“The uninterrupted series of crimes, prove the existence of a continuous genocidal disposition on behalf of the Turkish State…”
On Monday, November 28, a series of events commemorating the 120th anniversary of the massacre of the Armenians in Constantinople began with a lecture by Mr. Joseph Kassesian, writer, Secretary of the Hellenic-Armenian Studies Center (HASC). Mr. Haig Kassardjian, Chairman of HASC, narrated excerpts from testimonies of eye witnesses. Mr. Hagop Arakelian, Vice Chairman of ARARAT, gave a short introductory speech. The series, which is co-organized by the Hellenic branch of AGBU, the affiliated to ADL Cultural and Athletic Society and HASC, includes seven events.
The subject of Joseph Kassesian’s lecture was “The Massacre (of 1896) of the Armenians and the Persecutions (1955) of the Greeks of Constantinople, A Comparative Approach”. The lecture, given at the Town Hall of Nikea, a suburb of Athens populated mostly by descendants of Greek and Armenian refugees from Asia Minor, was attended by Mayor George Ioakimidis (of partly Armenian descent, on the part of his grandmother) and the member of Parliament and former Minister of Economy Mr. Trifon Alexiadis.
The lecturer underlined the importance of the Hamidian Massacres, not only as a preparatory stage of the Genocide but as a full genocide per se, and used the example of the persecution of the Greeks of Constantinople 60 years later as a proof of the permanent racist, genocidal predisposition of the Turkish State.
“The uninterrupted series of crimes against various peoples at various times, prove the existence of a continuous genocidal disposition on behalf of the Turkish State” concluded Joseph Kassesian.
“Hayastan” News Network (HNN),
Athens, November 30, 2016
