Harper affirms Cdn position on Armenian Genocide

globalnational.com

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

A member of the Armenian community reads the inscriptions written on
the memorial dedicated to the 1915 Armenian genocide and reading
“blessed thou who is turkish”, Apr. 18, 2006, barely a week after the
erection of the monument to commemorate the 91st anniversary of the
genocide. (PHILIPPE MERLE/AFP/Getty Images)

Around 2,000 people originate from Turkey with Turkish flags, protest
against a memorial on the 1915 Armenian genocide which should be
erected in Lyon, southwestern France, Saturday, March 18, 2006. The
placard reads “There have never been any Armenian genocide”. France
has recognise the 1915 Armenian genocide in 2001. (AP Photo/Patrick
Gardin)

MANITOBA — Prime Minister Stephen Harper affirmed Wednesday his
belief that 1.5 million Armenians were killed in a ‘Genocide’ nearly
a century ago during the First World War.

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» Peter Harris reports
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For decades, previous Canadian governments refused to call it
‘genocide’ for fear of upsetting Turkey, which is blamed for the
massacre.

The killings allegedly took place between 1915 and 1920 when over one
million Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire were systematically
deported at the start of the war.

Scholars estimate that over the course of five years, nearly 1.5
million Armenians were massacred during the mass evacuations — three
quarters of the two millions Armenians living in the region at the
time — and commonly refer to the events as the ‘Armenian Genocide’
or the ‘Armenian Holocaust.’

However, the massacre, and the way they it is described, has been a
matter of ongoing dispute between parts of the international
community and modern-day Turkey.

Turkish authorities have refused to acknowledge the killings as a
‘genocide,’ citing the turmoils of life during the First World War as
the reason behind the deaths — not state-sponsored mass
exterminations. Turkey also differ on the number of casualties,
suggesting that the toll ranges between 200,000 and 600,000, not 1.5
million, and frequently raises the point that many Turks also died
during the tumultuous period.

It is a sensitive issue that, when raised by the Tory Opposition
during the previous minority government, was quickly defeated by
reigning Liberals who feared angering the Turkish government by
labeling the events as a genocide or condemn it as a crime against
humanity.

However, during a news conference Wednesday in southern Manitoba,
Harper affirmed his belief that the Armenians who died during those
years were in fact, subjects of a genocide.

Turkey’s ambassador to Canada thinks the decision goes too far.

“Your own citizens of Turkish origin, they are proud Canadians as
much as you are,” said His Excellency Aydemir Erman. “So your own
House is branding them as the grandchildren of killers.”

To date, 23 countries in the international community officially
recognize the massacre and accepted its authenticity as a ‘genocide,’
including Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, France,
Germany, Greece, Italy, Lebanon, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland,
Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Uruguay, Vatican City, and
Venezuela.

Thirty-nine of 50 U.S. states also recognize the genocide, although
there is no official federal recognition.

© Global National 2006

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