UK House of Lords debating Armenian Genocide motion

March 30, 2010 - 13:06 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The British House of Lords opened debates on the Armenian Genocide motion on March 29. The discussion was initiated by independent member of parliament, Baroness Carline Cox, who asked Her Majesty's Government to recognize that the 1915-1917 events constituted Genocide.

Baroness Cox reminded that the Turkish government denies the fact of Genocide and spares no effort to prevent the international community from recognizing it. "Suppression of the truth proved that there was Genocide. The 1915 events will never be forgotten. An entire nation was annihilated. Refusal to recognize historical reality of any genocide can serve as an encouragement to other potential perpetrators, who will believe that they can get away with similar genocides with impunity," she said.

The Armenian Genocide

The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres and deportations, involving forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths reaching 1.5 million.

The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the Genocide survivors.

Present-day Turkey denies the fact of the Armenian Genocide, justifying the atrocities as “deportation to secure Armenians”. Only a few Turkish intellectuals, including Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk and scholar Taner Akcam, speak openly about the necessity to recognize this crime against humanity.

The Armenian Genocide was recognized by Uruguay, Russia, France, Lithuania, Italy, 45 U.S. states, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Argentina, Belgium, Austria, Wales, Switzerland, Canada, Poland, Venezuela, Chile, Bolivia, the Vatican, Luxembourg, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Sweden, Venezuela, Slovakia, Syria, Vatican, as well as the European Parliament and the World Council of Churches.