99 - all you should know about the Genocide April, 2014 | Page 114
Ruben Safrastyan
RA NAS Director of Institute of Oriental Studies, Ph.D. History,
Professor, RA NAS correspondent member
The recognition of the genocide
and an official apology from
Turkey are part of the process
that we call the elimination of
the consequences of the genocide.
They will be followed by the
process of reparation, which will
occur on different levels.
Continuous work with various
audiences, including also the
Turkish audience, will allow us
to more comprehensibly state
why the elimination of the
consequences of the Armenian
genocide is important and
necessary.
Hayk Demoyan
Director of Armenian Genocide
Museum & Institute
The myth that the international community cannot
recognize the Armenian Genocide after the 100th
anniversary is far from the truth. This recognition is
necessary not just for the Armenian people, but for the
international community. This recognition means the
condemnation of the gravest of crimes committed both
against the Armenian people and humanity as a whole.
This has great significance, not just because it reinstates
justice but also because it helps the prevention of this
crime in the future. If a state that intends to perform
genocide sees that the previous cases of genocide have
been condemned and the perpetrators punished, it will
be afraid to act on this intention. So there are two things
to consider here – one is that justice is reinstated and
the consequences of genocide are reversed. The other is
the prevention of new acts of genocide.
This is not just about the recognition of genocide, but
about its condemnation as a crime. We should strive
not only for the crime to be recognized and condemned,
but also for the criminal, which is the Turkish state, to
be held accountable and the consequences of the act
to be reversed. What does that mean? It means that
the victims—the Armenian people—should receive
reparations. That would be the biggest victory.
The number 100 has symbolic significance, nothing else.
Researchers do not focus on this number. This work, the
struggle for recognition and condemnation by different
countries of the world, must continue after the 100th
anniversary. Our struggle should gradually move into