“The thorny issues of the past should be solved instead of being consigned to oblivion,” Vice-Speaker of the Armenian National Assembly, Spokesman for the Republican Party of Armenia Edward Sharmazanov said in reply to Turkish President Abdullah Gul’s most recent comments regarding the Armenian Genocide.
At a joint press conference with visiting French President Francois Hollande, Gul urged Armenia and its Diaspora “to leave the pains of the past behind and not to pass them from generation to generation.” At the same time, as reported by AFP, Hollande urged the Turks to “uncover history” even if it is painful.
“The genocide of 1.5 million Armenians in their native land is nothing but a vivid manifestation of a crime against humanity. Forgetting crimes ever committed against the human race result in new crimes, and the Holocaust during World War II is an example,” Sharmazanov stated.
He noted that the denial of the Armenian Genocide is no less a crime than the one perpetrated by Young Turks against Armenians.
