Wednesday, April 24 2024 13:01

ArmInfo. April 24 is not just a day of remembrance of martyrs, it is a call, a message coming to us  from our glorious martyrs, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I stated in his speech at the memorial ceremony dedicated to the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

According to him, the Armenian people are plaintiffs in the full  sense of the word and must remain so until Turkey recognizes the  genocide committed in 1915. "Our people will demand as long as  Artsakh remains captured by the genocidal regime of Azerbaijan. The  Armenian genocide has a legal basis and is in accordance with  international law. Therefore, it cannot be ignored. In recent  decades, countries, governments, presidents, churches, religions and  international organizations have consistently recognized the  historical reality of the Armenian Genocide. This process must  continue," said the Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia.

He added that today, when Azerbaijan continues to destroy the traces  of Armenians in Artsakh in various ways, tries to destroy or change  the cultural monuments of the Armenian people, when Azerbaijan  consistently makes territorial claims against Armenia, threatening  its security and sovereignty, when Turkey puts forward new conditions  to destroy values and symbols of the Armenian people, it is necessary  to remember the words from the song: "should we remain silent now  that the enemy has laid his sword on our chest."

"If we remain silent, our martyrs will condemn us. If we remain  silent, the monasteries and churches in Cilicia, Artsakh, and Western  Armenia will cry out," Aram I said, recalling yesterday's statement  by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who called on Armenians to  forget "baseless memories and imaginary stories." "Standing here in  front of our martyrs, I say to the President of Turkey: "Mr. Erdogan,  where did these remains of our martyrs come from within the borders  of the Ottoman Empire?

Our grandfathers were crushed by your grandfathers. Mr. Erdogan,  today history testifies, which is confirmed even by Turkish  historians, that what was done against my grandfathers in 1915 was  genocide, planned and carried out on a state scale. Mr. Erdogan, do  not try to pit the Diaspora against Armenia.

Armenia and the Diaspora are one, we are one people with one claim.  Therefore, we must not and will not remain silent. In the Caucasus, a  new pan-Turan movement began to form on the part of Turkey and  Azerbaijan, the goal of which is to try to strangle Armenia. They,  together with their allies, will impose conditions on Armenia that,  if not today, then tomorrow will threaten the sovereignty of Armenia,  even the very existence of Armenia. We reject the idea of unilateral  concessions without getting anything in return.

We reject this dangerous approach and emphasize the need to define  new strategies and tactics in the face of new geopolitical realities.  In exchange for geopolitical interests and power politics, we demand  the rule of international law. We demand the return of the people of  Artsakh to their native land and confirmation of their rights under  an international guarantee. We demand the release of all prisoners  unjustly arrested by Azerbaijan. We demand recognition of the  Genocide committed by the Ottoman Empire against our people, and  compensation for the violated rights of our people," said Aram I,  calling on the people for consolidation and unity. "Let us unite  around the highest values and ideals of our people, around the  salvation of Armenia, around the pan-Armenian agendas. We are united  by Armenia, the salvation of Armenia. We have no friends, we are our  friends, this is our unity and our strength. Let us continue our  difficult struggle with this awareness. A thousand praises to our  people," concluded the head of the Great House of Cilicia.