April 24, 2019
YEREVAN, Apr 22 – Sputnik. The issue of recognition of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire remains a taboo topic in Turkey. Domestic political perturbations in this country somehow affect the issue of the Genocide. Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Armenian Academy of Sciences of Armenia Ruben Safrastyan said this at a press conference on Monday. As Safrastyan noted, the unsuccessful attempt of the coup in July 2016 in Turkey spurred repression by the Erdogan regime on opponents. These persecutions silenced those few brave souls who occasionally raised the issue of recognizing the Armenian Genocide.
“One cannot count on the fact that Turkey in the coming years will somehow change its position on the recognition of the Genocide. Moreover, there are signs that repression will intensify, ”the expert noted. As for the recognition by other states of the fact of the Armenian Genocide, then, in Safrastyan’s opinion, the question is mainly addressed only in case of deterioration of relations of these countries with Turkey. Referring to the position of the US presidential administration on the eve of the next anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the expert suggested that the American leader Donald Trump would put relations with NATO ally above historical truth.
“The congress may put relevant documents for discussion, but the Trump administration at a crucial moment will put pressure on the legislature,” Safrastyan said. The US-Turkish relations are going through hard times, including because of the Russian S-400 complexes supplied to Turkey. The dynamics of deterioration may continue, but the strategic role of Ankara for Washington will not change, the expert notes. As for the actions of the Armenian state, then, from the point of view of the Orientalist, it is necessary to intensify efforts on the issue of compensations. The process is complex, painstaking, but the issue of the Genocide is long overdue to be considered in the context of reparation, and not in a purely moral aspect.
“Armenia needs to increasingly raise this topic and be consistent in the issue of issuing compensation. We must start with small steps, separate lawsuits, ”he believes. The Armenian Genocide of 1915 is the first genocide of the twentieth century. Turkey has traditionally rejected accusations of mass extermination of about one and a half million Armenians during the First World War and extremely painfully responds to criticism from the West on the Genocide issue. The fact of the Armenian Genocide is recognized by many countries, in particular, Uruguay, Russia, France, Lithuania, the lower house of the Italian Parliament, most of the US states, as well as the parliaments of Luxembourg, Austria, Chile, Greece, Cyprus, Argentina, Belgium, Wales, the Swiss National Council, The House of Commons of the Parliament of Canada and the Sejm of Poland.
On April 24, the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Armenian Genocide, hundreds of thousands of people from Armenia and the diaspora march to the Tsitsernakaberd memorial complex in Yerevan, where they lay flowers and remember the victims of this massacre.
ORIGINE SOURSES- newsarium.org/2019/04/22/армения-должна-настаивать-на-выда
