FOREIGN MINISTER NALBANDIAN – TURKEY IS MAIN OBSTACLE TO RELATIONS WITH ARMENIA, NOT GENOCIDE BILL
hetq
11:01, January 27, 2012
Yesterday, during a working visit to Latvia, RA Foreign Minister
made the following statement when asked by a reporter to comment
on the recent passage of a bill by the French Senate to criminalize
genocide denial.
The arguments presented by Turkey cannot stand up to any critique.
They say that the adopted bill will hamper the normalization of
Armenian-Turkish relations, but everyone knows that if anyone is
hampering those relations today, it is Turkey. They also say that
the bill edits history. Sadly, the black pages of a tragic history
experienced by an entire people have already been written.
The bill approved by the French Senate does not refer to any specific
country. Here, the adage “if the shoe fits…” is quite appropriate.
The extreme reaction by Turkey against France, those countries who have
recognized the Genocide and the Armenian diaspora, proves the denialist
policy of Turkey on a state level. It’s a dangerous phenomenon. All
this attests to the necessity and significance for the bill adopted
by the Senate. It is a bill that must be supported by other nations
in order that similar violations against humanity are not permitted
in the future.