Assembly of Armenians of Europe issued an appeal to the international society and the public opinion on the occasion of the 96th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Armenian News-NEWS.am posts the statement, signed by its president Garo Hakopian.

“The Armenian Genocide

96 years have passed since the Genocide of the Armenian nation, and however, even today Armenia, the Armenian nation and each Armenian citizen living in various parts of the world suffer from the grave consequences of that monstrous crime committed by the Turkish statehood.

The Armenian Genocide, organized in four phases - from 1834 to 1923, annihilated the Armenian civilization from the significant part of its cradle killing more than 2.000.000 Armenians: about 300.000 Armenians were killed in 1894-96, 30.000 - in 1909, 1, 5 millions - in 1915-16, and about 300.000 Armenians were killed in 1918-23.

As the result of the Armenian Genocide Armenian communities, churches, schools, numerous various Armenian structures and institutions organized and rallied around five thousand-year-old structures were destroyed, the leaders of the Armenian nation, including the political and cultural selected circle and intellectuals, were killed.

All towns and regions of Western Armenia were not merely territories, but centuries-old vital territory - motherland.

Along with material incalculable losses the cultural blows caused to the Armenian nation as the result of the Genocide are boundless. The speech is not only about separate churches, various unique and inimitable structures and monuments, castles, fortresses, towns and villages created on that territory, but also tens of thousands of books and manuscripts reflecting the Armenian nation’s genius and knowledge. Let us mention only one eloquent fact: presently throughout the whole world there are approximately as many Armenian manuscripts as were liquidated by the Turkish statehood during the Armenian Genocide. Pieces of inestimable information and secrets have been abolished in that way depriving the Armenian nation of the spiritual inheritance left by its ancestors, cutting off from its mind and soul.

The first awful consequence of the earthquake is that organized deportation separated the Armenian nation from its grandfathers’ vital atmosphere. The remnant of subjected to Genocide Armenian nation was deprived if its identity as human masses deprived of the structures rallying them around are no more nation, but simply individuals. Loss of cradle has deprived the Armenians of the daily contact with their handmade national symbols thus liquidating the chance of the Armenian nation’s natural spiritual development. The Genocide has caused inferiority complex in many Armenians, skepticism and distrust towards the nation’s future and even hatred towards the own nation resulting in rejection of national interests and values, estrangement.

In strategical sense the loss of the main part of the Armenian nation’s historical Motherland   has deprived the present-day Armenia of defense and security: Armenia has no more right of defeat otherwise that it will be the end of Armenia and therefore the end of the Armenian nation.

Whereas the international society, on the contrary to its verifications directed to the establishment of justice and internationally assumed obligations and especially its commission foreseen by the Peace Treaty of Sevres 10 August, 1920, ignored the Armenian Question and buried it in oblivion.

On the other hand, human losses had influenced not only upon the Armenian nation’s quantity but also the collective quality of Armenian nation subjected to Genocide, therefore the Armenian nation managed to resort to organized struggle for the sake of restoration of justice much more later - only since 1960s. That loss of time also significantly harmed the Armenian nation as during that period thousands of Armenians deprived of their motherland became the victims of White Genocide, whereas the state which had realized Genocide more and more strengthened its positions.

Today it is indisputable fact that international recognition of the Armenian Genocide has reached the focus of its development. Progressive mankind and world-wide public opinion proved by means of their decisive steps that they are no more ready to bury in oblivion this crime committed against mankind.

There have been official declarations about it in the Parliaments of Greece, Lebanon, Uruguay, Cyprus, Argentina, Russian Federation, France, Senates of Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy, Vatican, Nederland, Slovakia, Poland and Canada. In 1987 European Parliament adopted a resolution concerning the political settlement of the Armenian Question. It was mentioned in that resolution that the events taking place on the territory of Ottoman Empire are Genocide. During the last decades Jimmy Charter, Ronald Reagan, Presidents of the USA, have made calls for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Before being elected the President of the USA George Herbert Walker Bush, George Walker Bush and Barack Obama have directly spoken about the Armenian Genocide. Similar resolutions have already been adopted also by the legislative bodies of more than 40 states of the USA.

A number of state figures, among them Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin, Presidents of the Russian Federation, Michail Kasjanov, Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Aleksander Kwasniewski, President of Poland, Rafael Estrella, President of NATO Parliamentary Assembly, and others, have made speeches condemning the Armenian Genocide. Also His Holiness Pope John Paul II, Head of the Roman Catholic Church, has condemned the Armenian Genocide.

Development of this procedure shows that the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the international society is inevitable.

It is strange that in the second decade of the 21st century we still witness the reality that some state figures defending Turkey, acting as friends of the Armenian nation, advise not to struggle for the sake of the recognition of the Armenian Genocide motivating that such activity would arouse the old wounds, remind the terrible events of the past and hinder the establishment of friendly relations with the neighbors.

However, all conversations on the occasion of the defense of human rights would be false if that great crime committed against the Armenian nation would be over in silence for the sake of momentary political, economical and other interests, and the heirs of a whole nation’s executioners would be under any kind of patronage.

As far as the Armenian Genocide has not been recognized by some states and its consequences are not liquidated, such states should be reviewed as participants or partners of the crime.

That is why that Turkey has logically absolutely opposite position towards the Armenian population of the Nagorno-Karabakh in difference to the issue of self-differentiation of Kashmir and in case of Cyprus it conducts policy opposite to the will of international community.

Only repentance of the Turks and unanimous estimations of the international society and condemnation of the realized Genocide can serve as guarantee that Turkey will not again start the settlement of its political issues by means of genocide. Only in that way Turkey can prove itself and the whole world that it is no more considered a criminal state.

A sign of not restarting criminal Turkish policy towards the Armenians can serve also the factor of Turkey’s refusing from military-political alliance with Azerbaijan and the policy of 15-year-lasting policy of blockade of Armenia.

If Turkey stretches hand to the Armenians, its hand can not be painted with the blood of the Armenian nation’s ancestors.

The recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the international society following France and Russia, and first of all by the USA, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and especially the Federal Republic of Germany is of great importance not only as a rightful and just approach to the Armenian nation but also for annihilation of crime towards the whole mankind.”