Will the Parliament of South Ossetia Recognize the Armenian Genocide?

• 06.16.2016, 15:02
•  Region,  World,  Armenia

Ada Bagian / Sputnik

South Ossetia's Parliament will discuss the issue of recognition of the Armenian Genocide in 1915 in Ottoman Empire. The bill will be submitted to the next session of the parliament by Olesya Kochieva, the head of the parliamentary committee on legislation, legality and local self-government. According to MPs, in case of the adoption of the application, “the historical and human justice will be restored towards the brotherly people who, as well as the South Ossetian people survived the horror of the genocide”. The Armenian Genocide recognition issue has been raised in the South Ossetian parliament for several times. Thus, the issue of recognition of the Armenian Genocide was on the agenda of the South Ossetian Parliament in November 2015 and it was related with the crisis in Russian-Turkish relations. 

Then, the speaker of the Parliament of South Ossetia, Anatoly Bibilov stated that, the only adequate response "to Turkey, along with other complex reciprocal steps to be recognition of the Armenian Genocide."

Before that, in 2015 in connection with the the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide the issue had been also raised by the ruling party MP Peter Gasieve, but it was not included in the agenda.

Earlier, in 2006, the recognition of the Armenian Genocide was raised in connection with the adoption of the Declaration on the South Ossetian Genocide of 1989-1992. "If the Armenian side appeals to the Republic of South Ossetia, our parliament is ready to recognize the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire," then President Eduard Kokoity said.

The actualization of the issue of recognition of the Armenian Genocide Tskhinvali explains with the official application of the Armenian Diaspora in South Ossetia. But it is clear that the adoption of the Armenian Genocide by Bundestag, which is very actively discussed in the South Ossetian social networks, had an influence on the actualization of the issue. Many Ossetians, sharing this "happy" news, are wondering why others do not recognize. In this regard, it should be noted, that several parliamentarians noted that Armenia should in turn recognize the Genocide of Ossetians, but yet that is not mandatory.