Parliamentarian from ‘My Step’ faction, Head of the Armenia-Latvia parliamentary friendship group Anush Beghloyan thanked the Parliament of Latvia for the recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide. She said this process had taken place since 2018. Beghloyan believes this is the result of the solid work of many politicians, friends of the Armenian people, parties, the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia to Latvia.
“As head of the Armenia-Latvia friendship group, I want to express my special gratitude to my colleague, head of the Latvia-Armenia friendship group Maria Golubeva who has also provided great support to the adoption of this resolution. We bow before and thank all political forces and members of the Latvian parliament who have voted in favor of the solution of this very important issue for the Armenian people in Latvia”, she said.
The deputy read the statement of the Saeima (Parliament) of the Republic of Latvia on the Armenian Genocide, committed during the Ottoman Empire, which reads:
“The Saeima of the Republic of Latvia, noting that it is important to recall the memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide organized by the authorities of the Ottoman Empire, the mass slaughter, the forced deportations that began on April 24,1915 by arrests of intellectuals and prominent individuals of the Armenian community of the former Constantinople.
Taking into account the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and the Resolution adopted on June 18, 1987 by the European Parliament, which states that according to the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, these cases are genocide.
Emphasizing that Latvia condemns all crimes against humanity and that Latvia realizes its responsibility of recognizing and remembering those crimes in order to prevent their repetition.
Recognizing that a large number of the Armenian people were deported to other parts of the empire as a result of the actions of the Ottoman authorities, which resulted in many casualties through starvation, atrocities, and massacres.
Condemns the crimes, massacres, forcible deportations committed by the Ottoman authorities against the Armenian people, respects the memory of all the victims of the Armenian Genocide, pays tribute to all survivors.
Affirms that open and free discussions on historical issues are inextricably linked to the development of a healthy, mature democracy. It calls on the international community to assess these historic events, to look to the future we want to build, without violence, intolerance, a future where human rights are respected, and every person can be free, safe and secure.”
