Canadian Parliament recognizes Armenian genocide

ANP (Dutch news agency)
April 22, 2004

OTTOWA (ANP/RTR) – The Canadian parliament has formally recognized that in
1915 the Turks in the former Ottoman Empire are guilty of a genocide on
ethnic Armenians. With that it distanced itself from the long-running
official standpoint of the government.

On April 24 the Ottomans began with an unheard of series of cruelties with
the aim to eradicate the Armenians from their empire. The exact death toll
has not been established, but it is estimated that two-thirds to
three-quarters of the 2 million Armenians perished. Turkey, that rose from
the ashes of the Ottoman Empire, has always denied the genocide.

The Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Bill Graham is not pleased with the
decision of the parliament, that it will not benefit the relations with
Turkey. He had called on the parliament to refrain from offending Ankara
with an eye on the importance of good relations with NATO-ally Turkey.

For that same reason the American Congress decided in 2000 not to adopt a
similar resolution. The White House warned that such a position could harm
American interests in the Middle-East.

Earlier the parliaments of among others France, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium,
Russia and the European Union decided to recognize the Armenian genocide
despite strong protests from Ankara.