Armenian Cause Foundation

(parliament.am) On April 21 under Article 70 of the RA Constitution, on the RA NA deputies’ initiative, the RA National Assembly extraordinary sitting was convened, and on the agenda was the issue of voting the NA statement On the Armenian Genocide Centennial debated on the previous sitting of the RA National Assembly.

The authors of the NA draft statement are the NA deputies Zaruhi Postanjyan, Vahe Enfiajyan, Artak Zakaryan, Koryun Nahapetyan, Araik Hovhannisyan, Naira Karapetyan, Artashes Geghamyan, Hamlet Harutyunyan, Sukias Avetisyan, Alexander Arzumanian, Shirak Torosyan, Samvel Farmanyan, Volodya Badalyan, Tatshat Vardapetyan, Mher Shahgledyan and Artsvik Minasyan.

The draft statement was unanimously adopted with 113 votes.

Below we present the text of the RA NA Statement:

STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA ON THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CENTENNIAL

“The National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia

– having regard to the Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of the Genocide adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 9 December 1948, the law on the Condemnation of the 1915 Genocide of the Armenians in Ottoman Turkey adopted by the ArmSSR Supreme Council on 22 November 1988;

– evaluating the provisions stipulated in the All-Armenian Declaration of the Armenian Genocide Centennial,

– highlighting the contribution of the Armenian people to the joint efforts of the international community aimed at crimes against mankind, condemnation and prevention of genocides,

– extending gratitude to the parliaments of all countries, state and local institutions and international organizations, which have officially recognized the Armenian Genocide, have adopted laws criminalizing the Armenian Genocide denial,

Calls on the parliaments of all countries, inter-parliamentary organizations and international organizations to officially recognize and condemn the Armenian Genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire as a gravest crime against mankind.

Exhausting the agenda, the parliament ended the work of the extraordinary sitting.

(panarmenian.net) – The Parliament of the Basque Country condemned the Armenian Genocide and urged Turkey for recognition. It also called for peace between Armenia and Turkey, stressing the need for the latter to face its own history.

The parliament-adopted statement expressed solidarity and respect for the families of the Genocide victims who to this day suffer repercussions of the tragedy, Abc.es reports.

The parliament called for a transparent dialogue between Armenia and Turkey for a better future which can become a possibility through justice, understanding and recognition.

The Basque Parliament first recognised the Armenian Genocide with its April 20, 2007 declaration.

(eafjd.eu) Brussels, 15 April, 2015: Today, during its plenary session the European Parliament adopted, a resolution on the centennial of the Armenian Genocide. The European Council was represented by Kalinina-Lukaševica and the European Commission Kristalina Georgieva, Vice-President of the European Commission and Commissioner for the Budget and Human Resources. With this resolution, the European Parliament officially marked the centennial of the Armenian Genocide.

Today’s resolution on the Centenary of the Armenian Genocide was supported by all political groups in the European Parliament, in which is stated: “whereas an increasing number of Member States and national parliaments recognize the Armenian Genocide perpetrated in the Ottoman Empire, whereas one of the main motivations of the European unification movement is the will to prevent the recurrence of wars and crimes against humanity in Europe; …whereas the importance of keeping the memories of the past is paramount, since there can be no reconciliation without the truth and remembrance; Pays tribute, on the eve of the Centenary, to the memory of the one-and-a-half million innocent Armenian victims who perished in the Ottoman Empire; joins the commemoration of the centenary of the Armenian Genocide in a spirit of European solidarity and justice; calls on the Commission and Council to join the commemoration”.

The resolution reminds the Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World 2013 adopted on Mach 12, 2015, and the European Union’s policy on the matter, where the European Parliament calls on EU member states to recognize the Armenian Genocide.
In today’s resolution, “the European Parliament calls on Turkey to come to terms with its past by recognizing the Armenian genocide and thus pave way for a genuine reconciliation”.

The resolution also recalls the Parliament’s resolution of 18 June 1987 in which inter alia it has recognized that the tragic events that took place in 1915 – 1917 against the Armenians in the territory of the Ottoman Empire represent a genocide as defined in the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide of 1948; condemns all occurrences of crimes against humanity and genocide and strongly deplores any attempts of their denial.

The European Parliament resolution also asks for the establishment of an “International Remembrance Day for Genocides” and stresses that the timely prevention and effective punishment of genocide and crimes against humanity should be among the main priorities of the international community and the EU.

An unprecedented number of members of the European Parliament took the stage and showed their solidarity to the Armenian nation in, and in support of the resolution, and the importance of calling a genocide a genocide. Pope Francis’ message of reconciliation and peace was also mentioned and included in the final version of the resolution.

Kaspar Karampetian, President of the European Armenian Federation for Justice & Democracy (EAFJD) said “Armenians all over the world welcome this resolution in this centennial year of the Armenian Genocide. The European Union is a union of values, dignity and human rights, and we expect all countries willing to join it, to have reconciled with their past, have friendly relations with their neighbors and look forward to a brighter and peaceful future without the ultimate of crimes, without Genocide. We expect Turkey come to terms with its past, and acknowledge the crime it has committed against the Armenian population 100 years ago, with all its consequences”. Karampetian also stressed the need for the EU Council and Commission to show more courage, acknowledge the crime with its proper name, and not hide behind EU member countries who have not yet recognized the Armenian Genocide.

Karampetian also said, that Armenians support the democratic forces in Turkey, who challenge the Turkish state’s denial policy, push for recognition of the crime of Genocide against Armenians. He also stressed the well coordinated and organized work of the Republic of Armenia permanent mission to the EU, Republic of Armenia National Assembly’s committee on foreign relations and the European Friends of Armenia, whose efforts succeeded in having this well deserved resolution.

(prensaarmenia.com.ar) The Chamber of Deputies of Chile passed today a resolution to express “solidarity with the Armenian nation condemning the genocide of its people that started in 1915”. The resolution No. 324, which received 77 votes in favor, 1 against and 3 abstentions, also asks the Government of Chile to adhere to what has already been agreed by the UN in 1985.

The initiative was presented by Gustavo Hasbun, Joaquin Tuma, Issa Kort, Aldo Cornejo, Marco Antonio Nuñez, Joaquin Godoy and Jorge Tarud. Lawmakers said that “April 24 of 1915 marked the beginning of a systematic policy of extermination of Armenians by the Ottoman authorities after detention without trial, disappearance and death of hundreds of intellectuals, writers, composers, artists, community leaders and the entire leadership of the Armenian community in Constantinople, including two Armenian deputies of the Turkish Parliament whose parliamentary immunity was not respected”. They added that this genocide, conducted between 1915 and 1923, meant the death of over 1,500,000 Armenians. “This despicable action was the first ethnic cleansing of the twentieth century.”

It also records that the Armenians and their various organizations around the world have persevered in gaining recognition from the international community on this genocide. “Such recognition was granted in 1985 by the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities of the United Nations, which described the case as an Armenian genocide”.

The Senate of Chile, by agreement No. 531 of June 5, 2007, has already condemned the genocide, although the Chilean Government did not yet. “It is an ethical duty that Chile endorse the decision by the UN in 1985.”

Chile-PACUERDO.pdf

(ANC Australia) The City of Ryde has unanimously adopted a motion dedicated to the centenary of the ‪‎Armenian Genocide‬.

The motion, which was adopted, reads:

Whereas 2015 marks the10th anniversary of the City of Ryde passing a motion recongising the events of 1915-1923 as the Armenian Genocide, this Council joins with the Armenian-Australian community in marking the centenary of the Armenian Genocide by resolving to:

(a) honour the memory of the innocent men, women and children who fell victim to the first modern genocide;

(b) condemn the genocide of the Armenians; and all other acts of genocide as the ultimate act of racial, religious and cultural intolerance;

(c) recognise the importance of remembering and learning from such dark chapters in human history to ensure that such crimes against humanity are not allowed to be repeated;

(d) condemn and prevents all attempts to use the passage of time to deny or distort the historical truth of the genocide of the Armenians and other acts of genocide committed during this century;

(e) recall the testimonies of Australian WWI POWs who lay witness to the genocide of the Armenians; and

(f) acknowledge the significant humanitarian contribution made by the people of Australia to the victims and survivors of the Armenian Genocide

(g) call on the Commonwealth of Australia to recongise and condemn all genocides including the Armenian Genocide.

(Public Radio of Armenia – by Siranush Ghazanchyan) On April 14, Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic unanimously passed a resolution on the occasion of the Armenian Genocide Centenary.

Referring to the 9 December 1948 UN General Assembly Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, resolutions of legislative and executive bodies of those states, which recognized Armenian Genocide, as well as international organizations’, the resolution condemns the denial of genocides.

The translation of the entire text of the resolution is presented below.

The Committee on Foreign Affairs,

Referring to Resolution 260 (III) of the UN General Assembly of 9 December 1948, known also as the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which was published in the Czechoslovak Republic by means of a decree of the Minister of Foreign Affairs on 28 April 1955 under No. 32/1955 Coll.;

Having regard to available facts as well as the Czech traveller Karel Hansa´s testimony; taking into account decisions of the European Parliament, parliaments and other legislative and executive bodies of Uruguay, Canada, France, Sweden, Lithuania, Poland, Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Argentina, Russia, Venezuela, Slovakia, Vatican and other states;

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire recalled by the whole civilized world on 24 April 2015,

Expresses condolences to, and sympathy with the Armenians worldwide and at the same time commemorates depleting Assyrians, and the Greeks and Yazidis of Asia Minor,

Recalls the lack of proper reaction of the international community of that time which enabled repression development against members of national and religious minorities to an extent unprecedented, and foreshadowed similar tragic events in the 20th century including Shoah;

Condemns relativizing or denying such acts as well as other genocides;

Calls on the international community to prevent crimes against humanity anywhere in the world and to settle disputes by peaceful means.

(asbarez.com) YEREVAN—Panorama.am’s Nvard Chalikyan recently spoke with Professor Henry C. Theriault, Chair of the Philosophy Department at Worcester State University and Director of the Armenian Genocide Reparations Study Group (AGRSG), about the recently published report by the Group titled “Resolution with Justice: Reparations for the Armenian Genocide,” which outlines Armenian claims on the Turkish government in a comprehensive study.

In the first part, Dr. Theriault says that the issue of Genocide reparations is gaining greater popularity and that recognition should only be a part of broader reparations process and not an end in itself. He believes that the present-day Republic of Armenia is suffering from the legacy of Genocide and that Armenia’s long-term viability as the secure and permanent home of all Armenians depends on territorial reparations; he also explains the group’s formula for calculating the reparations package presented in the report.
Prof. Theriault says, in the second part of his interview, that Azerbaijan expected to attack Armenians without repercussions directly because of the Armenian Genocide not being dealt with properly. Theriault names Turkey’s policy of denial coupled with Turkish anti-Armenianism as the main obstacles to reparations for the Armenian Genocide. He also notes that present-day Turkey is the successor state of the Ottoman Empire and is fully responsible for its acts.

* * *

NVARD CHALIKYAN: Dr. Theriault, there seems to be a lack of discussion on the reparations aspect of the Genocide, which the AGRSG Report addresses in detail. How much support does the issue of reparations have in general? How popular is it nowadays?

HENRY THERIAULT: The reparations issue has recently acquired greater importance and acceptance in general. This is true not only for the Armenian case but for many other human rights cases around the world. It is important to put the question of the Armenian Genocide in the context of a wider area called Genocide Studies where many cases are examined together. This is not just an individual group concerned about its own history but it is a much bigger issue in history that concerns everyone else in the world. I link the question of the Armenian Genocide to human rights, social justice, civil rights, and gender issues in the US and across the world. Our report is actually very applicable to other groups, as we tried to present a universal case.

While some ten years ago many Armenians did not consider reparations as a practical issue to be talked about, there has been a major shift in this direction, especially within the last five years. Now there is a tremendous interest in the Armenian community and readiness to advocate for reparations, much more than we had expected when beginning the study group’s work. The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), for instance, has changed its strategy a good deal from a focus on recognition towards emphasizing reparations; many Armenian scholars have gotten involved, many studies have been conducted and books published on the subject, and in Turkey major work is now being done, such as the book by Ugur Ungor and Mehmet Polatel.

And, the recently adopted pan-Armenian declaration by the State Commission on the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide talks about reparations, specifically “preparing . . . a file of legal claims as a point of departure in the process of restoring individual, communal and pan-Armenian rights and legitimate interests.” So there is a positive trend in this direction.

N.C.: Chapter 3 and Chapter 8 of the Report identify steps for a comprehensive reparations package, among which are recognition, apology and return of property. What is the sequence of these steps? Can reparations be considered only after recognition or should we be pushing for reparations without further delay?

H.T.: These points of the Report identify different key aspects, but their order is not in time. Recognition is there as part of reparations approach because we think that without recognition by the perpetrator group and others that the harm happened, there is a danger that the point of material reparations will be lost. As one of the report’s co-authors, Jermaine McCalpin, has emphasized in recent speeches, reparations is not “hush money.” On the contrary, it is only meaningful if all concerned acknowledge the injury that was done and understand how and why the reparative measures taken now promote justice. This is especially true for territorial returns.

At the same time, even though recognition and apology should be a part of the overall process, what we want to emphasize is that on their own or as an end result they are absolutely inadequate. It doesn’t help produce justice to push for recognition without pushing for reparation. Thus, we tried to reverse the usual logic – we see reparations as the most central issue which includes both material and symbolic acts, with recognition as part of reparations, but only a part. The idea of giving up a broader reparations process in favor of recognition alone is an old and a very problematic idea.

In terms of the timing, if recognition is understood as a step towards justice and reparations then it can come first, but if it is treated as the central goal then it is very dangerous to put it first.

Still, we should keep in mind that from the Republic of Turkey’s standpoint, one major reason for not recognizing the Armenian Genocide is because they fear that reparation claims will immediately follow recognition, and their primary concern I believe is reparations. We could see this clearly in the case of the Armenian-Turkish protocols. It is very telling that of the very few specific Armenian-Turkish relations issues addressed, the territorial issue, i.e., the point about confirming the border, was on the top of the Turkish agenda. It does tell us a lot about what their concerns are and shows that it is all about territorial issues ultimately. Going forward, we must be very careful to include reparations as an issue in any political discussion of the Genocide with Turkey.

N.C.: By recognition do you mean recognition by Turkey, by the international community or both?

H.T.: Ultimately both. Many people in Turkish civil society today recognize the Genocide but it is a real question of what would get the Turkish state to do so. Historically for the most part (Australia being an exception) countries have recognized genocides or mass human rights violations only when external actors pushed them to do it. So, there is a role for the international community in pushing for recognition. What is more, the Armenian Genocide is not a Turkish-Armenian issue. Going back to the work of Raphael Lemkin in creating the concept and word “genocide,” genocide affects all of humanity and is thus the concern of all of humanity.

N.C.: The Report presents specific calculations of financial, material and territorial compensations that are due to Armenians. Based on what data are these calculations made? How reasonable and realistic are they?

H.T.: First of all, in the Report we tried to present numbers based on historical data and on the work that was done previously, in the aftermath of the Genocide, by those with direct data on what happened in the genocidal process. We took data from the Paris Peace Conference for instance, where there was a real historical effort to catalogue the Armenian losses and to calculate a reparation package based on evidence. We also used the New York Life settlement method to get an idea of what appropriate compensation for deaths would be. By “appropriate” here I do not mean that compensation can in any way make up for the deaths, but that compensation funds can help Armenians as a group – in the Republic, Diaspora, and Turkey – with resources that can promote Armenian security, identity, and well-being, against the very significant impacts of the Genocide on Armenians today.

In terms of territorial compensations we tried to come up with a formula based on a realistic approach to Wilsonian boundaries. Woodrow Wilson’s Arbitration Award (Ara Papian addresses this) likewise presents a detailed process which formulated the appropriate territories necessary for Armenians surviving the Genocide to reconstitute in a sustainable way the group. It must be stressed that the need issue is really important because the Republic of Armenia today is suffering from the consequences of the Genocide. We must not forget that the hardships and the limitation of resources in Armenia today are in large part a direct result of Genocide.

Of course, the issue of territorial return is very complex, and in the report we offer four possible approaches to it that include three different territorial determinations and an alternative political approach that could work with any of the territorial determinations.

As for how realistic the size of the proposed financial compensation is, it is a limited, conservative estimate of what would be appropriate. The numbers we are presenting are very reasonable and actually represent a middle point. There are certainly higher estimates that would be legitimate.

N.C.: How is the present-day Republic of Armenia suffering from the consequences of the Genocide? How can reparations actually mitigate this?

H.T.: This is a huge topic, but I can single out two major issues. First, when Ataturk militarily conquered the bulk of the 1918 Armenian Republic’s lands and forced the remainder into the Soviet Union, that not only stunted the potential population (think about how many Armenians later left just to go to Russia, for instance) but it also created a situation where Armenia just cannot sustain a bigger population, cannot sustain the kind of agriculture that’s necessary for full independence. Thus the impact of that legacy is quite demonstrable today; but it also goes way beyond that. We must not forget that, in fact, the Wilsonian Arbitral Award gave Armenians at least partial reparations for the Genocide, but the Turkish nationalist movement that established the current Turkish Republic took the portion of the awarded lands that the 1918 Republic actually possessed away – that is, Turkey took away the reparations given to Armenians.

The second thing to stress is the way Turkey is currently a threat to Armenia. Just going back to the blockade in 1990s when Turkey was interfering with shipments of food aid from the US – it was scandalous. Turkey is also able to interfere in a significant way with Armenia today and to harm the country economically and politically, while supporting Azerbaijan is a whole other dimension. All of this is the legacy of the Genocide as well, and specifically that the Genocide is unacknowledged and unrepaired. Could Germany, for instance, treat Israel in this way?

So if we are talking about calculating the land that’s necessary, it really has to be focused on what the Armenian Republic needs in order to be permanently viable for its population and any Turkish and Diasporan Armenians that would like to resettle. Territory is not only a historical justice issue but it is also a very legitimate human rights issue for the present. My analysis of the situation has led me to conclude that the future viability of the Armenian Republic as the secure and permanent home of Armenians as an identity group depends on territorial reparations.

N.C.: From your words can we conclude that the present territory of the Republic of Armenia is not viable for the long-term survival and prosperity of the Armenian people, and that the Genocide reparation is actually a question of security of Armenia and Armenians in the long run?

H.T.: Yes, absolutely…

NVARD CHALIKYAN: Prof. Theriault, so from your words can we conclude that the present territory of the Republic of Armenia is not viable for the long-term survival and prosperity of the Armenian people, and that the Genocide reparation is actually a question of security of Armenia and Armenians in the long run?

HENRY THERIAULT: Yes, absolutely. I must say that I have been incredibly impressed with what Armenians in the Republic have been able to do since 1991. It’s stunning to me that there is a vibrant country there today. At the same time, for its long-term viability more territory is necessary. I do not believe there is a doubt about that, especially because Armenia has hostile countries, Turkey and Azerbaijan, on the either side, while Georgia is not a very good neighbor (think of its treatment of Armenians in Javakhk) and Iran is unpredictable. Armenia thus needs a secure, stable, and adequate territory; it’s absolutely important.

One possibly controversial element of reparations the report puts forward is that a perpetrator state (in this case, Turkey) is actually responsible for the protection of the victim group (in this case, Armenia) until such time as the negative effects of genocide on their security have been repaired and the state is not under threat. Vulnerability is the legacy of genocide, and it is the perpetrator group’s responsibility to ensure that the vulnerability does not result in further harm to the victim group. Thus, beyond simply stopping its anti-Armenian policies or supporting military aggression against Armenians, Turkey must take responsibility and make sure that nothing happens to Armenia.

N.C.: (That I believe would require a complete restructuring of Turkey’s current policies which unfortunately seems quite unlikely at this point)… And how do you think the question of Nagorno Karabakh fits within the framework of the Genocide legacy and of the Armenian question as such?

H.T.: The first thing to be noted is that there were clear human rights violations as well as massacres against the Armenian minority in Azerbaijan; Azerbaijan was also bombing civilian areas in Karabakh during 1990s. All this never would have happened if the Armenian Genocide had been recognized and dealt with properly. There is no way the global community would have accepted Armenians being targeted in this way by a group that proclaimed its ideological or political connection to Turkey.

The fact that Azerbaijan even thought it was all right to treat and attack Armenians like this and was able to get away with it is a direct consequence of the Genocide not being dealt with. It has to do with impunity and also the apparent acceptability in Turkey and Azerbaijan of not only anti-Armenianism but also of seeing Armenians as legitimate targets of state violence. The Azerbaijani government takes actions that indicate that its leaders think that it is acceptable to kill Armenians.

N.C.: According to many critics it is unrealistic to receive reparations (especially territorial ones) from Turkey. In your view what are the major obstacles and challenges in making the reparations package a reality?

H.T.: Obviously the biggest problem is Turkish denialism coupled with Turkish anti-Armenianism. There is both a flat refusal of the history and of the obligations that it implies. The anti-Armenian demonstrations that recently took place in Turkey are likewise quite disturbing. If legitimate Armenian concerns and Genocide survivor discussions are met with a popular aggressive response, that means no good public conversation can get started, and that is another major obstacle.

Unfortunately there is also a third obstacle, which is political. There is a real resistance internationally to seeing the legitimacy of reparations and positive ways of addressing the legacies of genocide. Take Guatemala for instance – 30 years have passed after the genocide of about 200,000 Guatemalan indigenous people in 1980s; there has been a truth commission report that detailed the evidence, but the question remains unaddressed. Today’s leaders of Guatemala include some involved with the Genocide, while the victim group has no access to a reparative process; even recognition is not very clear at this point. The 2013 conviction of major perpetrator ex-President Rios Mott was overturned, in fact, and the recent second trial does not appear promising. And case after case of genocide is like that.

I think there is a presumption in our world that victim groups once they are done with have no rights and no recourse because they don’t have power, and it is really all about power. Whereas it is precisely because of the effects of genocide that victim communities are so weak. That is exactly what the international community needs to understand and change.

Actually Armenians are in a better position relative to most groups who have experienced genocide, but what the Armenians have in terms of geopolitical and regional power and material resources is much less than what they would have had had there been no genocide and relative to the resources and power of the often oppositional Turkey that Armenia now has to engage.

N.C.: One of the arguments against reparations (that can persist even after Genocide is recognized) is that the modern Republic of Turkey is not responsible for the acts of their Ottoman ancestors. There is also an argument of the passage of time. How valid are these claims?

H.T.: A lot of academic work has been done on the first issue in recent years (Professor De Zayas, co-author of the Report, is a specialist on this) all of which without doubt confirm that Turkey is the continuing state or the successor state of the Ottoman Empire. Note that West Germany had responsibility for the Nazi Genocide of the Jews and others, while it was a completely different state. International law is very clear on this.

In this regard I very much appreciate Ungur’s and Polatel’s work because they have actually identified families in Turkey whose resources came from Armenians in the Genocide, so you can trace the direct line and see exactly where their wealth came from; there is no mystery in this.

As for the passage of time argument, 100 years is not even a large number in such cases. Native American groups in the United States to this day suffer from the consequences of the genocide, often after 200 years and more. There are many other cases like this. So this is not a good argument. If consequences of the past harm still affect the victim population today, then it doesn’t matter how much time has passed: the harm is outstanding and must be repaired.

On top of that, an absolutely critical fact is the Genocide did not end in 1918 but continued till 1923, including the burning of Smyrna and other acts. Turkish nationalist forces actually continued the Genocide in the process of creating the Turkish Republic – they prevented Armenians from returning to the places they were deported from, they killed tens of thousands of Armenians, they employed the same genocidal policies, etc. In addition, a number of major Genocide perpetrators became high-ranking figures in the Turkish Republic. It is also worth noting that Turkey continues its anti-Armenian and anti-minority policies to this day, confirming its own connection to the process of genocide that represented the major assault against Armenians, Assyrians, and Greeks.

N.C.: Judging from your own experience, how would you say the Turks recognizing the Genocide approach the reparations issue?

H.T.: The process typical Turkish people would have to go through to be able to talk about reparations may be very long and complex, given that their government and educational system obviously are doing everything to prevent that.

(asbarez.com) VATICAN (RFE/RL)–Pope Francis on Sunday again described the massacres of 1.5 million Armenians in Ottoman Turkey as “the first Genocide of the 20th century” during an unprecedented Vatican Mass dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the tragedy.

Francis remembered the victims of “that immense and senseless slaughter” at the start of the Mass at St. Peter’s basilica, which was attended by President Serzh Sarkisian, the supreme heads of the Armenian Apostolic Churches and hundreds of Armenian Catholics.

“It is necessary, and indeed a duty, to honor their memory, for whenever memory fades, it means that evil allows wounds to fester. Concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding without bandaging it,” he declared.

The pontiff spoke of “three massive and unprecedented tragedies” of the past century. “The first, which is widely considered the first genocide of the twentieth century, struck your own Armenian people, the first Christian nation, as well as Catholic and Orthodox Syrians, Assyrians, Chaldeans and Greeks,” he said.

“Bishops and priests, religious, women and men, the elderly and even defenseless children and the infirm were murdered. The remaining two were perpetrated by Nazism and Stalinism.”

Humanity, he went on, did not learn lessons from those tragedies as evidenced by the mass killings in Cambodia, Rwanda, Burundi and Bosnia later in the 20th century. “Sadly, today too we hear the muffled and forgotten cry of so many of our defenseless brothers and sisters who, on account of their faith in Christ or their ethnic origin, are publicly and ruthlessly put to death … or forced to leave their homeland,” he said in a clear reference to the beleaguered Christian communities in Iraq and Syria.

Francis’s characterization of the 1915 mass killings and deportations of Armenians was in tune with his views on the subject repeatedly voiced in the past. He publicly called them “the first genocide of the 20th century” in 2013 just a few months after becoming supreme head of the Roman Catholic Church. The Turkish government condemned that statement.

Official Ankara, which strongly denies a deliberate government effort to exterminate the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire, did not immediately react to the pope’s latest statement. It had reportedly pressured him in recent weeks to avoid uttering the word “genocide.”

According to the Associated Press news agency, Turkey’s embassy to the Vatican canceled a planned news conference for Sunday, presumably after learning that the pope will after all use the politically sensitive term.

The two-hour Mass was concelebrated by Armenian Catholic Patriarch Nerses Bedros XIX and featured medieval Armenian religious hymns performed by two choirs from Gyumri. Underlining its ecumenical spirit, Catholicos Karekin II, Catholicos Aram I and over a dozen bishops of the Armenian Apostolic Church sat in a place of honor in the basilica along with President Sarkisian.

In another unprecedented development, Karekin II and Aram I embraced Francis at the altar and delivered sermons at the end of the ceremony broadcast live to Armenia.

“Our ancient people were uprooted from their cradle and historic homeland and scattered around the world,” Garegin said in reference to the Armenian genocide. “Our centuries-old Christian heritage was torn down, destroyed and seized.”

“However, nothing — neither suffering, nor persecution or even death — forced our people to renounce their sacred faith,” he added.

Both Karekin II and Aram I expressed their “deep gratitude” to the Roman Catholic Church for its attempts to stop the genocide and support its survivors. They specifically paid tribute to Pope Benedict XV who protested to Ottoman Sultan Mehmed V against the massacres.

“We will never forget the continuous concern, assistance and solidarity of the Church of Rome towards Armenians — that is to say towards justice,” said Aram.

Francis also honored Armenia and its worldwide Diaspora by bestowing the title of “Doctor of the Universal Church” on St. Gregory of Narek, a 10-11th century Armenian cleric renowned for his religious writings. Only 35 Christian figures have received the Catholic title to date. A large picture of Gregory was put on display during Sunday’s Mass.

(Public Radio of Armenia) The Hague — The Dutch Parliament passed a binding resolution yesterday recognizing the genocide of Assyrians, Greeks and Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War One. The

resolution, tabled by MP Joel Voordewind from the Christian Union party, enjoyed wide support from the various parties, including Christian Union, People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy, Christian Democratic Appeal, Reformed Political Party and Labor Party. The resolution was strongly opposed by two Turkish members of the Parliament but passed by a strong majority vote.

“The aim of this motion is to recognize the Armenian as well as the Assyrian genocide,” said Joel Voordewind, “and to bring the Turkish government closer to Armenia. This is an important signal from the Dutch Parliament to the Turkish government to acknowledge its past actions. I hope in the end this will bring both countries to a better understanding and reconciliation with each other.”

Below is the text of the resolution in Dutch:

34 000-V
Vaststelling van de begrotingsstaten van het Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken (V) voor het jaar 2015

Nr. Gewijzigde Motie Van Het Lid Voordewind C.S.
Ter vervanging van die gedrukt onder nr. 59
Voorgesteld

De Kamer,

gehoord de beraadslaging,

constaterende dat de motie Rouvoet c.s. (21 501-20, nr. 270) aangaande het bespreekbaar maken van de erkenning van de Armeense genocide in de dialoog met Turkije (Voor de volledigheid gaat het hier ook over de Assyriers, de Pontische Grieken en Arameeers die ook het slachtoffer zijn geworden van deze genocide) in 2004 Kamerbreed is aangenomen;

van mening, dat het van groot belang is dat Turkije en Armenie tot een gezamenlijk vergelijk over hun geschiedenis komen;

van mening, dat acceptatie van wederzijds inzicht ten aanzien van de gebeurtenissen van 1915 noodzakelijk is om in de betrekkingen tussen beide landen een stap vooruit te zetten;

spreekt de wens uit, dat aankomende herdenkingsbijeenkomsten van 100 jaar Armeense genocide, in Nederland en elders, bijdragen aan respect en acceptatie tussen betrokken gemeenschappen;

verzoekt de regering, in het verlengde van de aangenomen motie-Rouvoet c.s., bilateraal en in EU-verband, de Turkse regering op te blijven roepen de toenadering tot Armenie een nieuwe impuls te geven en met de Armeense regering te streven naar verzoening;

en gaat over tot de orde van de dag.

Voordewind
Omtzigt
Ten Broeke
Servaes
Sjoerdsma
Van Bommel
Van Ojik
Van der Staaij
Bontes
Thieme
Klein

(panorama.am) The Corsican Assembly has unanimously adopted a resolution that demands recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Turkey, France 3 Corse ViaStella reports.

“The Corsican nation and officials should make their contribution to the realization and recognition of that crime against the Armenian nation,” the resolution says.

The text of the resolution will be handed over to the French Foreign Ministry, to be sent to the Turkish government. The resolution, proposed by Assembly member Jean Biancucci, was passed unanimously.