April 23, 2023 Montreal
There is nothing new in stating that genocide is the ultimate crime against humanity and that the denial of the Genocide constitutes the direct continuation of that very crime. Denial undermines justice, it seeds discord and mistrust among peoples, and thus increases the chances of conflicts between countries and facilitates repetition of the atrocity.
It pains me to say that the Armenian Genocide is the only genocide of the 20th century in which a nation that was decimated by genocide has been subjected to the ongoing outrage of a massive campaign of denial, openly sustained by a state authority.
Turkey’s denialism of its past and exploiting it as an integral part of its foreign policy is not simply a moral abomination. It represents a threat to stability and security for our region. It is a danger to at-risk populations around the world created by Turkey’s precedent of a genocide openly committed and unapologetically denied. Perpetrators of subsequent crimes have been emboldened and continue to do so by the international community’s failure to confront genocide.
Dozens of countries, including Canada, have officially recognized and condemned the Armenian genocide. Nevertheless, recent war and continuous aggression against Armenia and Artsakh confirm that even recognition and condemnation alone are insufficient to curb the Azerbaijani-Turkish genocidal aspirations. Tragically, the 2020 war in Artsakh has shown that even more than a century later, the Turkish plan to eradicate the Armenian people from the region remains unchanged – a plan Azerbaijan has joined as an accomplice.
This is a crucial time for the international community to step in with concrete and meaningful actions to respond to the early drum noises of potential genocidal intrusions to protect the Armenians in Artsakh to prevent such further travesties. As human history shows, nothing predicts future behavior as much as past impunity. We, as members of the international community, might not feel guilty nor responsible for what was done 108 years ago, but we must feel responsible for what each of us can do now.
Dear Friends,
Commemoration events like this one, not only express compassion for the survivors and their descendents, respect for their dignity, but it is the way to counter the injustice, denialism, intolerance and hatred. It helps us transcend our sorrow and compassion to a determination to act collectively in order to free the world once and for all of this dehumanizing crime.
As far as we – Armenians are concerned; we will continue to live each day aware of our eternal debt to the innocent victims of the Genocide and our brave soldiers who have fallen in the war. We owe it to them, in honor of their memory and invaluable sacrifice, to dedicate our collective efforts to building a strong and prosperous homeland. The actions we take, and the choices we make, each day, will decide and define our right to a dignified existence in our homeland.
Thank you.
