2024-04-18
Communiqué:
As a result of the consistent and commendable efforts of the young, enthusiastic members of the Belgian chapter of the Armenian Democratic Liberal Party, a historic conference commemorating the Armenian Genocide took place within the European Parliament, on Thursday, April 18, beginning at 6 p.m. local time.
The event, attended by a large number of members of the European Parliament, as well as diplomatic officials from many embassies in Brussels, enjoyed the noble hospitality of Clare Daly, the European Parliament representative of Ireland, who for decades has been a well-known and devoted campaigner for the establishment of justice and respect for human rights.
Ms. Daly, in her opening remarks, noted that the purpose of the conference was to commemorate the Armenian Genocide, emphasizing that it also has its contemporary continuation, because, driven by political interests and narrow partisan considerations, a number of states still deny this bloody tragedy, despite the existence of irrefutable evidence and the decisive affirmations of authoritative historians. This reprehensible course not only insults the martyrs and deepens the grief of their heirs, but also provides an opportunity for injustice and impunity to persist.
The conference was greeted with a speech by Armine Mkhitaryan, an official of the Representation of the Republic of Armenia to the European Union, who, after recalling that the European Parliament was the first multinational assembly to recognize the Armenian Genocide, through a resolution adopted in 1987, addressed the terrible reality that in 2023, before the eyes of the whole world, the state of Azerbaijan, in an overt act of genocide, violently expelled the Armenian population of Artsakh from its historical homeland. This is proof that when crimes go unpunished, they are repeated without restraint.
Paruyr Demirchyan spoke on behalf of the Armenian Democratic Liberal Party, who, after briefly yet comprehensively presenting the full magnitude of the Armenian Genocide and the just right of the Armenian people to reparation as its direct consequence, emphasized that reconciliation is, of necessity, a noble aspiration, desirable for every conscious collective. However, an indispensable precondition for reconciliation is that the wrongdoer fully recognize the wrong committed, repentantly acknowledge it, and, above all, be willing to assume commensurate responsibility, so as to guarantee that the given offense will never be repeated. He then alluded to the fact that the immensely inconsolable present situation of Artsakh is clearly and directly linked to the abominable crime that began 109 years ago. The conference had as its main purpose to sound the alarm about this horrifying reality.
Edita Gzoyan, Director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute of the Republic of Armenia, who participated in this event online, after clearly characterizing the foundations of the Genocide, recalled the various judicial processes that took place immediately after the great crime and the verdicts of guilt they rendered. She also emphasized with particular importance that the depopulation of Armenians from Nakhichevan and Artsakh and the planned destruction, carried out and ongoing, of Armenian cultural monuments in those sacred territories is a continuation of the same genocide, because the desecration and annihilation of churches and other national values aims at denying the existence of the indigenous Armenian population. In that regard, the Tsitsernakaberd memorial complex is a remembrance and commemoration not only of the crimes of the past but also of the present.
Anita Khachaturova, a researcher at the Centre for Studies of the Free University of Brussels, noting that during her numerous visits to Artsakh from 2020 to 2022 she had conducted more than one hundred testimonial interviews, highlighted the glaring reality that despite the overt and relentless acts of ethnic cleansing committed and being committed in Artsakh, absolutely no sanctions had been imposed against Azerbaijan, while for violations of justice of lesser magnitude, other states have been subjected to severe economic restrictions. Not only had Azerbaijan’s gas supply agreements with the European Union not been cancelled, but the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, had even congratulated Ilham Aliyev on his clearly fraudulent re-election.
Vardan Barseghyan, who previously served as Artsakh’s extraordinary envoy and plenipotentiary minister, stressed in his speech that Turkey’s and Azerbaijan’s clear aspirations and goals regarding the South Caucasus have never changed, and if the international community does not grasp the essence of those goals, the grave consequences could be irreversible. He then added that it is necessary for the European Union to strictly uphold the rights of human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality and the rule of law enshrined in the Treaty of Lisbon, and to apply those values everywhere, including in Artsakh. He also deemed it important that the resolution adopted by the European Parliament on March 13 in that direction be implemented.
The speeches were followed by exchanges of views between the attendees and the speakers, particularly regarding the effective role expected of the European Union, given that it does not lack the capacity, tools and means.
At the conclusion of the conference, Ms. Clare Daly was presented with a certificate of high appreciation and gratitude awarded by the Central Board of the Armenian Democratic Liberal Party.
ARMENIAN DEMOCRATIC LIBERAL PARTY
CENTRAL BOARD
