1 / 2

On March 9 the delegation led by the RA NA Vice President Eduard Sharmazanov being on an official visit in the Czech Republic took part in the official opening of the exhibition entitled “Armenian Genocide: Front Page Coverage in the World Press,” where the Head of the Armenian Delegation delivered a speech:

“Your Excellency,

Dear attendees,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Today, in the Czech Museum of Music under the auspice of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic is the official opening of the exhibition “ Armenian Genocide: Front Page Coverage in the World Press. ” The holding of the exhibition dedicated to the Armenian Genocide is a classical example of the protection of human rights. I would like to stress that it is not aimed at any country, including Turkey, but it is held for the sake of historical justice, international recognition and condemnation of genocides.

The Armenian Genocide is the greatest calamities of the 20^th century. One and a half million Armenians were killed only because they were Armenians by their origin and Christians by their faith. This is nothing else than a classic example of racism and xenophobia.

Dear attendees,

The Young Turks perpetrated the Armenian Genocide, as far back as in 1911 at the secret congress of the Ittihat ve Terakki Cemiyeti Party in Thessaloniki made a decision to exterminate the Christian population of the Ottoman Empire as they were an obstacle on the way to implement the Young Turks’ pan-Turkic plans. All the claims of the Turkish current authorities that all this had not been planned beforehand as Genocide, but both Armenians and Turks became victims of deportation during the WWI, are absolutely groundless.

On 24 April 1915 the arrests and massacres of 600 Armenian intellectuals, members of the Ottoman parliament, as well as public figures marked the beginning of a crime which was initially planned and committed at the state level by Ottoman Turkey, and which is known to the history of humankind as the first genocide of the 20^th century. The crime aimed at depriving Armenians of their homeland.

I would like to mention that by the joint declaration of the Triple Entente on 24 May 1915 the crime against the Armenian people for the first time in the history was defined as a “crime against humanity and civilization.”

It is worth to mention that in 1919 the Courts Martial of the Ottoman Turkey sentenced Minister of War Enver Pasha, Interior Minister Talaat Pasha, Minister of the Navy Jemal Pasha, Minister of Public Education Nazim Pasha and others to death by recognizing them guilty of organizing and carrying out the Armenian massacres.

The persecution of the Armenians and the massacres committed against them has always been at the centre of attention by the Armenian and international media. These reflections and publications in the media relating to this problem serve as an important source in terms of the coverage of the key problems of the Armenian Genocide and are of historical unique importance. Especially notable were the British, Russian, French and American newspaper reports about the Hamidian massacres of 1894-1896, the Cilician atrocities of 1909, and the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923, as well as their consequences, such as the problems of Armenian deportees, the works connected with collecting of orphans and the fate of the Armenian women and children kidnapped by the Turks.

22 countries throughout the world have already recognized the Armenian Genocide, and the first among them was Uruguay. South Dakota became the 43^rd US state which officially recognized the Armenian Genocide. The Armenian Genocide was recognized by such organizations as the Council of Europe, European Parliament, several UN committees. A few days ago the European People’s Party passed a resolution condemning the Armenian Genocide and the fact of the deprivation of the Armenian people of its homeland by calling on Turkey to accept the history and recognize the Armenian Genocide.

Dear attendees,

We all should have courage to say no to genocides, no to crimes against humanity, in order our future generations will never be exterminated only because they are Armenians, Turks, Russians or Czechs. We say no to genocide, no to racism and no to denialism.

Thank you for your kind attention.”