This year is the 103rd anniversary of the first genocide of the 20th century, in which 1.5 million souls were lost. Not because of something they had done, but because of who they were.
The international community’s reaction to the 1915 genocide allowed it to happen again a few years later, with Pontians and Assyrians as the victims.
According to the distinguished professor Gregory Stanton, the last stage of a genocide is its denial. The administration of justice begins with recognition of the genocide. And Recognition is a moral and historical duty of the international community to the millions of dead and to the later generations. Recognition is the highest honour and respect paid to the memory, culture and centuries-long history of a people who suffer genocide.
Today, a great number of states have recognized the Armenian genocide. The Greek state, through the Hellenic Parliament, recognized the Armenian genocide in April 1996, and a little over ten years earlier, in 1987, the European Parliament recognized it in a similar resolution.
The recognition of historical truth and maintaining of historical memory are a struggle not just for the past, but mainly for the present and future. Because coming generations will be safe not just when genocides have ceased to be perpetrated, but also when the reasons behind them cease to exist.
Respect for international law, the safeguarding of human rights for all citizens of every state, without racial, ethnic, cultural or religious discrimination, are what can deter clashes and conflicts that lead to ethnic cleansing and genocide.
Greece and Armenia are two countries that fight for peace, development and cooperation, elements that contribute towards strengthening bilateral relations, with the Armenian community in Greece and the historical Greek community in Armenia as bridges of friendship.
April 23, 2018