Resolution of the Greek Parliament Condemning the Armenian Genocide: Impact, Results and Prospects

Armenians and Greeks, as some of the world’s ancient civilizations, have faced the challenges of time with the power of national resilience characteristic to them. States and peoples with common interests seek out not for things that divide them, but for things that can unite. There are many eexamples of early cooperation between these two Christian nations under Ottoman rule: in the locations where the Armenians and Greeks lived side by side, joint self-defense activities took place during the years of the Armenian Genocide. During those years, many Armenians were sheltered by Greeks, and Armenian children often found refuge in the establishment of the Greek Orthodox Church.
From the 17th century till the end of the 19th century, Armenian-Greek cooperation largely manifested through the active participation of Armenians in Greek national liberation movements. From the end of the 19th century till the beginning of the First World War, joint action initiatives were developed. During the Balkan wars, Armenians participated in military operations and undertook a pro-Greek position. During the First World War, there were attempts to establish a united front for self-defense.
During 1918-1920, the cooperation was mainly on the state level. The situation changed after the end of the Greek-Turkish war: Asia Minor and Western Armenia were largely erased of their Armenian and Greek population.
In the fall of 1994, the Greek Parliament discussed the recognition of the Armenian Genocide as a “mandatory tribute to a truly brotherly people, who were annihilated for the sake of serving the pan-Turanic sentiments of the Turkish leadership.”
Participation in the international conference entitled “The International Recognition of the Armenian Genocide: Memorial, Political, and Geopolitical Stakes of a Decades-Long Unfinished Struggle” will allow addressing and presenting analyses of the discussions held as a part of the condemnation of the Armenian Genocide within the Greek Parliament’s agenda.
The purpose of the report is to present the preliminary conditions towards the adoption of the resolution of the Greek Parliament’s condemnation of the Armenian Genocide, to address the views expressed in Parliament, the mode of presentation of the historical fact, the description of the committed state crimes, and calls for prevention further genocides.
The report will present the Greek Parliament’s indictment addressed to the international community, which failed to make Turkey, as a “friend and ally” recognize the crime of genocide and apologize not only to Armenians but to all humanity.
Thus, deriving from the unanimous adoption of the proposed Law “On establishing April 24 as a day of remembrance for the victims of the Armenian Genocide by Turkey,” we will engage in analysis of the speeches of the deputies delivered at the session, as well as the discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of the resolution, were reflecting on the resolution adopted by the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia in 2015 recognizing and condemning the fact of the Genocide of the Greeks.