Monday, 18 April 2005
Earlier today RA Prime Minister A. Margaryan, chairman of the state commission for preparation of the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide gave a short talk at "The Great Genocide: Reality and Condemnation" symposium, which has started at the NAS of the Republic of Armenia. He stated, in particular:
Today we are holding just another event on the agenda of the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide - a symposium referred to as "The Great Genocide: Reality and Condemnation." The presidential decree-instituted State commission has decided that the observations of the 90th anniversary should go beyond a mere commemoration of Genocide victims and a statement of facts: they ought to bring about political implications as the year 1915 led to serious political consequences for our State and the region that have remained unaddressed to date. The year 1915 was the acme of the policies pursued first by the Ottoman Empire and then the Young Turks in the period from late 19th century to the early twenties of the 20th century. The Turkish authorities were not the only ones to blame: the Genocide was also due to the overall international atmosphere and an indulgent attitude taken by the then political elites of different countries who failed to act in prevention of the Genocide. The authorities of Armenia are positive on this point: we want to state the fact and condemn it with specific action taken in order to prevent henceforth the recurrence of any such crime against humanity. Those steps taken by the Armenian authorities and the progressive members of the international community are not an end in themselves: they go beyond the mere condemnation of these facts and crimes like that and seek to reveal the underlying causes behind them. Through genocide recognition and condemnation, the States seek to help each other with the common cause of fighting this evil. Should the Armenian Genocide have been prevented in good time, we would not have witnessed the Holocaust and the other genocides committed later in the 20th century. The 1915 Genocide targeted not only the Armenians, but also other ethnic minorities living in Turkey
