the UN resolution of 1985."
The draft author reminded that the Armenian Genocide has been already
recognized by Uruguay, Argentina, Greece, Bulgaria, Russia, Italy,
Lebanon, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Venezuela, Lithuania, Canada
and France as well as the European Parliament and the World Council
of Churches.