"Denial Perpetuates the Armenian Genocide"

Istanbul branch of Turkey's Human Rights Association (IHD) organized a protest today to commemorate the Armenian massacre of 1915, before the Ibrahim Pasha Palace now serving as the Museum of Islamic Art.

Arat Dink, son of the late Turkish-Armenian journalist and activist Hrant Dink, publisher and freedom of expression activist Ragıp Zarakolu and academician Ahmet İnsel were among the protestors. Noting that Armenians were held in this palace before forced emigration that left thousands dead and virtually stripped Anatolia of Armenians, the group carried flyers that read "1915 is genocide. Genocide is a crime against humanity".

Member of the IHD's executive board, lawyer Eren Keskin read the press statement.

"This is the place where prominent members of the Armenian community were taken from their home and gathered on 24 April 1915, before being sent to inner parts of Anatolia and eventually, death," she said.

"For state authorities and the General Staff, those people were Armenian gang members; yet, they were intellectuals representing the heart and mind of the society. They were poets, writers, MPs, scientists, doctors..."

"Their detention were carefully planned and silently executed. They were brought to Ibrahim Pasha Palace with fire department's vehicles to not arouse interest. Adam Andonian, who managed to survive the debacle, recalled the events in detail. Among the 220 arrested, 70 were sent to Ayaş and 150 to Çankırı. 58 of the former and 81 of the latter were murdered. Furthermore, the Armenian presence in Anatolia was brutally ended by the hands of the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (İttihat ve Terakki). During this period, other non-Muslim Anatolian people of Anatolia shared the same faith."

"As the Istanbul branch of IHD, we've been voicing the same demand every April 24, since 2005: Stop denying the Armenian genocide. Accept the crime with all its legal consequences. Only then the dead without any tombs would rest in peace. Only then justice will be done." (ÇT/EÖ/EÜ)