Armenia Solidarity/Nor Serount Cultural Association
PRESS RELEASE
c/o The Temple of Peace, Cathays Park, Cardiff
[email protected]
Tel: 07718982732
Proof of UK government deception on the Armenian Genocide over ten
years
Irrefutable evidence was given today at the launch of a Legal Opinion on
the Armenian Genocide in London of FCO (Foreign and Commonwealth Office)
deception on the Genocide extending over ten years. The Opinion was
comissioned by a small group of independent Armenians from Wales and
England called the Legal Initiative Group and produced by Geoffry
Robinson QC of Doughty Street Chambers. Mr Robinson served as first
President of a UN War Crimes Court and was appointed in 2008 by the UN
Secretary General, as one of the three distinguished jurist members of
the UN Justice Council.
The conclusions of the document are that the treatment of Armenians
in 1915 answers to the description of genocide,under the Law on
Genocide, (as described in the UN Genocide convention),
The catalogue of deceit was unveiled as Mr Robinson explained that
under the Freedom of Information Act, hitherto secret briefing documents
were made available. These were produced by the Foreign and Commonwealth
Office, and read out usually verbatim by Ministers when answering
questions on the Genocide in the House of Lords and the House of Commons
since 1999.
The evidence of these documents are damning for the government. Many
times ministers repeated the mantra that
"Neither this government nor previous governments have judged that the
evidence is sufficiently unequivocal to persuade us that these events
should be considered as genocide.."( the last time by Lord Malloch-Brown
in response to a question by Baroness Finlay of Llandaff in the House of
Lords at the request of Armenia Solidarity in February 2008 ,following
the desecration of the Genocide Monument in Cardiff on Holocaust Day
2008).
. When asked to state what was this "evidence which was not
sufficierntly unequivocal" the government failed to provide any,
conforming previous accusations which Armenia Solidarity made on the
12th May 2007:
"The Rt Hon. Geoff Hoon minister for Europe is also isolated when he
says that historians are divided on the issue, and when he implies that
the government has consulted historians. It is known that no genocide
experts (historians or otherwise) have ever been consulted by this or
past UK governments.Mr Hoon would be hard put to find any neutral
historian in the UK who agrees with his statement that the evidence for
the Armenian Genocide is "not sufficiently unequivocal" "Letter to the
Morning Star and sent to all Labour MPs.-(full text below)
Within four weeks the FCO policy had changed and references to
historians being divided on the issue were discarded
Successive ministers have parroted the FCO briefing documents
without question, deliberately misleading Parliament. Those implicated
are Baroness Ramsay (now Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords, Lord
Triesman, Geoff Hoon, and others.(Douglas Alexander,Dennis Macshane,
though not quoted in the Opinion).Though not mentioned, The Rt Hon Jack
Straw MP was Foreign Secretary for much of this time, and responsible as
Head of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Jim Murphy is the only Europe Minister who made attempts to question
the official line. Following his request to meet us in 2007(through the
active and helpful MP Andrew George), we reiterated the point on
historians not being divided on the issue to him at the FCO on the 16th
October 2007. He subsequently asked the FCO Officials to provide the
evidence. The result was that in an amateurish way the officials looked
for the names of three historians on each side of the arguament, with no
mention of the conclusions of the International Association of
Genocide Scholars and the international enquiry by the UN ‘s Economic
and Social Council conducted by its special Raporteur on Genocide, Ben
Wittacker(a British barrister and former MP) The denialist historians
which they quoted included one obscure professor from an obscure
American University and aother Professor who had been shown to have
benifited from Turkish government finance. The third, Bernard Lewis
probably came to their attention wafter he was prosecuted for Genocide
Denial in Switzerland
These documents show that fear of antagonising Turkey was the main
concern of the government, with quotes such as " Turkey is neuralgic"(ie
mentallly unstable) about the Genoccide issue. They also admit in
diplomatic language that they have been disonest: "Her Majesty’s
Government is open to criticism in terms of the ethical dimension. But
given the importance of our relations … with Turkey, the current line
is the only feasable option"
The conclusion of the report states that the advice provided by the
FCO to the UK government, and reproduced by ministers in parliament when
answering questions,reflects neither the Law of Genocide nor the
demonstrable facts of the massacres in 1915-16, and has been calculated
to mislead parliament into believing that there has been an assessment
and an excercise of judgment on that evidence.
" HMG’s real and only policy has been to evade truthful answers to
questions about the Armenian Genocide, because the truth would
discomfort thje Turkish government"…. " Times change, … but the
universal crimes of genocide and torture have no statue oif limitations.
Judge Balthazar Garzon, in opening his investigation of the crimes of
the Franco era, declared that the perpetrators should have no posthumous
impunity.:the same may be said of the authors of the Armenian Genocide."
Copies of the Legal Opinion are available from Doughty Street Chambers
[email protected]
————- ————————————————– –
Letter to the Morning Star in May 2007
7 Nant Ffynnon,
Nant Peris
Gwynedd
LL55 4UG
12-05-07
[email protected]
Dear Comrades,
The election of a new Labour leader gives a new opportunity to
finally steer the government towards an ethical foreign policy.One of
the key elements in this should be the end of the government’s
continued denial of the Genocide of the Armenians(in which they persist
for fear of offending Turkey).
Britain is completely isolated in Europe on this issue. In every
other country where the issue has been raised, parliaments have passed
motions recognising the truth of this apalling crime against humanity
and civilization(actually these were the words of Britain’s government
in 1915).
The Rt Hon. Geoff Hoon minister for Europe is also isolated when he
says that historians are divided on the issue, and when he implies that
the government has consulted historians. It is known that no genocide
experts (historians or otherwise) have ever been consulted by this or
past UK governments.Mr Hoon would be hard put to find any neutral
historian in the UK who agrees with his statement that the evidence for
the Armenian Genocide is "not sufficiently unequivocal"
Both Lloyd George and Winston Churchill called what happened to the
Armenians as a "holocaust" and "holocausts" respectively. The
International Association of Genocide Scholars have issued a statement
recognising the truth of the genocide.
I urge Labour Members to consider this ethical issue when electing a
new leader. Of the prospective candidates for leadership, only John
Macdonnell has voiced his support for Armenian genocide recognition. The
silence of the other two,Messrs Brown and Meacher, speaks volumes on
what we could expect.. In Mr Brown’s case,as a qualified
historian,continuing the government’s denial of the Armenian Genocide
may leave him open to contempt and ridicule.
We hope that John Macdonnell will this week be given the
opportunity to challange for the leadership
yours sincerely,
Eilian Williams (for Armenia Solidarity)
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
