Armenian National Committee of Canada
130 Albert St., Suite 1007
Ottawa, ON
KIP 5G4
Tel. (613) 235-2622 Fax (613) 238-2622
E-mail:[email protected]
Fo r Immediate Release
November 1, 2006
Contact: Kevork Mangeulian
Tel. (613) 235-2622
Canada’s Foreign Affairs Ministry Withdraws its Sponsorship of
Turkish Conference
Ottawa-The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT)
has withdrawn its sponsorship of "Turkey in the World: Implications
for Canada" one-day conference organized by the Turkish Canadian
Advocacy Group and sponsored by DFAIT and the Turkish Embassy. The
conference will take place on November 3 in Ottawa.
One of the most disturbing aspects of the conference is a "special
lecture" titled "History as a Present Day Problem: the Ottoman Armenian
Question" to be delivered by Prof. Guenter Lewy, a well-known Armenian
Genocide denier engaged in Turkish propaganda rather than in scholarly
research.
Prof. Lewy’s participation in a DFAIT sponsored conference is in
conflict with the policies of the Canadian government and public
pronouncements of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign
Affairs.
Moreover, the conference included discussions on Middle Eastern,
Mediterranean and Caucuses issues without representation from those
regions.
Rather than make the conference an open and pluralistic forum conducted
by academic, diplomatic and expert participation, organizers had
hand-picked panelists who are guaranteed to deliver the message the
organizers wanted to hear.
The withdrawal of DFAIT from the conference followed an October
23 letter by the Armenian National Committee of Canada (ANCC) to
Minister MacKay and a presentation to DFAIT of the concerns of the
Canadian-Armenian community.
The ANCC considers such a sponsorship morally and ethically
unacceptable and at odds with Canadian values and what Canada stands
for. "The conference and Prof. Lewy’s "headline" participation is
an insult to the Canadian government, to the House of Commons and to
Senate Members, to Quebec, Ontario and to British Columbia–the three
provinces which recognize the Armenian Genocide as a historic fact,"
said Aris Babikian, executive director of ANCC.
"The ANCC would like to take this opportunity to thank DFAIT and other
political authorities for their understanding and valuable input in
upholding the government’s principled stand on such important human
rights issues as the Armenian Genocide," said Babikian.
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The ANCC is the largest and the most influential Canadian-Armenian
grassroots political organization. Working in coordination with a
network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout Canada and
affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCC actively advances
the concerns of the Canadian-Armenian community on a broad range
of issues.
Regional Chapters
Montreal – Laval – Ottawa – Toronto – Hamilton – Cambridge – St.
Catharines – Windsor – Vancouver