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NATIONAL COUNCIL OF WESTERN ARMENIA RESPONDS TO RADIKAL JOURNALIST
tert.am
26.04.12
In response to Turkish publicist Orhan Kemal Cengiz's recent article
urging Turkey to apologize to the Armenians for the Genocide,
the National Council of Western Armenia has issued a statement,
characterizing the move as yet another attempt to "feel the pulse of
the Armenians".
It particularly focuses on the publicist's statement saying that
international courts can no longer hold Turkey accountable for the
massacres. given that none of their perpetrators is alive (Tert.am
11:55 ~U 10.04.12).
"Turkey can say, for instance, that the 1915 events constituted one of
the biggest tragedies against the mankind, and we admit the fact. We
condemn its organizer, the regime led by the Union and Progress party,
and apologize to our Armenian brothers, and their descendents,"
Cengiz said in his article published in the Turkish daily Radikal.
Arguing the Turkish publicist's position, the council raises a question
about the successor of the Ottoman Empire, emphasizing that the crime
of Genocide has no period of limitation.
"It means that the present-day Republic of Turkey, as a successor of
the Ottoman Empire, is responsible for the 1894-1923 xenophobic, racist
and anti-Armenian policies implemented by the three Turkish governments
- the Ottomans, young Turks and the Kemalists," says the Council.
"The Armenian Genocide is not restricted to 1915. If we turn over
the pages of the history of the past 150 years, we will revive the
1894-1896 massacres of Cilicia and the 1909 pogroms of Adana, as well
as 1915-17 massive genocide against the Armenians across the Ottoman
empire and the 1918-23 massacres, killings and deportation."
Addressing Cengiz's demand for financial redress that overshadows
territorial issues, the Council further says: "On November 22, 1920,
28th President of the United States Woodrow Wilson ratified the
Arbitral Award on the Turkey-Armenia border, a fact that the Radikal
journalist could have hardly been unaware of."
The Council further condemns the Turkish publicist's proposal for
individual compensation.
"Isn't it the Turks that forced the Armenians out of their homes,
talking them into taking their personal documents? Which individual are
they going to give compensation to - to those they beheaded on the way
to the Deir-ez-Zor [desert] or to the children, grandchildren and the
grand grandchildren that were never born...?" the Council members ask,
considering the proposal a false deal aimed to hush up a big crime.
"The crime was committed against the nation so the compensation too,
is for the nation," they claim.
From: Baghdasarian
tert.am
26.04.12
In response to Turkish publicist Orhan Kemal Cengiz's recent article
urging Turkey to apologize to the Armenians for the Genocide,
the National Council of Western Armenia has issued a statement,
characterizing the move as yet another attempt to "feel the pulse of
the Armenians".
It particularly focuses on the publicist's statement saying that
international courts can no longer hold Turkey accountable for the
massacres. given that none of their perpetrators is alive (Tert.am
11:55 ~U 10.04.12).
"Turkey can say, for instance, that the 1915 events constituted one of
the biggest tragedies against the mankind, and we admit the fact. We
condemn its organizer, the regime led by the Union and Progress party,
and apologize to our Armenian brothers, and their descendents,"
Cengiz said in his article published in the Turkish daily Radikal.
Arguing the Turkish publicist's position, the council raises a question
about the successor of the Ottoman Empire, emphasizing that the crime
of Genocide has no period of limitation.
"It means that the present-day Republic of Turkey, as a successor of
the Ottoman Empire, is responsible for the 1894-1923 xenophobic, racist
and anti-Armenian policies implemented by the three Turkish governments
- the Ottomans, young Turks and the Kemalists," says the Council.
"The Armenian Genocide is not restricted to 1915. If we turn over
the pages of the history of the past 150 years, we will revive the
1894-1896 massacres of Cilicia and the 1909 pogroms of Adana, as well
as 1915-17 massive genocide against the Armenians across the Ottoman
empire and the 1918-23 massacres, killings and deportation."
Addressing Cengiz's demand for financial redress that overshadows
territorial issues, the Council further says: "On November 22, 1920,
28th President of the United States Woodrow Wilson ratified the
Arbitral Award on the Turkey-Armenia border, a fact that the Radikal
journalist could have hardly been unaware of."
The Council further condemns the Turkish publicist's proposal for
individual compensation.
"Isn't it the Turks that forced the Armenians out of their homes,
talking them into taking their personal documents? Which individual are
they going to give compensation to - to those they beheaded on the way
to the Deir-ez-Zor [desert] or to the children, grandchildren and the
grand grandchildren that were never born...?" the Council members ask,
considering the proposal a false deal aimed to hush up a big crime.
"The crime was committed against the nation so the compensation too,
is for the nation," they claim.
From: Baghdasarian