Recognise Genocide, Stop it happening !

ARMENIA SOLIDARITY at the fringe of the Labour Party Conference, Manchester, England, September 2006
(an offshoot of Wales-Armenia Solidarity, c/o The Temple of Peace, Cardiff)

"Is it any wonder that the people of Darfur again face the prospect of genocide, when the UK and US governments deny the truth of the first genocide of the twentieth century, namely the genocide of the Armenians? Is it surprising that the world is today plagued by terrorism, when the British and American governments persist in denying the truth of the Holocaust of the Armenians, the first example of state terrorism of the twentieth century?"

These questions will be raised by "Armenia Solidarity" at the Labour Conference in Manchester. Encouraged by the overwhelming support given by Welsh Labour MPs to the recent EDM in the Commons (1454, tabled by Stephen Pound) on the Assyrian and Armenian Genocides (in opposition to government policy), campaigners for the genocide to be recognised officially by the UK Parliament see a window of opportunity in the next few months for a motion in the Commons on Recognition to go forward for an unprecedented vote. The loyal supporters of Recognition who sign EDMs annually on the issue are predominantly from the Left of the Party, but campaigners hope to broaden support by means of three fringe meetings (at the Armenian Taverna, Princess St, on Albert Sq, on Sunday, the 24th. and on Tuesday, as well as on Monday, at Brannigans Pub, Peter St - all meetings to start at 6.00 p.m.)

"We know we shall be competing against fringe meetings on many other pressing issues, but I hope people will realise that the Armenians have been waiting for justice for 92 years. Also it is important to grasp that it is the depth of the injustice, not the strength of the lobby, which should move governments to act," said a spokeman.
Armenia Solidarity will also reveal that an official at the Turkey Policy Desk at the Foreign Office threatened the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust with a withdrawal of funding should the Armenian Genocide be mentioned from the main stage.

The spokesman continued: "The plain truth is that Turkey's present borders are based on the Genocide of her Armenian population. The government denies this, and Minister at the Foreign Office Geoff Hoon recently went as far as to deceive the Commons by implying that the Government had taken the advice of historians in deciding there was not enough evidence for the Armenian Genocide. We know this to be a mischievous deception as there are no reputable historians in the UK who deny the truth of the Armenian Genocide."

The Iran President's Holocaust revisionism has now been matched by a more callous genocide denial by the UK government. Their position that there was no genocide in 1915 because Turkey is today (as in the past) a strategic ally of the UK is not tenable. This last denial is the fourth major betrayal of Armenia by Britain. The first three were as follows:

1 British foreign policy in the nineteenth century of diminishing Russian influence in the region (for Britain's imperial self-interest) led to the Armenians being exposed to the terrible massacres of 1894-96, and ultimately the genocide of 1915.

2 To gain support for the war effort, Lloyd George in 1916 promised that Armenia would never again have to suffer Turkish rule. This was a vain promise as the Turkish army was not disarmed in 1918, and Britain refused to take up the mandate for an independent Armenia following the treaty of Sevres.

3 At the end of the second world war, Britain opposed the return of land to Armenia from Turkey, on the basis that " There is no longer a nationality problem in the region " (Bevin in the Commons in 1946), i.e. the success of the genocide had, in the eyes of the British government, entitled Turkey to keep the entirety of Western Armenia. This logic has certainly encouraged many tyrants in the post-war era.

Contact Armenia-Solidarity: 07876561398 eilian@nant.wanadoo.co.uk