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PRESS RELEASE
31 May 2010
Stockholm, Sweden
[email protected]
Seminar: Genocide in the Ottoman Empire 1915: Living History, Legal
Issues, Prescription or Responsibility.
The Swedish branch of the International Law Association held a seminar on
the topic of the legal aspects of the Armenian Genocide. The seminar was
in the wake of the Swedish Riksdag's recognition of the 1915 Genocide.
The seminar was chaired by Professor Ove Bring, expert in International
Law and the Chairman on the Swedish ILA. The panel consisted of Armenia's
Ambassador to Sweden, Mr. Ara Aivazian, Mr. Kaj Hobér, Professor in
International Law at University of Dundee, and Mr. Vahagn Avedian,
Historian and Chief Editor of Armenica.org. The seminar was attended by
more the 50 participants, encompassed of representatives from the Swedish
Foreign Department, members of the Swedish ILA, scholars, as wells as
members of the Armenian, Turkish, and Assyrian communities.
Ambassador Aivazian, presenting a historical review of the events, touched
upon the normalization process and the issue of the Turkish-Armenian
protocols, briefly mentioning their content and why they have come to a
halt. Professor Hobér gave a brief summary of his doctoral thesis on the
subject of extinctive prescription in international law. Explaining that
it would be very difficult to predict the possibility or the outcome of a
theoretical case in regard to the Armenian Genocide, the Professor pointed
out that due to the nature of the events, the issue could still be brought
to an international judicial instance, e.g. the ICJ for further
examination. Mr. Avedian gave a brief presentation of his working article
on State Identity, Continuity, and Responsibility. According to his
presentation, there are reasonable grounds for tracing the denialist
policy of the Turkish Republic to the possible liability charges which an
official Turkish recognition of the genocide would imply.
The Turkish Embassy had been invited to the seminar, but had declined
participation at the last moment, arguing that similar discussions would
increase the tension between the affected minority groups in Sweden. The
representatives of the Armenian and Assyrian organizations present at the
seminar were totally unaware of the alleged tensions referred by the
Turkish Embassy.
From: A. Papazian
31 May 2010
Stockholm, Sweden
[email protected]
Seminar: Genocide in the Ottoman Empire 1915: Living History, Legal
Issues, Prescription or Responsibility.
The Swedish branch of the International Law Association held a seminar on
the topic of the legal aspects of the Armenian Genocide. The seminar was
in the wake of the Swedish Riksdag's recognition of the 1915 Genocide.
The seminar was chaired by Professor Ove Bring, expert in International
Law and the Chairman on the Swedish ILA. The panel consisted of Armenia's
Ambassador to Sweden, Mr. Ara Aivazian, Mr. Kaj Hobér, Professor in
International Law at University of Dundee, and Mr. Vahagn Avedian,
Historian and Chief Editor of Armenica.org. The seminar was attended by
more the 50 participants, encompassed of representatives from the Swedish
Foreign Department, members of the Swedish ILA, scholars, as wells as
members of the Armenian, Turkish, and Assyrian communities.
Ambassador Aivazian, presenting a historical review of the events, touched
upon the normalization process and the issue of the Turkish-Armenian
protocols, briefly mentioning their content and why they have come to a
halt. Professor Hobér gave a brief summary of his doctoral thesis on the
subject of extinctive prescription in international law. Explaining that
it would be very difficult to predict the possibility or the outcome of a
theoretical case in regard to the Armenian Genocide, the Professor pointed
out that due to the nature of the events, the issue could still be brought
to an international judicial instance, e.g. the ICJ for further
examination. Mr. Avedian gave a brief presentation of his working article
on State Identity, Continuity, and Responsibility. According to his
presentation, there are reasonable grounds for tracing the denialist
policy of the Turkish Republic to the possible liability charges which an
official Turkish recognition of the genocide would imply.
The Turkish Embassy had been invited to the seminar, but had declined
participation at the last moment, arguing that similar discussions would
increase the tension between the affected minority groups in Sweden. The
representatives of the Armenian and Assyrian organizations present at the
seminar were totally unaware of the alleged tensions referred by the
Turkish Embassy.
From: A. Papazian