The Chairwoman of The Union of Armenian Associations in Sweden, Erebouni Arakelian, addressed a letter to Swedish Parliament Speaker Per Westerberg to express gratitude for adoption of the resolution recognizing the genocide against Armenians, Assyrians/Syrians/Chaldeans and Pontic Greeks.
The letter reads: “Honorable Mr. Speaker,
On behalf of our members, the Union of Armenian Associations in Sweden would hereby express our appreciation for the Riksdag's recognition of the 1915 genocide against Armenians, Assyrians/Syrians/Chaldeans and Pontic Greeks. However, this issue is far from being limited to these ethnic groups, but concerns the entire humanity. Thus, it must be recognized openly in order to aid the future generations to take preventive measures against it.
Many years of silence have passed before the affected ethnic groups have received a dignified recognition for their sufferings. The scholarship has finally gathered enough information which proves the reality of the genocide, which also lays as the basis for the recognition by some twenty countries, to which the Swedish Riksdag now has joined. Let others follow Your example.
The history is not negotiable and it is a matter of course that the Riksdag has chosen to base its decision on the conviction regarding the existing scholarly research. This was hardly the first time the issue of recognition has been put on the Riksdag's agenda. It has taken more than ten years for the discussion to mature enough so that the Members of the Parliament can feel convinced of the information in order to confirm it. This is a sign of the fact that they have chosen to rely on the accumulated research rather than writing their own version of the history.
We are assured that the decision will foremost promote democratic forces inside and outside Turkey as well as the reconciliation process with Armenia, since the truth does not patronize undemocratic forces just as well as the fact that covering up of the truth will impossibly promote democracy and reconciliation.”
