n Cyprus.
- France also criminalized the denial of the Armenian Genocide in 2016 after recognizing it in 1998 and 2001. After the adoption of the bill that criminalized in on October 14, 2016, it was passed by the French National Assembly in July 2017. It stipulates a penalty of a year in prison or a €45,000 fine.
- Greece recognized the event as genocide in 1996 and according to a 2014 act, the denial is punishable up to 3 years in prison and a fine which is not to exceed €30,000.
Countries That Recognize The Armenian Genocide: Switzerland and laws on the memorial
Switzerland recognized the Armenian Genocide in 2003, where denial is a crime. Doğu Perinçek, a Turkish politician, lawyer and chairman of the left-wing nationalist Patriotic Party, became the first person to receive a criminal conviction for denial of the Armenian Genocide. The ruling was done by a Swiss court in 2007.
Perinçek’s case was a result of him describing the Armenian Genocide as an international lie in Lausanne in 2005. His case was appealed to the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights. His judgment was in his favor on the grounds of free speech. According to the court: “Mr. Perinçek was making a speech of a historical, legal and political nature in a contradictory debate.”
Although sentenced to life imprisonment in August 2013, he was eventually released in 2014. After his release, he sided with the Justice and Development Party and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Facts about countries that recognize the Armenian Genocide and the memorial
- The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg announced the recognition of the Armenian Genocide in 2015 after the Chamber of Deputies unanimously adopted a resolution.
- Brazil’s resolution on the recognition of the massacres was approved by the Federal Senate.
- As for Bolivia, the genocide recognition resolution was approved unanimously by the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies with the support of the Foreign Ministry.
- Bulgaria became another country that recognized the Armenian Genocide in 2015, but it was followed by criticism. On April 24, 2015, Bulgaria used the phrase “mass extermination of the Armenian People in the Ottoman Empire”. They were criticized for not using the term “genocide”. The Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borisov stated that the phrase or idiom was the Bulgarian word for “genocide”.
- Germany announced its recognition twice: in 2005 and 2016. The resolution first passed reading in 2016. The same year in July, the German Bundestag passed it with only one vote against that called the event “genocide”.
Among other countries that recognize the Armenian Genocide are
- the Netherlands,
Many countries that recognize the Armenian Genocide have had representatives visit the memorial
The official memorial to the Armenian Genocide victims in Yerevan is Tsitsernakaberd.
On April, 24, 1965, the Yerevan demonstrations had taken place on the 50th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. This was the first step in promoting recognition of the Armenian Genocide. The event was so monumental that for the first time in the Soviet Union, 100,000 protesters held a 24-hour demonstration in front of the Yerevan Opera Theatre demanding the Soviet Union’s recognition.
The slogan of the demonstration was “Just solution to the Armenian question”.This marked a substantial public awareness of the Armenian Genocide in Soviet Armenia. It sparked similar protests throughout the world where the Armenian diaspora exists.
2 years after the mass demonstration, the Armenian Genocide memorial was opened. Later, when the Soviet Union was dissolved in 1991, the memorial became a part of official ceremonies in Armenia.
The memorial has had many visitors from countries that recognize the Armenian Genocide. A visit there also includes a tour in the museum. Paying tribute to the victims of the massacre also includes planting trees in the area.
Notable visitors of the memorial from countries that recognize the Armenian Genocide
One of Armenia’s most important foreign policy issues is the recognition of the Armenian Genocide. It is the top goal