Ottawa – According to media reports and following months of unexplained secrecy, Canada’sDepartment of Foreign Affairs and Ottawa’s National Capital Commission have allowed the installationof a monument reportedly commemorating the 30th anniversary of the killing of an official of theTurkish Embassy in Ottawa.
Terrorism must be condemned, especially by countries and organizations that work toward socialjustice and human rights. All Armenian-Canadian organizations have and continue to condemnterrorism, be it terrorism that is state-sponsored or terrorism committed by individuals or groups.
It is, however, disappointing that the Turkish Government’s propaganda and rhetoric directly andindirectly insinuates and associates the said act with Armenians. No culprit has been apprehended forthe act. Nevertheless, Turkish authorities continue to make unfounded accusations, and pressureCanadian authorities to focus unjustified investigations on Armenian-Canadians that are an integral partof the Canadian community.
Dr. Girair Basmadjian, President of the Armenian National Committee of Canada expressed his concerns, stating: “We hope that this monument, imported from Turkey in undue secrecy, does notcreate tensions between communities in Canada. I question the intentions of the sponsors. Consideringthat the monument was made and imported from Turkey it would have been appropriate to haveincluded the dedication to victims of state sponsored terrorism.” Dr. Basmadjian added, “as part of itsdecades-old tactics of denial of the Armenian Genocide, Turkey continues to find ways of creatingopportunities to deflect the focus of attention from its responsibility as a Genocide perpetrator andhuman rights abuser.”
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The ANCC is the largest and the most influential Canadian-Armenian grassroots political organization. Workingin coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout Canada and affiliatedorganizations around the world, the ANCC actively advances the concerns of the Canadian-Armeniancommunity on a broad range of issues.
