Brussels, March 3, 2015: The Political Assembly of the European Political Party (EPP), the largest political group in the European Parliament, today adopted a resolution condemning the Armenian Genocide, and calling on Turkey to recognize it.
The resolution entitled ‘The Armenian Genocide, Turkish Responsibility, and European Values’ reaffirms EPP’s “recognition and condemnation of the Genocide and Great National Dispossession of the Armenian people on the eve of its 100th Anniversary on 24 April 2015”. The resolution emphasizes the incontrovertible evidence documented in the archives of several western states, including Germany, United Kingdom, USA, France, that the “Armenian Genocide , … was perpetuated by the Young Turk Government in the final years of the Ottoman Empire“. The resolution also criticizes the destruction of thousands of Armenian cultural monuments in Turkey.
The largest political group of the European Parliament calls on Turkey inter alia “to face history and finally recognize the ever-present reality of the Armenian Genocide”, “make restitution appropriate for a European country, including but not limited to ensuring a right of return of the Armenian people to, and a secure reconnection with, their national hearth…”.
The President of the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy (EAFJD) Kaspar Karampetian said “we welcome the resolution adopted and we thank the European People’s Party and in particular President Joseph Daul for his support. EPP sister Armenian parties – Republican Party of Armenia, Rule of Law and Heritage – showed that the Armenian political parties are united in pursuing Armenian Genocide recognition in this centennial year”. “The other political groups of the European Parliament, as well as the Parliament as an institution, should show similar determination and courage, in condemning the Genocide and restoring historical justice”, concluded Karampetian.
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