The days leading up to the 95 anniversary of the 1915 Armenian Genocide are especially poignant for MP Raffi Hovannisian. The American born politician and RoA’s first Foreign Minister, traces his roots back to western Armenia.

"More than 2,000 schools and 3,000 churches and monasteries were destroyed. An entire way of life and culture, an ancient civilization, was erased. Taken together, this is a crime of much greater magnitude than mere genocide," MP Hovannisian stated.

St a news conference today, Mr. Hovannisian stated he recounts the stories told by his grandparents who survived the terrible ordeal. One of his grandmothers, Khnkeni, was rescued by a Turkish family who hid the woman in their house.

The founder of the Heritage Party noted that Armenia and Turkey could resolve the Genocide recognition and compensation issues in an international court but first the two sides must first agree to abide by the court’s findings.