Armenian Cause Foundation

(asbarez.com) IZMIR, Turkey—A scheduled conference devoted to the denial of the Armenian Genocide has angered several Turkish lawyers from Izmir, who have responded by issuing an apology for Armenians over the Armenian Genocide.

The local Izmir branch of the Association of Modern Lawyers has issued a statement apologizing to Armenians over the Armenian Genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Turkish government during the First World War.

The association says that an alliance of lawyers responsible for establishing justice in Turkey is sure that what happened in the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923 was a crime of Genocide committed under the pretext of deportation.

The authors of the statement noted that among the Armenians arrested and exiled to death in 1915 were also lawyers and advocates.

“We, as lawyers from Izmir, will not allow that the crimes and the genocide committed against the Armenians be consigned to oblivion. We apologize to the Armenian people on behalf of the organization we are members of,” reads the statement.

(Portal Estação Armênia) On 08 April, the São Paulo Legislative Assembly unanimously approved a draft law introduced by its member Peter Tobias (PSDB) on the Recognition of the Armenian Genocide and on setting April 24 as Remembrance Day for the victims of that crime.

In the justification part Tobias explains that the killing and forced deportation of hundreds of thousands of Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire, was carried out with the intention of exterminating their cultural presence, economic life and their family environment during the government of so-called Young Turks, from 1915 to 1917.

Portal Estação Armênia reminds that in August 2014 had already referred to such an initiative being in progress and congratulates ALESP for it.

Below, see the full text of filing:

PROJETO DE LEI Nº 1266, DE 2014

Institui o Dia do Reconhecimento e Lembrança às Vítimas do Genocídio do Povo Armênio

A ASSEMBLEIA LEGISLATIVA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO DECRETA:

Artigo 1º – Fica instituído o “Dia do Reconhecimento e Lembrança às Vitimas do Genocídio do Povo Armênio, a ser comemorado, anualmente, no dia 24 de abril.

Artigo 2º – Esta lei entra em vigor na data de sua publicação.

JUSTIFICATIVA

Holocausto armênio ou ainda o massacre dos armênios é como é chamada a matança e deportação forçada de centenas de milhares de pessoas de origem armênia que vivia no Império Otomano, com a intenção de exterminar sua presença cultural, sua vida econômica e seu ambiente familiar durante o governo dos chamados Jovens Turcos, de 1915 a 1917.

Adota-se a data de 24 de abril de 1915 como início do massacre, por ter sido o dia em que dezenas de lideranças armênias foram presas e massacradas em Istambul.

Esse extermínio foi executado de várias formas: um dos métodos considerados mais rápidos foi incêndio, com moradores de aldeias reunidos e depois queimados; por afogamentos; por agentes químicos e biológicos, tais como overdose de morfina, gás tóxico e inoculação de tifo.

Cabe lembrar que em 13 de setembro de 1915, o parlamento otomano aprovou lei temporária de expropriação e confisco, afirmando que os bens, como casas, terras, gados etc. pertencentes ao povo armênio, seriam confiscados e com a implementação de uma lei, denominada Lei Tehcir, o confisco de bens e o massacre de armênios se seguiu, sendo que tal promulgação deixou indignado grande parte do mundo ocidental. Enquanto os aliados do Império Otomano na guerra ofereceram pouca resistência, uma riqueza de documentos históricos alemães e austríacos atestam o horror das testemunhas nos assassinatos e fome em massa dos armênios. Nos Estados Unidos, o jornal The New York times relatou continuamente sobre o assassinato em massa dos armênios, descrevendo o processo como “sistemático”, “autoritário” e “organizado pelo governo”, e, posteriormente Theodore Roosevelt caracterizou tal fato como o maior crime da guerra.

Os armênios foram levados para a cidade síria de Deir ez-Zor e depois para o deserto em redor e evidências sugerem que o governo otomano não forneceu quaisquer instalações ou suprimentos para sustentar os armênios durante a sua deportação, nem quando eles chegaram. No mês de agosto de 1915, o The New York Times reproduziu um relatório que dizia “nas estradas e no rio Eufrates estão espalhados os cadáveres dos exilados, e os que sobrevivem estão condenados a uma morte certa. É um plano para exterminar todo o povo armênio.”

Tropas otomanas escoltando os armênios não só permitiram roubos, estupros e assassinatos, como muitas vezes participaram, elas próprias, de tais atos bárbaros, e, privados de seus pertences e marchando para o deserto, centenas de milhares de armênios morreram e assim essas marchas ficaram conhecidas como marchas da morte.

Importante salientar que engenheiros alemães e trabalhadores envolvidos na construção da estrada de ferro local também testemunharam armênios sendo amontoados em vagões de gado e enviados ao longo da linha férrea. Um representante do Deutsche Bank, que financiou a construção da ferrovia de Bagdá, chamado Franz Gunther, enviou fotografias para seus diretores expressando sua frustração por ter que permanecer em silêncio ao presenciar uma “crueldade bestial”.

Acredita-se que 25 grandes campos de extermínio existiram, sob o comando de Sükrü Kaya, um dos maiores colaboradores de Mehmed Talat, então Ministro do Interior. A maioria dos campos ficavam localizados próximos das modernas fronteiras entre Turquia, Síria e Iraque, sendo que alguns foram apenas campos de trânsito temporários. Outros, como Radjo, Katma e Azaz, podem ter sido usados para valas comuns, sendo que alguns autores afirmam que os campos de Lale, Tefridje, Del-El e AL-Ayn Ra foram construídos especificamente àqueles que tinham uma expectativa de vida de apenas alguns dias.

Nos documentos existentes há muitos testemunhos, como de uma viajante alemã que escutou de uma armênia, em uma das estações do padecimento de um grupo de montanheses armênios o seguinte desabafo : por que não nos matam logo? De dia não temos água e nossos filhos choram de sede; pela noite os maometanos vêm a nossos leitos e roubam roupas nossas, violam nossas filhas e mulheres. Quando já não podemos mais caminhar, os soldados nos espancam. Para não serem violentadas, as mulheres se lançam à água, muitas abraçando as crianças de peito.

Acredita-se que cerca de 1,5 milhões de armênios foram mortos durante o genocídio. Como já dissemos acima, muitos morreram assassinados por tropas turcas em campos de concentração, queimados, enforcados e até mesmo jogados amarrados no rio Eufrates, mas a maior parte morreu de inanição. Já os sobreviventes do genocídio saíram do Império Otomano e instalaram-se em diversos países – esse fato é conhecido como a diáspora armênia – estima-se que a diáspora contou com mais de 8 milhões de armênios.

Importante dizer que o número de armênios no Brasil, conforme estimativa, chega a 25.000, sendo, em sua maioria, residentes na cidade de São Paulo.

A Turquia atualmente não reconhece o genocídio armênio, alegando que esses passaram por uma terrível mortalidade e que, na verdade, agiu para defender a soberania nacional, alegando ainda que o número de mortes é exagerado. A Turquia enfatiza que estudos demográficos atestam que antes da primeira Guerra Mundial, viviam menos de 1,5 milhões de armênios em todo o território otomano, mas conforme historiadores, mais de 1,5 de armênios foram mortos na Armênia Oriental.

Diante do exposto, contamos com o apoio dos nossos nobres pares para aprovação da presente proposição e assim e assim registrar esse lamentável fato histórico.

Sala das Sessões, em 12/9/2014.

a) Pedro Tobias – PSDB

(asbarez.com) HONOLULU, Hawaii—Hawaii’s State Senate last week unanimously passed a resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide and declaring April 24 as a day of remembrance and commemoration of the Armenian Genocide.

“The Senate joins the House of Representatives, Hawaii’s Armenian-American community, and all Armenians worldwide in recognizing and honoring those who were killed and persecuted during the Armenian genocide, and urging people throughout the world to never forget these horrific crimes against humanity,” the resolution reads.

Hawaii State Senators who introduced the bill, including Suzanne Chun Oakland, Donovan Dela Cruz, Will Espero, Breene Harimoto, Les Ihara Jr., Lorraine Inouye, and Russel Ruderman, were present with Armenian American community member Artur Artenyan at the signing of the resolution into law. The full text of the resolution is below.

* * *

S.R. NO. 33 THE SENATE STATE OF HAWAII TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2015 MAR 1 0 2015
SENATE RESOLUTION DECLARING APRIL 24 AS A DAY OF REMEMBRANCE IN RECOGNITION AND COMMEMORATION OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE OF 1915.

WHEREAS, during the chaos of World War I between the years 1915 and 1923, approximately 1,500,000 Armenian men, women, and children living within the Ottoman Empire’s borders were killed in a brutal genocide; and

WHEREAS, hundreds of thousands of Armenians were forced to flee to foreign countries after being stripped of their possessions, national identities, and homeland; and

WHEREAS, documented as the first instance of genocide in the twentieth century, the Armenian genocide remains unacknowledged by the Republic of Turkey to this day; and WHEREAS, even though over 90 years have passed since these mass killings took place, present-day atrocities continue to resonate throughout the world; and

WHEREAS, it is every person’s responsibility to recognize the brutal slayings of so many innocent individuals, remember their suffering, and vow to help prevent future occurrences of genocide; and

WHEREAS, each year, Armenians throughout the world honor those who perished in the first genocide of the twentieth century, and the world community should join in recognizing and commemorating the Armenian genocide to ensure that this inhumanity is never forgotten; and

WHEREAS, with H.R. No. 192, H.D. 1, the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii declared April 24 as a day of remembrance in recognition and commemoration of the Armenian genocide during the Regular Session of 2009; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2015, that this body declares April 24 as a day of remembrance in recognition and commemoration of the Armenian genocide; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Senate joins the House of Representatives, Hawaii’s Armenian-American community, and all Armenians worldwide in recognizing and honoring those who were killed and persecuted during the Armenian genocide, and urging people throughout the world to never forget these horrific crimes against humanity; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this resolution be transmitted to the Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of America Western Region.

(armenianweekly.com) NICOSIA, Cyprus (A.W.)—The Cypriot Parliament passed a resolution today making the denial of the Armenian Genocide a crime, reported Cyprus Mail.

“Today is a historic day. It allows parliament to restore, with unanimous decisions and resolutions, historical truths,” speaker of Parliament Yiannakis Omirou was quoted as saying by the Mail.

The bill, which was passed unanimously, will penalize denial of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes with a prison sentence of 5 years and a fine of 10,000 Euros, according to Armenpress.

A delegation led by Armenia’s National Assembly President Galust Sahakyan is on an official visit to the island, according to the official website of the National Assembly. The delegation, which arrived on April 1, met with representatives of the Armenian community, and visited the Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex in Nicosia. National Assembly Vice President Eduard Sharmazanov, deputies Vahram Baghdasaryan, Armen Mkhitaryan, Mikayel Manukyan, and Lyudmila Sargsyan are also part of the Armenian delegation.

(armradio.am) Presidents of the Parliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie for the European Region adopted a statement today, condemning the Armenian Genocide and calling on Turkey to face its history.

Stressing the inadmissibility of the lack of international recognition of the Armenian Genocide and reminding that such crimes have no statute of limitations, the Presidents of the Parliamentary Assembly condemn the fact of the genocide committed against the Armenian people in the Ottoman Empire.

They commemorate the innocent victims of the 10915 Genocide and express solidarity with the Armenian people in their struggle for the international recognition of the Genocide and restoration of the rights of persons subjected to genocide.

They invite Turkey to face its own past and finally acknowledge the fact of the Armenian Genocide and hope that this recognition will mark the start of reconciliation between the Armenian and Turkish peoples.

***

(parliament.am) Below is the full text of the resolution:

Statement of the Presidents of the Parliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie for the European Region

1. We, representatives of parliaments of states using the French as a common language, gathering at the Conference of Presidents of the Parliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie (APF) for the European Region on 31 March 2015;

2. Establishing our obligations for the sake of peace, democracy, human rights, the security in the territory of Francophonie and its world values;

3. Encouraging the international organisation of La Francophonie and the Parliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie for being consistent with the implementation of actions aiming at preventing the crises and conflicts according to the UN Charter on Principles and Norms of International Law;

4. Underlining the inadmissibility of the Genocide, as actions qualified crime, not being internationally recognized until now and reminding that such crime has no expiry date;

5. We condemn the fact of the Genocide perpetrated in the Ottoman Empire towards the Armenian people,

6. We commemorate the memory of the innocent victims of 1915 Armenian Genocide and we are consolidated with Armenia and the Armenian people in the struggle for the international recognition of the Genocide and the restoration of the rights of people subjected to Genocide;

7. We invite Turkey to face its own history and at last recognize the fact of the Armenian Genocide and we express hope that that recognition will be a starting point of reconciliation between the Armenian and Turkish peoples.

Bohjalian, Walrath Lead State Capitol Commemoration Calling for Genocide Justice

(anca.org) MONTPELIER, VT – The Vermont legislature strengthened the standing of the Green Mountain State as a leader in the genocide prevention movement by unanimously adopting a concurrent resolution (H.C.R. 86) commemorating the Armenian Genocide Centennial and hosting a day-long series of events honoring the victims of this crime against humanity, reported the Armenian National Committee of America – Eastern Region (ANCA-ER).

The legislation was spearheaded on the House side by Representative Joan G. Lenes, who is a descendant of an Assyrian Genocide survivor, and Representative Adam Greshin. Lead Senate supporters of the resolution included Senators Dick Sears, Philip Baruth and Diane Snelling with 14 of 30 Senators cosponsoring the measure.

“It was a wonderful day of people sharing a common past – not forgetting that, yet still learning and looking forward so that we are a better people,” noted Rep. Lenes following passage of the resolution.

Prior to its reading in the General Assembly, Vermont’s own Lokum Band – Jeff Davis, Peter Bingham, and Charlie Jones – played several Armenian musical pieces as part of the devotional exercises, garnering a standing ovation from legislators. Later, Rep. Lenes introduced the Armenian community members in attendance and invited one and all to a noon presentation about the Armenian Genocide by authors Chris Bohjalian and Dana Walrath.

“I was so proud to be a Vermonter today — and I was so proud of the Vermont legislature,” said Bohjalian, whose internationally acclaimed novel on the Armenian Genocide – “The Sandcastle Girls” – was a New York Times best seller. “By recognizing the Armenian Genocide, legislators gave voice to those voices that were forever stilled in Der-el-Zor and Ras-el-Ain and the Dudan Crevasse. Today Vermont helped spread the truth of what occurred a century ago on the Anatolian plains and the Syrian desert, and helped quiet the voice of denial.”

“Today Vermont legislators chose social justice over political exigency,” said Walrath, who recently published “Like Water on Stone,” a verse novel about the genocide that is based on her grandmother’s history. “Shame, pride, and oil are not good enough reasons to deny the Armenian genocide. Their detailed resolution honors those who suffered and those who have worked tirelessly to erase genocide from this earth. This resolution can serve as a model for other states. I am proud to be a citizen of Vermont, a small state with a big heart.”

Following the presentation, ANC Vermont activist Nareg Aghjayan joined with local community leaders in hosting a reception with Armenian delicacies for the over 100 legislators and supporters in attendance at the commemoration.

“The few yet mighty members of the Armenian American community in the Green Mountain State, collectively thank the Vermont General Assembly in unanimously passing Resolution H.C.R. 86 commemorating the Armenian Genocide Centennial,” said Aghjayan. “On behalf of ANC-Vermont and its entire grassroots family, we warmly welcome the continued support of Vermonters on this crucial human rights issue.”

ANCA Eastern Region Chairman Steve Mesrobian concurred. “We applaud the leadership of Representatives Lenes and Greshin and Senators Sears Baruth and Snelling in ensuring the unanimous passage of this historic resolution by the Vermont Legislature. We would particularly like to thank Chris Bohjalian and Dana Walrath for educating generations about the Armenian Genocide through their presentations today and their literary works read across the U.S. and the world. The people of Vermont have spoken on this important topic through their Legislative body and we call on the United States government to follow suit in recognizing the Armenian Genocide, particularly at this important juncture of our nation’s history,” explained Mesrobian.

The State of Vermont first recognized the Armenian Genocide when Governor James Douglas proclaimed April 24, 2004, as “Armenian Martyrs Day” in Vermont. Forty-three U.S. states have recognized the Armenian Genocide, with additional states considering legislation in the upcoming months.

The full text of H.C.R. 86 follows.

#####

Complete Text of Vermont Armenian Genocide Centennial Resolution
H.C.R.86

Montpelier, Vermont
Concurrent House Resolution
H.C.R. 86

House concurrent resolution commemorating the 100th anniversary of the start of the Armenian Genocide

Offered by: Representatives Lenes of Shelburne and Greshin of Warren

Offered by: Senators Sears, Baruth, Balint, Benning, Campion, Collamore, Cummings, Flory, McCormack, Mullin, Pollina, Snelling, White, and Zuckerman

Whereas, from 1915 to 1923, the government of the Ottoman Empire persecuted and executed systematically an estimated 1.5 million Armenians, and

Whereas, this brutal mistreatment became known as the Armenian Genocide and, by 1923, it had resulted in the elimination of the Armenian population in Asia Minor and historic West Armenia, and

Whereas, the Armenian Genocide began on the night of April 24, 1915, when the Turkish government arrested more than 200 Armenian community leaders in Constantinople, the Ottoman Empire’s capital city, and

Whereas, most of the prominent public figures of the Armenian community were summarily executed, and

Whereas, large numbers of Armenian civilians were forcibly deported to the Syrian desert, and many died either en route, at the hands of government-aligned gangs, or from dehydration and starvation in the desert, and

Whereas, in May 1915, the Allied Powers of France, Great Britain, and Russia issued a joint statement charging the government in Constantinople with committing crimes ‘‘against humanity and civilization,” the first time a government-to-government charge of this type was issued, and

Whereas, it is estimated that, by 1918, the Ottoman Empire’s brutal treatment of Armenians had resulted in the deaths of one million persons and made hundreds of thousands of others homeless and stateless refugees, and

Whereas, Raphael Lemkin, the initial drafter of the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and the originator of the term “genocide,” recognized the Armenian Genocide as the type of crime the United Nations should prevent through the establishment of international standards, and

Whereas, historians cite the Armenian Genocide as a forerunner of later human massacres, including the Holocaust, the Cambodian Killing Fields, Bosnia, Rwanda, and Darfur, and

Whereas, on April 24, 2004, Governor James Douglas issued a proclamation recognizing the Armenian Genocide on the 89th anniversary of its initiation, now therefore be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives:

That the General Assembly commemorates the 100th anniversary of the start of the Armenian Genocide, and
be it further

Resolved: That the Secretary of State be directed to send a copy of this resolution to the Armenian National Committee of Vermont.

Armenian Genocide Reparations Study Group Publishes Final Report

(asbarez.com) YEREVAN –The Armenian Genocide Reparations Study Group on Monday issued its final report, entitled “Resolution with Justice—Reparations for the Armenian Genocide,” offering an unprecedented comprehensive analysis of the legal, historical, political, and ethical dimensions of the question of reparations for the Armenian Genocide.

In September 2014, the group completed the report, and released the introduction. With the announcement on Monday, the AGRSG is making the entire report available for download, free of charge.

Prior to formation of the AGRSG in 2007, the limited discourse on reparations for the 1915-1923 Armenian Genocide included abstract notions of territorial return, consideration of particular aspects such as insurance lawsuits, academic and other works focused on a specific part of the overall topic, and sometimes valuable short works treating the issue but without comprehensive or detailed analysis.

The AGRSG was formed in 2007 by four experts in different areas of reparations theory and practice. The grooup’s mission was to produce the first systematic, comprehensive, in-depth analysis of the reparations issues raised by the Armenian Genocide. Funded initially by a grant from the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, the AGRSG members are Alfred de Zayas, Jermaine O. McCalpin, Ara Papian, and Henry C. Theriault (Chair). George Aghjayan has served as a special consultant.

After early agreement that some form of repair is an appropriate remedy for the legacy of the Armenian Genocide as it stands today, the AGRSG prepared a preliminary report, which was released for limited distribution in 2009. Completion of the draft was followed by three symposia. The first was a panel discussion featuring three of the report authors, held on May 15, 2010 at George Mason University in the United States, in conjunction with the university’s Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution. The second was a major day-long symposium featuring the four co-authors and a number of other experts on reparations for the Armenian Genocide, conducted at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Law through its International Human Rights Law Association, on October 23, 2010. The third was a panel by two of the report authors held in Yerevan, Armenia, on December 11, 2010. The AGRSG is now issuing for broad distribution its final report, an extensive revision and updating of the 2009 preliminary report.

The report examines the case for reparations from legal, historical, and ethical perspectives (Parts 4, 5, and 6, respectively), offers a plan for a productive reparative process drawing on transitional justice theory and practice (Part 7), and proposes a concrete reparations package (Parts 3 and 8). The report also includes background on the Armenian Genocide (Part 1) and the damages inflicted by it and their impacts today (Part 2). Through its broad dissemination, this report fills a crucial gap in the scholarly work and policy discourse on the Armenian Genocide. It will give Turkish and Armenian individuals as well as civil society and political institutions the information, analysis, and tools to engage the Armenian Genocide issue in a systematic manner that supports meaningful resolution.

With the Genocide Centennial fast approaching, heightened international political, academic, media, artistic, and public interest in the Genocide has already been witnessed in 2015.

In addition, in the past few years, reparations for the Genocide have gone from a marginal concern to a central focus in popular and academic circles. Much of that focus has been on piecemeal individual reparation legal cases. This report represents a decisive step toward a much broader and all-embracing process of repair that is adequate to resolve the extensive outstanding damages of the Genocide. Furthermore, genuine, non-denialist engagement with the legacy of the Genocide is growing in Turkey. Finally, in the past decade, there has emerged a global reparations movement involving numerous victim groups across an array of mass human rights violations. The Armenian case has a place within that movement.

(asbarez.com) GENEVA—The 28th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) adopted a resolution Friday on the prevention of genocide introduced by Armenia. Armenia’s Foreign Ministry reported that 64 states joined Armenia and became co-authors of the resolution. The resolution will be open for co-authorship for another two weeks.

The resolution, adopted in Geneva on March 27, affirms that impunity for the crime of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity encourages their occurrence and is a fundamental obstacle to the furtherance of cooperation among peoples and the promotion of international peace and security, and that fighting impunity for such crimes is an important factor in their prevention.

In addition, it emphasizing the responsibility of states to comply with their obligations under relevant international instruments to end impunity and, to that end, to thoroughly investigate and prosecute persons responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes or other massive, serious or systematic violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, in order to avoid their recurrence and to seek sustainable peace, justice, truth and reconciliation.

The resolution stresses the importance of the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence to the prevention of genocide. It also stresses that perpetrators of this crime should be held criminally accountable on the national or international level and acknowledges the work of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence and its positive impact on the prevention of gross violations of human rights and serious violations of international humanitarian law through a holistic approach to transnational justice.

It also condemns the intentional public denial or glorification of crimes of genocide and crimes against humanity as defined by international law, and notes with concern that public denials create a risk of further violations and undermine efforts to prevent genocide.

The resolution also recommends that the UN General Assembly designate December 9 as the International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of Genocide in order to raise awareness of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and its role in combating and preventing the crime of genocide.

(horizonweekly.com) The parliaments of Cordoba and Santa Fe have unanimously passed bills on proclaiming April 24 th as the Day of Solidarity between Nations and Remembrance of the Victims of the Armenian Genocide. As “Armenpress” reports, citing PrensaArmenia.com.ar, Law 26199 of Cordoba and Law 9585 of Santa Fe (administrative center of the State of Santa Fe) emphasize that the laws are being passed to commemorate the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide.

It is also emphasized that with this, the two cities of Argentina are paying their tribute to the innocent victims and attaching importance to solidarity and mutual respect between nations. In 2006, the Senate of Argentina recognized the Armenian Genocide. On January 15, 2006, Argentina passed a law on condemning the first crime committed against humanity in the early 20 th century.

ARMENPRESS – The Spanish city of Xirivella has also joined the Spanish cities officially recognizing the Armenian Genocide. “Armenpress” reports about this citing the official Facebook page of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia.

Previously it was reported that the plenary session of City Council of Pinto (Spain) unanimously officially recognized Armenian Genocide. The decision, particularly, runs as follows: “Plenary session of Pinto City Council unanimously confirms official recognition of the Armenian Genocide and condemns crimes against humanity committed by the Ottoman Turks. This year marks 100th year of the first genocide of the 20th century, during which 1.5 million citizens was massacred and 2 million was forced to leave places of their residence.”

Xirivella is a municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It borders the city of Valencia, Alaquàs, Picanya and Mislata.