13
11, 2009

The letter of President Serzh Sargsyan to Prof. William Schabas, Ph.D President, International Association of Genocide Scholars

Dear Mr. Schabas,

I am grateful for your letter and the concerns raised in it.

We, in Armenia, are well aware of the unbiased scientific research conducted for many years by your Association on the crime of genocide, including the Genocide of Armenians, and we attach great importance to it. Your contribution to the cause of the international recognition of this crime and keeping international community informed regarding the issue is invaluable.

Today Armenia has chosen the path of establishing normal relations with Turkey without any preconditions. Nevertheless, any relation with neighboring Turkey does not question the fact of Armenian Genocide and deprivation of Homeland. The Genocide of Armenians committed by the Ottoman Turkey in 1915 is an acknowledged fact and must be recognized and condemned by all progressive people.

As for the matter of establishment of the intergovernmental subcommission aimed to discuss issues within historical dimension, which is envisaged by the Protocols signed by Armenia and Turkey, I should assure you that it is not a commission of historians. The purpose of that commission is to give an opportunity to Armenian and Turkish peoples to find common grounds for mutual trust and dialogue. I fully agree with your approach that the contribution to the elimination of the Genocide consequences should be the goal of the subcommission’s work, and the fact of the Genocide itself can in no way become a subject of discussion within the agenda of the commission.

With this exact perception we signed the Protocols with the Turkish side, and this was what I stated in my address to the nation prior to the signing.

Once again, thanking you and the International Association of Genocide Scholars for conducting principled, unbiased and objective activity, I’d like to assure you that the Republic of Armenia alongside with you and many scientific-research and public organizations will be in the vanguard of those pursuing the cause of fight against the crime of genocide. We believe this is the moral duty of every nation that survived genocide.

← Back to list