24 April - 90th anniversary of Armenian Genocide

Sunday 24 April is the day of commemoration of the Armenian genocide. Church alliances, such as Conference of European Churches (CEC) and World Council of Churches (WCC) have been invited to the 90th Anniversary of the Genocide under the Ottoman Empire, and they have made statements on this, the first genocide of the 20th century.

The WCC's central committee emphasised "the need for public recognition of the Armenian genocide and the necessity of Turkey to deal with this dark part of its history".

WCC General Secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, in his letter to the Catholicos of All Armenians, Supreme Patriarch Karekin II said he is: "personally in communion with you in prayers and in solidarity with the cause of your people."

He also expressed hope that the "intercessory prayers that the fellowship of churches will offer on Sunday, 24 April, will remind the world of the words of the gospel: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God".

"I hope that the services held all over the world on 24 April," said the director of the WCC Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA) Mr Peter Weiderud, "will encourage churches and Christians to reflect on truth, justice, repentance, forgiveness, reconciliation and healing of society".

The WCC invited all its member churches "to make April 24 a Day of Memory of the Armenian Genocide and to consider further appropriate actions related to the 90 years Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide." Churches all over the world can play an important role since they can create a platform for supporting the reconciliation between these two nations.

During the 90th Anniversary, the Presidium of the Conference of European Churches (CEC) will be represented by its President, Revd Jean-Arnold de Clermont, President of the Federation of Protestant Churches in France.

During the CEC meeting in Västerås (Sweden), 6-10 April 2005, the presidium agreed with the declaration of the Catholicos of All Armenians, Karekin II and Catholicos Aram: "the horrific crimes in connection with the Armenian genocide should never be forgotten. Guilt must be admitted and the truth must be told. Reviewing one’s own history opens the path to forgiveness, to healing bitter memories and to gaining a common future."

The CEC Presidium recommends that the Turkish government begin a process where the guilt will be recognised and truth proclaimed. In this aspect, the Prime Minister Erdogan proclaimed that the Turkish archives will be opened, which was widely welcomed. The access to all documentation on this matter is important for Armenians and the Turkish as well as independent researches.

Later this year, on 1 October, Turkey will begin the accession negotiations with European Union with an aim to becoming a member state. The Conference of European Churches issued a statement last year saying that Turkey must fulfil the Copenhagen criteria for accession as well as showing efforts to recognise the wounds and offences committed during its history, and reconciliation should take place with its neighbouring countries.

The Conference of European Churches will monitor these negotiations in will pursue the Turkish government very closely: "The EU is a community of States, which is built on human rights, democracy and the rule of law and in which values of justice and peace, solidarity and pluralism, reconciliation and tolerance, freedom of speech and mutual respect are declared by the documents the EU committed itself to; effort are underway to make them an integral part of everyday life. The commitment to implementing these values in Turkey, not at least with regard to its minorities and the relations to its neighbouring countries, will be a pre-condition for Turkey’s accession to the European Union"