Thursday, April 24 2014

 The Armenian Assembly of America and Armenian National Committee of America have issued statements on Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan's remarks regarding April 24th

"While this statement is the first of its kind, it falls far short of acknowledging the Armenian Genocide and simultaneously adds to the layers of denial that have emanated from official Ankara. Without full acceptance of its genocidal legacy, the Republic of Turkey's statement to the descendants of Armenian Genocide victims does not bring closure", Armenian Assembly of America says when commenting on Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan's remarks regarding April 24th.   "The victims of the Armenian Genocide cannot rest in peace as long as Turkey continues its campaign of genocide denial," stated Assembly Executive Director Bryan Ardouny. "Rather than spending millions of dollars to thwart international recognition of the Armenian Genocide, including America's proud chapter of humanitarian intervention to help save the survivors, the Turkish government needs to address the consequences of genocide and its 99 years of denial," added Ardouny. The Assembly remains encouraged by the irreversible trend within Turkish society that has begun to question the official Turkish thesis and learn the truth of the Armenian Genocide. From Orhan Pamuk to Eli Shafak, from Ragip Zarakolu to Hrant Dink, the number of academics and journalists in Turkey who courageously speak about the Armenian Genocide continues to grow. For his part, Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Executive Director Aram Hamparian also issued a statement. "Increasingly isolated internationally, Ankara is repackaging its genocide denials," he says. "Prime Minister Erdogan, in his statement today, attempts, in vain, to escape responsibility for the Armenian Genocide, by somehow downgrading this still unpunished international crime to the level of a simple, unresolved bilateral conflict. Neither the facts nor any of the world's commonly accepted codes of law or morality support this twisted view."

"The fact remains that, as this cold-hearted and cynical ploy so plainly demonstrates, Turkey is, today, escalating its denial of truth and obstruction of justice for the Armenian Genocide," says Hamparian. 

On April 23, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered condolences to the descendants of the Armenian Genocide victims but qualified the Genocide as events in early XX century.

Official Ankara keeps denying the 1915-1923 Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire that annihilated 1.5 million Armenians. Meanwhile, the fact of the Armenian Genocide has been recognized by 44 out of the 51 States of the USA, as well as by 29 countries, including Canada, Argentina, Switzerland, Russia, Belgium, France, Poland, Slovakia, the Netherlands, Uruguay, Greece, Cyprus, Vatican, Sweden.