Paylan submits Armenian Genocide recognition bill to Turkish Parliament

By Asbarez | Tuesday, 24 April 2018

Garo Paylan

Garo Paylan

ISTANBUL—Garo Paylan, an Armenian Member of the Turkish Parliament representing the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) introduced a resolution in the Turkish Grand National Assembly calling for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide and designating April 24 as a national day of remembrance and commemoration.

The resolution has various components, among them:

  1. Recognition of the Armenian Genocide and April 24 th as a day of official commemoration of it .
  2. A commission to be established to investigate and identify all perpetrators.
  3. . Removal of the names of all perpetrators and masterminds of the Genocide from all Public Places, Institutions , Buildings .
  4. Return of the citizenship rights to all individuals and their descendants ( within five degrees of relation) who were forcefully removed from their lands ; exiled , or exchanged with other populations ( Greeks).

In presenting the resolution, Paylan read from the text of the draft saying ”According to a census conducted in 1914, approximately two million Armenians lived in the Ottoman Empire. On the night of April 24, 1915, around 250 Armenian intellectuals, including MPs and writers were arrested in Istanbul.”

“After these people were sent into exile in Ayas and Cankiri, the vast majority of them were killed. Among the ones sent into exile and killed were Dr. Nazaret Dagavaryan (MP of Ottoman Empire), Armen Doryan (poet and journalist), Shavarsh Krisyan (editor of the sports magazine Marmnamarz), Levon Larents (poet), Rupen Sevag (poet), Yenovk Sahen (theater artist), Siamanto [Atom Yarcanyan] (poet), Hagop Terziyan (pharmacist and writer), Taniel Varujan (poet), Krikor Yesayan (teacher and translator), Rupen Zartaryan (writer and poet), Diran Kelekyan (writer and Professor of Turkish language) and Krikor Zohrab (Member of the Ottoman Parliament and writer),” added the draft.

The bill notes that Ottoman Turkey tried to describe the genocide as a “natural war measure” and states that the denial has led to a surge in hate crimes against minorities throughout the Turkey’s history.

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