Dear Readers!
The 110th anniversary of Medz Yeghern is upon us. The violence unleashed in the Ottoman Empire on April 24, 1915, when 2,345 members of the Armenian elite were arrested and murdered in Istanbul in beastly way. It lasted for years and claimed 1.5 million victims. More than a century has passed since this heinous crime and Armenians still have to fight for truth and justice. And they badly need allies in this. The Republic of Poland, 20 years ago – in the form of a resolution of the Sejm – officially called the Armenian massacre in the Ottoman Empire genocide emphasizing that its condemnation “is a moral duty of all humanity.” Marshal Marek Jurek tells us about the background of the work on this historic resolution and its accompanying repercussions. In this issue, we also recall the figure of Bohdan Gębarski who over half a century ago fought to propagate knowledge on the international forum about the Turkish genocide committed against the Armenian nation in 1915.This earned him the gratitude of the Armenians symbolized by the khachkar on his grave donated by the Catholicos of All Armenians Vazgen I. We also encourage you to familiarize yourself with the history of Turkish-Armenian relations dating back to the Middle Ages, which were marked by the cruelty of the Seljuk invaders from the very beginning. However, as Witold Repetowicz reminds us in his article mutual relations also had their brighter moments. This year, the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Armenian Genocide coincides closely with Easter celebrated a few days earlier. May this special time help us look at the painful history of the Armenian nation with the belief that the cross is the beginning of the Resurrection.
Editor’s Office
www.awedis.ormianie.pl
