Catholicos of All Armenians: Only national unity will enable Armenia  to intensify efforts to recognize Armenian Genocide

ArmInfo.  Only national unity will enable Armenia to intensify efforts to recognize the Armenian Genocide and develop steps and initiatives for national progress,  peaceful and secure life. This is stated in the message of Catholicos  of All Armenians Garegin II on the occasion of the 111th anniversary  of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire.

As reported by the press office of the Mother See of Etchmiadzin, in  his message, the Catholicos recalled that today, Armenia and the  Diaspora honor the memory of the holy martyrs of the Armenian  Genocide in the Ottoman Empire, who were immortalized for preserving  in their souls an eternal love for Christ and the Homeland. Garegin  II noted that April 24 symbolically sums up the collective suffering  of the Armenian people, which includes the memories of one and a half  million Armenian martyrs, children who lost their homeland, Armenian  monasteries and churches subjected to cultural genocide, and  destroyed settlements.

"However, this tragedy did not break the spirit of our nation. Our  people survived the Genocide, were reborn, and restored independent  Armenian statehood. April 24 is a day of oath, closely linked to the  demand of the Armenian people scattered throughout the world - a day  free from hostility and hatred, aimed at restoring justice and truth,  and eradicating the denial of the catastrophic genocide," stated  Garegin II.

His Holiness also recalled that a century after the catastrophic  events of the Genocide, when it seemed that such horrific crimes were  a thing of the past, unfortunately, as a result of new genocidal  actions, 120,000 Artsakh residents were forcibly displaced from their  homeland. In this difficult situation and the existing threats, as  Garegin II noted, the sacrifice of the martyrs of the Armenian  Genocide obliges the Armenian people to strengthen unity, solidarity,  and the Armenian state.

"Indeed, it is through national unity that we can intensify efforts  for the universal recognition of the Armenian Genocide and the  development of steps and initiatives for national progress, a  peaceful and secure life," the Catholicos of All Armenians concluded.

It should be recalled that on April 24, 1915, in Constantinople, the  capital of the Ottoman Empire, the extermination of Armenian subjects  began. It began with the arrests of representatives of the Armenian  intelligentsia-writers and poets, architects and parliamentarians-and  then escalated into the complete extermination of Armenians. As a  result of these actions by the Turkish authorities, more than 1.5  million Armenians were deported, starved, and tortured to death. The  Armenian Genocide has been recognized by the Council of Europe (1998,  2001),the European Parliament (1987, 2000, 2002, 2005), the UN  Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of  Minorities[7], the World Council of Churches, the Parliamentary  Coalition of South American Countries (Mercosur), and the Parliament  of Latin America (2015).

The Armenian Genocide has been recognized and condemned by many  countries and influential international organizations. The Parliament  of Uruguay was the first to officially recognize and condemn the mass  killings of Armenians (1965). The extermination of Armenians has been  officially recognized as genocide (under international law) and  condemned by: Austria (joint statement of the chairmen of  parliamentary factions, 2015), Argentina (2 laws, 5 resolutions;  2004, 2007), Armenia (1964 as part of the USSR, 1988, 1990), Belgium  (1998, 2015), Bulgaria (2007, 2015), Bolivia (2014), Brazil (2015),  Vatican City (2015), Venezuela (2005), Germany (2016), Greece (1996),  Italy (2000, 2019), Canada (1996, 2002, 2004), Cyprus (1975, 1982),  Latvia (2021), Lebanon (1997), Libya (2019); On April 18, 2019, the  Interim Government of Libya adopted a resolution recognizing the  Armenian Genocide. Lithuania (2005), Luxembourg (2015), Netherlands  (2004, 2018), Paraguay (2015), Poland (2005), Portugal (2019), Russia  (1995), Syria (2020), Slovakia (2004), USA (2019, 2021); On April 24,  2021, US President Joe Biden officially recognized the Armenian  Genocide. Uruguay (1965), France (1998, 2000, 2001, 2006), Czech  Republic (2015, 2017, 2020), Chile (2007), Switzerland (2003), Sweden  (2010). Turkey continues its policy of denial of this crime against  humanity.