British Parliament not put to vote Armenian Genocide resolution

March 30, 2010 - 20:04 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Armenian Genocide resolution was not put to a vote in the House of Lords, John Torosyan, head of the Armenian community of Cardiff told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

On March 29 the House of Lords held hearings on events between 1915 - 1917 initiated by an independent MP, Baroness Caroline Cox. During the debate, Lady Cox recalled that the Turkish government still denies the Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Empire and opposed its recognition by the international community.

Speaking on behalf of the government, Baroness Kinnock recalled that the fate of ethnic Armenians and other Christian minorities, including Assyrians living in the Ottoman Empire, was discussed at a cabinet meeting on October 21, 1915. However, she considered as premature the adoption of the resolution.

During the visit of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in London, Minister of Justice Jack Straw promised the Turkish prime minister that the Armenian Genocide resolution will not be put to the vote.

On March 4 the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs approved the Res. 252 on the Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Empire.

On March 11 the Parliament of Sweden adopted a similar resolution.

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.