BUENOS AIRES, DECEMBER 1, ARMENPRESS: The ceremony of handing the documents on the recognition of the Armenian Genocide of 1915 committed by the Ottoman Empire to the Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to Argentina Vahagn Melikyan and the leader of the Argentina’s Armenian Diocese, His Grace Archbishop Gisak Muradian took place on November 30 in the St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Apostolic Cathedral in Buenos Aires, after the Sunday mass.

The Deputy President of the Bolivian Senate and the Acting President of the Senate Zonia Guardia Melgar and the MP of the Chamber of Deputies Farides Walla Suarez de Suarez were invited at the event as special guests.

The Department for Press, Information and Public Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia informed Armenpress that in her speech Zonia Guardia Melgar, the acting chairperson of the Senate of Bolivia, explained that the statement was taken unanimously by both the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, with the approval of the Foreign Ministry. “We offer our full support, solidarity and comradeship to the Armenian people, because our State Constitution, which is the law of laws, says no to discrimination, violation of human rights and genocide”, - she added. She said that the Bolivian nation and authorities condemn the denial policy on the fact of the Armenian Genocide committed by the Ottoman Empire in 1915. Zonia Guardia Melgar emphasized that only through the recognition and condemnation of the Genocide it will be possible to prevent the repetition of such crimes in the lives of nations and states in the future.

The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres, and deportations involving forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths reaching 1.5 million. 

The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the Genocide survivors.

Present-day Turkey denies the fact of the Armenian Genocide, justifying the atrocities as “deportation to secure Armenians”. Only a few Turkish intellectuals, including Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk and scholar Taner Akcam, speak openly about the necessity to recognize this crime against humanity.

The Armenian Genocide was recognized by Uruguay, Russia, France, Lithuania, the Italian Chamber of Deputies, majority of U.S. states, parliaments of Greece, Cyprus, Argentina, Belgium and Wales, National Council of Switzerland, Chamber of Commons of Canada, Polish Sejm, Vatican, European Parliament and the World Council of Churches.