GERMAN AUTHORITIES BAN PLANNED BERLIN DEMONSTRATION DENYING ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
BERLIN,
GERMANY - The German government has stepped in to prohibit a planned
March 18th demonstration in Berlin by Turkish organisations that deny
the Armenian Genocide.
The prohibition, announced on
March 13th, is based on Article 189 of the German penal code, which prohibits offensive acts against the
deceased.
In their press release,
German authorities mentioned "people killed in 1915," but
without precisely noting the historical context of the Armenian Genocide.
The planned demonstrations in
Berlin were to be the first large-scale initiative of the "Talaat Pasha Committee."
This organisation was created in
early 2006 in honor of Talaat Pasha, the leading figure responsible for the
Armenian Genocide. It was instituted by the Turkish government and gathers together the representatives of a broad range of
Turkish political parties.
The ex-"president" of the occupied northern territory of Cyprus,
Rauf Denktash, is the
president of the organisation.
The European Armenian
Federation has called attention to the fact that the slogan used to rally supporters for the demonstration was:
"You are
Talaat, you are Atatürk,
take you flag and come to demonstrate." This formulation established
the clear link that the organization recognizes exists between the Young Turk genocidal regime and Mustafa Kemal's Republic.
The aim of this "Major
Operation 2006," which was to occur in Berlin, was to counter Germany's recognition of the Armenian Genocide,
prevent the teaching of this
crime in European schools, and to absolve the criminal
Talaat Pasha of his guilt.
In the weeks leading up to the protests cancellation, public indignation
in Germany and throughout Europe led to many component Turkish associations - including the Turkish
Association of Berlin and
groups aligned with the ruling AKP party in Turkey – withdrawing from
the event.
The Executive Director of the
European Armenian Federation, Laurent Leylekian,
stated that "This matter shows that Turkish deniers give in when the
Europeans stand firm behind the historically accurate and politically responsible position that their hateful brand of denial has no
place in Europe."
He concluded that, "we call upon all European political representatives
to always demonstrate this level of determination in the face
of unprecedented attacks by deniers, not only against Armenians but against
all Europeans."
