08 06 2008 - 1915 Genocide Recognition Petition

Joint Press Release
Union of Armenian Associations in<BR>
www.armeniska.se
Union of Assyrian Associations in<BR>
www.hujada.se
Armenica<BR>
www.armenica.org
Petition Site: http://itwasgenocide.armenica.org
Recognize the 1915 Genocide for what it is

Why does genocide continue to occur in the 21st century? Because those committed in the 20th century got away with it. Hitler said “Who remembers the Armenians?” More or less as if the Sudanese Government is standing up and saying “Who remembers the Armenians? – Salih Booker, former Executive Director of Africa Action, on the ongoing genocide in Darfur . Excerpt from the documentary Screamers, 2007

The Swedish Foreign Affairs Committee, on May 29, 2008, published its decision to suggest that the Parliament should reject the motions calling upon the Swedish Parliament and Government to recognize the 1915 genocide. The decision is mainly based upon the following arguments:

* “…no particular consideration regarding the Armenian situation has ever been in form of an UN Resolution, either in 1985 or any other occasion.”
* “The Committee understands that what engulfed the Armenians, Assyrian/Syrians and Chaldeans during the reign of the Ottoman Empire would, according to the 1948 Convention, probably be regarded as genocide, if it had been in power at the time.”
* “There is still a disagreement among the experts regarding the different course of events of the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire . The same applies to the underlying causes and how the assaults shall be classified.”

The attached petition, signed by leading experts on Holocaust and Genocide Studies, is a call upon, not only Swedish leaders, but an appeal to all leaders around the world to stop abusing the name of science in their political agenda, abetting the denial of genocide.

The text and complete list of signatories is available in several different languages at http://itwasgenocide.armenica.org.

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Union of Armenian Associations
Box 237, 17724 Järfälla, Sweden
Contact: Vahagn Avedian
+46 707 73 33 83
info@armeniska.se


Union of Assyrian Associations
Box 6019, 151 06 Södertälje, Sweden
Contact: Rachel Hadodo
+46 707 16 98 26
info@hujada.se

Armenica
Box 1716, 751 47 Uppsala, Sweden
Contact: Vahagn Avedian
+46 707 73 33 83
info@armenica.org

Vahagn Avedian