“It is evident that the Armenian genocide centennial has solved the most important of issues related to genocide recognition: breaking the ice of indifference,” writes “Hayots Ashkhar.” “And not just because in the past few weeks several more countries and international organizations have recognized the tragedy. The key thing is that the international community’s attitude towards the Armenian genocide has changed profoundly. No country except Turkey and Azerbaijan now tries to deny the historical fact that occurred 100 years ago. And that is especially true for European and other powers shaping international politics: the U.S., Russia, France and Germany.”
“It was a genocide,” Joseph Daul, the president of the European People’s Party (EPP), tells “Haykakan Zhamanak.” “It was not perpetrated by [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan. He must therefore recognize it. It is the memory of the [genocide] victims which should lead to [Turkish-Armenian] reconciliation so that no such crimes occur in the future.” Daul expresses confidence that “the next generation” of Turks will recognize the genocide.
“Life in Armenia is returning to normal, to the problems and challenges that existed before April 24,” writes “168 Zham.”“In the domestic political life there is a continuing vacuum that emerged after the well-known events of February. The political agenda is practically empty and there will be attempts to fill that emptiness with the issue of constitutional reforms.” The paper says that the resulting debate and horse-trading among Armenian political groups will have little bearing on “the real issues now facing Armenia.” Those include the economic situation, foreign policy challenges, the unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and membership in the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU).
(Tigran Avetisian)