YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 2, ARMENPRESS. The recognition process of the Armenian Genocide is irreversible. It is obvious that the century-long denialist policy failed. However, Turkey continues to stick to the stereotypes, Armenian foreign minister Edward Nalbandian said in response to the inquiry of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the ministry told Armenpress.

Question: The Foreign Minister of Turkey qualified as populism the recent remarks on the Armenian Genocide made in the speech of the President of France? What can you say in this regard?

Answer: Turkey cannot but realize that the recognition process of the Armenian Genocide is irreversible. It is obvious that the century-long denialist policy failed. However, Turkey continues to stick to the stereotypes.

Ankara does not shy away to distort not just the historic facts but the current realities, including by misrepresenting the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights.

In an open letter addressed to the Prime Minister of Turkey the International Association of Genocide Scholars has rightly stated that the Armenian Genocide is abundantly documented by thousands of official records of the United States and other nations around the world including the Ottoman Turkey’s wartime allies Germany, Austria and Hungary, by eyewitness accounts of diplomats and missionaries, by the testimony of survivors, by the decades of historical and legal scholarships, and even by Ottoman court-martial records.

It is noteworthy that Germany and Austria have not only recognized the Armenian Genocide as many other countries had done but also acknowledged their part of responsibility, as Turkey’s allies of the time.

The international community has emphasised on numerous occasions that the denial of Genocide creates a breeding ground for the repetition of crimes against humanity. Instead of labeling as populists those who have recognized the Armenian Genocide, Ankara needs to abandon threatening populism of its denialist policy and candidly face its own past.