YEREVAN: The Armenian Parliament on Monday rejected a proposal to consider a motion condemning the Genocides of the Assyrians and Greeks which occurred during the final days of the Ottoman Empire.
While the motion was supported by 17 Members of Parliament representing the ARF and Heritage opposition parties, the motion was not placed on the parliamentary agenda as all other Members abstained from the vote, thus preventing it from meeting the quorum requirement.
Galust Sahakyan MP who was amongst the Members to abstain, explained that there was no political need for adopting such a motion now. According to the senior pro-government lawmaker, Armenia regards the massacres of other peoples in the Ottoman Empire as part of a whole and condemns them along with the Armenian Genocide.
Armenian National Committee of Australia Executive Director Varant Meguerditchian commented on the proposed motion in the Armenian Parliament.
“Whilst the Armenian government recognises the historical reality of the Assyrian and Greek Genocides it is not necessary to pass a motion in the Armenian Parliament acknowledging this history. Nonetheless, as a motion was presented, it should have received the full support of the National Assembly,” said Meguerditchian.
“We strongly encourage every member of the National Assembly of Armenia to vote in favour of a similar motion when it is presented to the Parliament in the future.”
