Armenian Opposition Proposes Expanded Genocide Legislation

| News, Politics, Armenia

On September 3, Artsvik Minasyan, the Secretary of the opposition "Armenia" faction, introduced amendments to a bill on criminalizing the denial of the Armenian Genocide during a meeting of the National Assembly's Standing Committee on State and Legal Issues. The proposed bill addressed liability for both the denial and the belittlement of the Armenian Genocide, as well as other internationally recognized genocides.

Minasyan noted that under current legislation, genocide denial is punishable only if committed with the intent to incite hatred or violence on racial or ethnic grounds. He emphasized that "there are many cases when persons, denying the fact of genocide, in fact indirectly try to belittle this criminal act or present the victim as the culprit, not the criminal. However, the current legislation, unfortunately, does not ensure that such persons are held accountable." Minasyan recalled that Armenia’s Declaration of Independence established the obligation to support the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide. He underlined that the proposed amendments were rooted in the goal of safeguarding national identity and statehood.

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