Hans-Jochen Schmidt: Turkey must face with its history
The day is indeed very important and the world must remember what happened in Turkey in 1915, U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Heffern said.
German Ambassador to Armenia Hans-Jochen Schmidt said if Turkey is longing to join the European Union family, the country must face with its history.
“If they want to create future, they are urged to recognize their past. Although new generations are born, they should feel responsibility for their past, since “culture of commemoration” exists in Europe,” said the Ambassador.
Panorama.am recalls that Turkey has traditionally rejected the mass killings of 1,5 million Armenians carried out early in the 20th century and took the criticism of the West painfully.
Note that the following states have recognized and condemned the Armenian Genocide carried out in the Ottoman Turkey: Uruguay (1965), Cyprus (1982), Argentina (1993), Russian Federation (1995), Canada (1996), Greece (1996), Lebanon (1997), Belgium (1998), Italy (2000), Vatican (2000), France (2001), Switzerland (2003), Slovakia (2004), the Netherlands (2004), Poland (2005), Germany (2005), Venezuela (2005), Lithuania (2005), Chile (2007), Sweden (2010). Armenian Genocide is also recognized by the European Parliament and World Council of Churches.