111th anniversary of Armenian Genocide: President of Lebanon  emphasizes importance of preserving collective memory.

ArmInfo.  In a message on the 111th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called for the preservation of  historical memory.

"We remember with deep sorrow the victims of this humanitarian  tragedy and reflect on the importance of resilience and loyalty to  one's identity. Lebanon became a haven for Armenians, who found a  second homeland here, contributed to its development, and became an  integral part of its national fabric and rich diversity," he  emphasized.

At the same time, Aoun noted that this anniversary is an opportunity  to reiterate the importance of preserving collective memory,  promoting the values of justice and human dignity, and working for a  future based on peace and mutual respect among peoples. "We welcome  the Armenian people and reaffirm Lebanon's commitment to its mission  as a land of freedom and diversity, as well as its conviction that  preserving memory is fundamental to preventing the recurrence of  tragedies," the Lebanese leader concluded.

On April 24, 1915, in Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman  Empire, the extermination of Armenian subjects began. It began with  the arrests of representatives of the Armenian intelligentsia-writers  and poets, architects and parliamentarians-and then escalated into  the complete extermination of Armenians.  As a result of these  actions by the Turkish authorities, more than 1.5 million Armenians  were deported, starved, and tortured to death.

The Armenian Genocide has been recognized by the Council of Europe  (1998, 2001), the European Parliament (1987, 2000, 2002, 2005), the  UN Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of  Minorities[7], the World Council of Churches, the Parliamentary  Coalition of South American Countries (Mercosur), and the Parliament  of Latin America (2015).

The Armenian Genocide has been recognized and condemned by many  countries and influential international organizations. The first to  officially recognize and condemn the mass killings of Armenians was  the Parliament of Uruguay (1965). The extermination of Armenians has  been officially recognized as genocide (under international law) and  condemned by: Austria (joint statement of the chairmen of  parliamentary factions, 2015), Argentina (2 laws, 5 resolutions;  2004, 2007), Armenia (1964 as part of the USSR, 1988, 1990), Belgium  (1998, 2015), Bulgaria (2007, 2015), Bolivia (2014), Brazil (2015),  Vatican City (2015), Venezuela (2005), Germany (2016), Greece (1996),  Italy (2000, 2019), Canada (1996, 2002, 2004), Cyprus (1975, 1982),  Latvia (2021), Lebanon (1997), Libya (2019); On April 18, 2019, the  Interim Government of Libya adopted a resolution recognizing the  Armenian Genocide. Lithuania (2005), Luxembourg (2015), Netherlands  (2004, 2018), Paraguay (2015), Poland (2005), Portugal (2019), Russia  (1995), Syria (2020), Slovakia (2004), USA (2019, 2021); On April 24,  2021, US President Joe Biden officially recognized the Armenian  Genocide. Uruguay (1965), France (1998, 2000, 2001, 2006), Czech  Republic (2015, 2017, 2020), Chile (2007), Switzerland (2003), Sweden  (2010). Turkey continues its policy of denial of this crime against  humanity.