APRIL 30. “With respect I bow my head for the victims of the genocide perpetrated against the Armenian people.” With these words Ali Ertem of the German Union of Opponents of Genocide began his speech at the commemoration ceremony that was organized on April 24 in Assen by the April 24 Committee of the Federation of Armenian Organizations in the Netherlands. In his speech, which left a powerful impression on many of the three to four hundred people present, he called for law and justice for the Armenian people and emphatically criticized Turkey’s denial policy. Moreover, he explained that without recognition of past aggression and oppression, they will continue to exist and increase in Turkey. It was the first time a Turk spoke at an April 24 commemoration in the Netherlands.
In his speech, Max van der Berg, member of the European Parliament, delegation-leader of the Labor Party in the European Parliament and vice-chairman of the party of European Socialists, drew parallels with different paths, such as “truth discovery” which has been used in many other countries where violent periods in history have occurred. Coming to terms with past tragedies that took place within and between nations is becoming increasingly more recognized as a powerful and modern tool for preventing conflicts in the present.
Each year, the European Parliament draws a report on the democratic situation in Turkey, in which Turkey’s attitude with regard to the past is also critically examined. Dutchman Oostlander’s present report will be treated in the Parliament in the following weeks.
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