UK HOUSE OF LORDS TO DEBATE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Yerkir
24.03.2010 13:47

Yerevan (Yerkir) – In preparation for next Monday’s debate on the
Armenian Genocide in the British House of Lords, leaflets are being
circulated among all parliamentarians, criticizing Justice Minister
Jack Straw and encouraging Lords to participate in the debate.

"The chance of this becoming law is zero," Straw said. "I can
assure everyone on this issue." "Even If it is approved, an Armenian
Genocide Remembrance Day will not be established in the country. The
English government and the opposition do not support this draft,"
he said.

"UK Justice Minister Jack Straw appeases Turkish Prime Minister who
proposes to deport 100,000 Armenians from Turkey. The response of
Justice Minister Jack Straw on March 16 defies belief in its naivety
and cynicism. He suppressed any comment on the threats of deportations
that would befit a cabinet minister of Western democracy with any
claim to ethical standards. He then resumed the outcome of the House
of Commons bill by assuring Turkey’s prime minister that the UK
Parliament would not pass a resolution commemorating the Ottoman-era
killings of Armenians as Genocide," says the leaflet of the Armenia
Solidarity organization.

"What Straw failed to mention is that a majority of Labor MPs support
the motion, as well as a majority of all MPs who are eligible to
express their opinions freely. This is known from signatures to
previous Early Day Motions recognizing the Genocide. Sources close to
the government say that the Cabinet is much divided on the issue. Even
the Foreign & Commonwealth Office describe the behavior of the Turkish
government as "neuralgic", yet a British minister can only comfort
a government with such a frame of mind. The contrast between the US
and Swedish fortitude and the Man of Straw’s pliability could not
be starker.

The Justice Minister apparently is prepared to ignore the recent legal
opinion of Geoffrey Robertson QC as well as the collective view of the
International Association of Genocide Scholars and the pronouncement
of the presidents of the International Network of Genocide Scholars.

We appeal to MPs and Peers to put pressure on the Prime Minister to
clearly repudiate the disreputable statement of the Justice Minister
and to reprimand him for Armenian Holocaust Denial. We know of course
that this was not simply a faux-pas, as Mr. Straw’s is influenced
by the Turkish embassy in the UK and a strong pro-Turkish Israeli
lobby in Parliament

Another of Straw’s outrageous comments was "Our biggest mistake
after the First World War was to dismember the Ottoman Empire"
ignoring the death and destruction of entire ethnic groups in the
Empire at that time.

Anyone of any decency, let alone a government minister, should better
understand the consequences of genocide denial. Not confronting the
truth ensures that the old problems fester and make the resolution
of current relationship issues between Turkey and Armenia even more
difficult. Relationships between countries and peoples cannot be
built on lies. Trying to change history by denial inevitably means
that the lessons being promoted for example through Holocaust Memorial
Day cannot prevent future atrocities.

Finally but not less important Mr. Straw dishonors the memories of
the civilian victims of 1915,

The possible date of an election, May 6, will play into Jack Straw’s
hands as the bill may not complete its parliamentary course. This could
mean that his deplorable behavior stands as the official stance of this
country, and that clearly is unacceptable. Parliament should assert
itself unequivocally to reverse this gift to Turkish propaganda that is
already being deployed. In so doing, Parliament should have due regard
to the original British Government position in 1915 on the genocide,
a "Crime against Humanity and Civilization, and "Holocaust" in
the words of David Lloyd George and Winston Churchill, Their first
opportunity for Parliament to remove the stain of Genocide Denial
will be a positive response in the Genocide debate in the House of
Lords on March 29," it says.