Armenia Must Recognise the Assyrian Genocide

On Monday 19 March 2012, the Armenian Parliament rejected a proposal tabled by Armenia’s Heritage Party to consider a bill recognizing the Assyrian and Greek genocides. The proposal was also supported by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun Party) but opposed by the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA).

According to the armeniannow.com Galust Sahakyan, the head of the RPA parliamentary faction, explained that there was no political need for the adoption of the bill.[1] Speaker of the Armenian Parliament, Samvel Nikoyan (an RPA MP) noted that the rejection of the proposal demonstrated Armenia’s respect for its international partners ‘who have made a lot of effort for the normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations.’[2]

The motion was supported by 17 Members of Parliament but ultimately was not placed on the parliamentary agenda due abstentions from all other Members therefore preventing the fulfillment of a quorum requirement.

The refusal by the majority of the Armenian Parliament to even place the proposal on the parliamentary agenda has been met with dismay and deep concern by Assyrians, Armenians and Hellenes worldwide.

The Assyrian Genocide Research Center (Seyfo Center) calls on all individuals who acutely feel the injustice inherent in the decision of the Parliament of Armenia (regardless of ethnic, religious or political background), to sign this petition calling upon the Parliament and Republic of Armenia to: 

-       Take action to rectify the rejection of the recognition proposal;

-       Take meaningful steps towards the recognition of the Assyrian and Hellenic genocides alongside the Armenian Genocide;  

-       Support initiatives to include references to the Assyrian genocide within school textbooks and the general curriculum taught in schools throughout Armenia, and;

-       Avoid the politicisation of a matter of complete historical reality known to the Armenian, Assyrian and Hellenic peoples who have all suffered the unimaginable horrors of genocide and whose history and brotherhood has been forged in blood and anguish.

Assyrian Genocide Research Centre (Seyfo Center)