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Armenian lawmakers, NGO representatives and members of national communities of Armenia visited today Tsitsernakaberd Memorial complex to honor the memory of the innocent victims of the genocide perpetrated against Pontian Greeks by Ottoman Turkey on the territory of Asia Minor in 1915-1923. As press service at Armenian parliament reports, on behalf of the legislative body of Armenia Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Eduard Sharmazanov laid a wreath to the monument of genocide victims.

Condemning the crime committed by Ottoman Turkey at the beginning of the 20th century, Eduard Sharmazanov noted: ”As long as Turkish denialism exists, there is a threat for repetition of genocides. Moreover, both Sumgait pogroms of 1988 and the Azerbaijani inhuman actions against civilian population and soldiers during the April war were the consequence of that Turkish denialism,” Sharmazanov said, stressing the need for struggle which is not against but rather for freedom and protection of human rights.

Sharmazanov also highlighted the need to combine efforts of Assyrian, Greek, and Armenian diasporas, the unity of the state to combat Turkish denialism.

To note, more than 350,000 Pontic Greeks and between 300,000-600,000 Assyrians, Syriacs and Chaldeans were exterminated by the Turkish troops and Kurdish militias during 1915-1923. Greek government selected May 19 to commemorate this dark period in history. Memorial services are taken place around the world.

The genocide of Pontian Greeks has been recognized by Armenia, Greece, Cyprus, Sweden and the Artsakh Republic.