ArmInfo. Official Yerevan hopes that Belgium will clarify its position on the issue of criminalization of the denial of the Genocide. On May 21, during a briefing in Yerevan Armenian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Anna Naghdalyan said this when answering a question about the adoption by Parliament of Belgium of a law criminalizing denial of genocides, in which, however, the Armenian Genocide was bypassed.
According to the Spokeswoman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, along with work towards the international recognition of the fact of genocide, a comprehensive fight against attempts of denial is necessary. Of particular relevance to this are the permanent statements of the Turkish side. "Today, the most urgent issue is the prevention of crimes against humanity. We hope that Belgium, which recognized the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire, will reaffirm its position, as well as clarify the position on the criminalization of the denial of Genocide," concluded Anna Naghdalyan.
To note, at its plenary meetings on April 24-25, 2019, the House of Representatives of Belgium discussed and adopted a law, which, among other issues, also provides for punishment for denying the genocide in Rwanda and the massacres in Srebrenica. Despite the efforts of the Armenian community of Belgium and several members of parliament, as well as specialists in this field, the adopted text does not provide punishment for denying the Armenian Genocide.