Armenia invites Turkish President to Yerevan on Genocide anniversary
Armenia invites Turkish President to Yerevan on Genocide anniversary –
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan invites the Turkish President to visit Armenia on April 24 to face the striking historic evidences of the Armenian Genocide.
“The 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide is of great importance for both world-spread Armenians and all humanity. Not only was April 24, 1915 the start of an unprecedented attempt to exterminate a whole nation. The following events showed that it became the precedent for other genocides in the 20th century,” Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said at the 4th sitting of the commission coordinating the events dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
“Crimes against humanity cannot have a limitation period. The only formula for prevention of genocides is the recognition and condemnation of the hideous pages of history. As a nation that has survived genocide, we have a special mission to prevent the recurrence of such calamities in the future,” President Sargsyan said.
“On the threshold of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide we once again call on all states and the international community to recognize and condemn this unprecedented crime,” he said. “As a state and as a nation we’ll continue our struggle for the recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide and the most terrible crimes against humanity in different corners of the world,” President Sargsyan said.
Speaking about Turkey’s decades-long policy of denying the fact of the Armenian Genocide, the President said the only way for Turkey to get rid of the heavy burden of the past is to recognize the Armenian Genocide. “It’s impossible to reach results with half-steps,” he added.
President Sargsyan informed he has sent out invitations to the heads of a number of countries to visit Armenia during 2015 and especially on April 24 to pay tribute to the memory of the 1.5 million victims of the Armenian Genocide and to see that “the Armenian people not only overcame this heavy trial, but also managed to revive. “We not only survived, but also managed to unite and pave the way towards statehood and independent Armenia.”
“Official Ankara continues to speak about the creation of a commission of historians and opening of the archives. First of all, it’s known that the Armenian archives have always been open to all researchers interested in the scientific aspect of the issue. The materials kept in scientific institutions and museums have always been open to public,” the President said, adding that “visiting any Armenian family, entering any Armenian home is enough to face the truth of the Armenian Genocide.”
“It will be enough to visit any Diaspora community and ask how their ancestors found themselves in that country. If the Turkish authorities are interested in the truth, they should visit Armenia on April 24. I don’t think they will continue to speak about the opening of archives after that. I avail myself of the opportunity to officially invite the Turkish President (whoever is elected during the forthcoming elections) to visit Armenia on April 24, 2015 to face the striking historic evidences of the Armenian Genocide.”
“With all this we never spread hatred towards the Turkish people. Moreover, we are trying to create conditions for Armenian and Turkish people to communicate with each other to find ways of reconciliation. This was the objective behind our initiative to normalize the Armenian-Turkish relations and open the shared border,” the President said. “Turkey is well aware of the ways of normalizing the relations with Armenia, if it’s really sincere in its wish,” he added.