ANCA WELCOMES SWEDISH PARLIAMENT’S ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING ARMENIAN, ASSYRIAN/SYRIAC/CHALDEAN AND PONTIC GREEK GENOCI
March 11, 2010WASHINGTON, DC – Over strident opposition from the Turkish Government, the Swedish Parliament, today, adopted a resolution recognizing the murder and annihilation of the Armenian, Assyrian/Syriac/Chaldean and Pontic Greek populations by the Ottoman Turkish Government as “genocide,” reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA.)
“Twice in just one week, we have seen legislative bodies – the House Foreign Affairs Committee in the United States and the full Parliament in Sweden – take a strong stand against Turkey’s threats against an honest affirmation of the Armenian Genocide,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “We congratulate the Swedish Parliamentarians – particularly those who defied party politics and foreign intimidation – to send a clear message that genocide must be condemned whenever and wherever it occurs.”
The Swedish Parliament adopted the resolution, Motion 2008/09:U332, by a vote of 131 to 130, overcoming an earlier Foreign Affairs Committee decision voting down the measure. In addition to recognizing the Armenian, Assyrian/Syriac/Chaldean and Pontic Greek genocides, the motion also calls on Swedish authorities to work with the United Nations, European Union and Turkey to secure international affirmation of this crime against humanity.
The decision comes just one week after the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee voted to adopt the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.252), by a vote of 23-22 – despite last minute opposition from the Obama Administration and over intense lobbying by the Turkish Government. A similar measure has been introduced in the U.S. Senate, S.Res.316.
The ANCA is continuing its “End Turkey’s Gag Rule” campaign, urging elected officials in the U.S. and around the world to reject Turkey’s attempts to silence international affirmation of the Armenian Genocide. For more information, visit http://www.anca.org/endthegagrule.