ARF YOUTH UNIONS WILL URGE UK TO RECOGNIZE THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

18:07, 01 Apr 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

On April 2 the Youth and Student Unions of the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation will hold a rally in front of the British Embassy in
Armenia. The same day the ARF Youth Unions will hold rallies in front
of British Embassies in different countries of the world and will
hand over petitions to the diplomatic representations. The text of
the petition is below:

April 24, 2015 marks the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

On the eve of the Genocide centennial, Britain is compelled to unburden
its conscience and settle a moral debt to the Armenian nation.

As a major player in the geopolitical arena of the World War One,
the UK was a prime witness of the calamity that fell upon the
Armenian nation. As one and a half million Armenians suffered the
terrors of the state-organized and implemented Genocide, Britain,
in a joint statement with allies France and Russia, did not hesitate,
in May 1915, to condemn the mass-slaughter as “new crimes of Turkey
against humanity and civilization”. The British parliament published,
in 1916, British historian Arnold Toynbee’s ‘Blue Book’ which comprises
meticulously documented testimonies and eye-witness accounts of the
ravage the Armenians underwent on the hands of the Ottoman Turks. In
his turn, Winston Churchill assessed the Armenians’ ordeal as an
“administrative Holocaust”, aimed at “clearance of a race”, “planned
and executed for political purposes”.

It has been unmistakably evident, that the British archives are
replete with comprehensive records that disclose the veracity of the
crime committed under the fog of the First World War.

As we approach the 24th of April, the positions of the British
Government and the British Parliament are under close scrutiny. The
centennial is the opportune moment for Britain to abandon the ranks
of the cognizant but silent bystanders and to join the ranks of the
righteous countries that have recognized the Armenian Genocide. It is
in the interest of the UK to distance itself, without further delay,
from the revisionist and denialist policies of Turkey.

As descendants of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide, we call upon
the Government of Britain to reclaim the moral integrity of May 1915
by recognizing the Armenian Genocide and condemning its perpetrator.

We caution the UK government to abstain from euphemisms that belittle
the pain of the Genocide victims and insult their memory.

We encourage the UK government to champion the international
recognition of the Armenian Genocide, and pursue the reinstatement
of historical justice for the victims, and the restoration of the
historical rights of the Armenian nation.

We urge the UK parliament to initiate and adopt resolutions that
acknowledge the Armenian Genocide, condemn the perpetrator of the
crime, and criminalize its denial.

On the eve of the Armenian Genocide centennial, as descendants of the
survivors of the Armenian Genocide, we remain ever resolute for the
just cause of the Armenian Genocide victims and the timeless rights
of the Armenian Nation.