EUROPEAN ARMENIAN FEDERATION For Justice & Democracy
Avenue de la Renaissance 10
B-1000 Bruxelles
Tel/ Fax: +32 2 732 70 27/26
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PRESS RELEASE
_For immediate release_
FRIDAY 9 OCTOBER 2009
CONTACT : VARTéNIE ECHO
TEL. / FAX. : +32 (0) 2 732 70 27
CONFERENCE IN EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT CALLS FOR LEGAL STANDARD ON
GENOCIDE DENIAL
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM 9 OCTOBER 2009 – The EAFJD is pleased to announce
that the `Denial and Democracy in Europe’ conference addressing
the ban on genocide denial in Europe was hosted at European Parliament
on 6 October 2009 from 3 -6:30 pm.
The conference, which was attended by nearly 100 delegates including
MEPs, political advisors and media experts, explored genocide denial
in the EU in light of the Framework Decision against Racism and
Xenophobia, adopted by the European Council last year.
The keynote speakers included German MEP Mr Elmar Brok, French MEP
Mr Jean-Marie Cavada, and Dr H.C. Ralph Giordano, a renowned German
intellectual and Holocaust survivor. Mr Brok and Mr Cavada expressed
the importance of the Framework Decision and Dr H.C. Giordano said
that any hope for reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia should be
contingent on Turkey’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
Mr Brok said that the struggle against genocide denial is `an
outgrowth of Europe’s history and experience of the Holocaust.’
Brok explained that Hitler’s famous statement that no one remembered
the Armenians who perished at the hands of the Ottoman Turks, was used
as proof to his party that there was impunity for the crimes his party
was committing. He stated that `upholding remembrance and fighting
against genocide denial is a political duty’.
Mr Cavada emphasized the contrast between Germany’s response to
their history and Turkey’s obstinate position on the Armenian
Genocide, despite the facts. He explained that understanding one’s
national history is a cornerstone to democracy and, tackling the topic
of Turkey’s EU accession talks, that `we cannot trust a government
that does not look at its own past.’ Drawing a distinction between
the people of Turkey and the Turkish authorities, Cavada called the
latter `dangerous’ and genocide denial `a cancer’.
Mr Giordano, having survived the Holocaust and having studied the
Armenian Genocide, recounted the political history of the events
leading up to 1915, calling the Genocide an `apocalypse of universal
extent,’ the likes of which the world has only ever seen one other
time, upon the liberation of Germany following WWII. Mr Giordano
explained that the Jews and Armenians are a uniquely unified people
with a tragic history shared by survivors and descendents alike.
Adding that both peoples were endangered in the past and the present,
he explained that `it is my biography that compels me to push for an
alliance between these communities.’
The conference was a joint effort on the part of the European
Armenian Federation, the Jewish Laic Community and IBUKA-France, the
major Tutsi advocacy organization in Europe. The chairpersons of these
three organizations denounced genocide denial in Europe and stressed
the importance of upholding European values through a strong
interpretation of the Framework Decision.
Article 1 of the Framework Decision Framework Decision against
Racism and Xenophobia prohibits genocide denial in the EU. As EU
Member States must incorporate the provisions of this Framework
Decision into their national legislations by 2010, the strength of
individual domestic interpretations is on the table.
Mrs Hilda Tchoboian, as Chairperson of the European Armenian
Federation, called upon the various ministries of justice and the EU
Fundamental Rights Agency to implement strict interpretations of the
Framework Decision and thus introduce a legal standard for genocide
denial, and to monitor and address genocide denial in the EU in all
its forms. Moreover, addressing the present negotiations between
Armenia and Turkey, she recalled that European Armenians support the
normalisation of relations between the two countries but that they
oppose `Turkey’s attempts to surreptitiously introduce its denial
policy into the protocols and other international instruments.’
SUMMARIES OF THE SPEECHES AND VIDEO INTERVIEWS OF MR CAVADA AND MR
BROK ARE AVAILABLE ON THE WEBSITE OF THE EUROPEAN ARMENIAN FEDERATION.
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You receive this Press Release from :
European Armenian Federation
for Justice & Democracy
Avenue de la Renaissance 10
Brussels, 1000
The European Armenian Federation is the biggest and most influential
Armenian grassroots organisation in Europe
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