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Genocide (Armenia and Assyria)

As I said, if I took right hon. and hon. Members down every bloodstained byway of the 20th century, I would exceed the time that I am allowed, Mr. Cook. My hon. Friend mentions the sacking of Smyrna and its replacement by Izmir. That is a scar on the history of our globe and our people. We know that. I seek recognition of the genocide that occurred in the Ottoman empire. One might think that that ideologically motivated, militarily enforced genocide was so horrific, appalling and awful that recognition would be almost an irrelevance; after all, it would not bring anyone back to life. However, the relatives of those who suffered have experienced what they see as a double death: the deaths of their relatives and the death—the pain and agony—that they feel, knowing that those deaths are denied by those responsible. When we take those feelings into account, we begin to understand why recognition is so crucial and important. I am massively indebted to the work of people whom I am proud to call my friends, such as Dr. Harry Hagopian, Raffi Sarkissian, Ninab Lamasso, Andy Dharmoo and so many others. They tell me over and again that until there can be recognition of the genocide, there can be no peace. Only when the denial has been confronted and the reasons for it analysed, and when the modern, secular Turkish Government finally understand what their ancestor Government did, can there be peace. The friends whom I mentioned make that demand for the sake of remembrance, recognition, respect, redemption—and, yes, recompense. How otherwise can a people move on? The Armenian and Assyrian community has now spread to France, San Francisco, Australia and to our islands, where its people provide a service as ideal, model citizens. They are hard-working decent people, whom we are proud to call British and our brothers and sisters. Every time we look them in the eye, we see reflected the pain of the denial of their history. We simply cannot allow that situation to pertain. I understand how difficult matters diplomatic are, and how Turkey is becoming increasingly important in the European context. It is a country for which I have no enmity; I have affection and respect for modern Turkey and only hope that it can do as this country has in respect of the crimes committed by our ancestors in centuries past. I hope that modern Turkey can accept what happened in its name and bring some peace. Since 1965, many countries and bodies have recognised genocide: Uruguay, Cyprus, Argentina, Russia, Greece, the United States House of Representatives, Belgium, Sweden, Lebanon, the European Parliament, the Italian Parliament, the French Assembly, the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, the Swiss Parliament, the Canadian House of Commons, the Slovakian Parliament, the Dutch Parliament, the Polish Parliament, the German Bundestag, the Venezuelan Parliament, the Lithuanian Parliament and recently even bodies such as Edinburgh city council and the legislative body of British Columbia. The Holy See recognised genocide on 10 November 2000. They have all recognised that genocide occurred, and I cannot see how we can fail to follow where they lead.