11:47 26/03/2010 » Politics
Baroness Cox `s letter to British Government recalls them to recognize
Armenian Genocide
British Baroness, Caroline Cox Tuesday wrote a letter to British
Government recalling on to recognize the Armenian Genocide. Though
Mrs. Baroness released her message she said she did it without any
hope of a change in the British government’s consistent policy of
refusal to acknowledge the truth.
Mrs. Baroness stated that however, the question is timely for three
reasons: first the recent recognition by the Swedish Parliament of the
state-organized massacres of 1.5 million Armenians by Turkish
authorities, beginning in 1915, as genocide the latest in a long line
of Parliaments and other official bodies, such as the Vatican, to do
so.
Second: the publication last October of `Was there an Armenian Genocide?
Geoffrey Robertson QC’s opinion with reference to Foreign and
Commonwealth Office documents which show how British ministers,
Parliament and people have been misled’.
And finally the third important issue is that this year marks the 95th
anniversary of the beginning of the genocide and recognition is long
overdue. Every genocide which remains unrecognized is, in effect,
condoned and can serve as an encouragement to other potential
perpetrators of subsequent genocides. This was most infamously
illustrated by Hitler’s reference to the Armenian Genocide before he
embarked on the extension of the Holocaust in Poland:
`Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?’
Whenever initiatives are taken to encourage recognition of the
systematic slaughter and deportation of between one and two million
Armenians as genocide, the Turkish government becomes extremely active
in attempting to prevent this, through intimidating political pressure
and threats of economic boycott.
Times change, but as other civilised nations recognise, the universal
crimes of genocide and torture have no statute of limitations.’
This debate offers HMG an opportunity to join other civilised nations.
I greatly fear that it will fail to do so, and perpetuate Britain’s
dishonour. But at least it will provide an opportunity for the truth
to be recorded once again in the British Parliament, for British
citizens to make up their own minds and, as the Welsh Assembly has
already done, to its great credit, to acknowledge and proclaim the
historic truth.
Source: Panorama.am
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
