Ethnic conflict: members of Uzhgorod executive committee quarreled because of the Armenian Genocide

Today, in Uzhgorod, there was session of the executive committee at Uzhgorod city council.

One of the issues on the agenda was granting the Armenian Culture Society of Transcarpathia "Ararat" the permission to install a memorial sign on the Armenian Genocide by the Ottoman Empire in 1915 on the lot between the Transcarpathian Regional Ukrainian Drama Theater and the school №5.

However, the memorial itself has long been established. It was sanctified last week. Apparently, without the necessary permits.

However, during the meeting of the Executive Committee, a representative of the Azerbaijani diaspora in the city took the floor. He expressed his protest against the erection of the sign. He said that Azerbaijanis and Turks are one people though living in different countries. So he asked to move the memorial from downtown.

Victor Pogorelov said this:

"Uzhgorod is an international city, so I believe that every nation has the right to such things. On May 14, 2010, the city council recognized the genocide of the Armenian people by the Ottoman Empire. And I can not cancel that. I beg you to calm down. We are ready to discuss it with you and I think that we have heard you."

The issue caused a kind of controversy between members of the executive committee. Some proposed to submit this decision to the City Council session. However, since such issues are not within the competence of the deputies, the executive committee still had to take the decision. After the vote, it turned out that only 7 members of the executive committee were willing to support the installation of the memorial sign. This number of votes was not enough for the decision. A dispute broke out again among the members of the executive committee. After the discussion, the Mayor again put the issue to a vote, and the executive committee finally adopted the decision to give permit to the Armenian society. 

Holos Karpat