NOVEMBER 9 , 2021
KARIN – On November 9,
The House of Commons of Great Britain considered in the first reading a law draft on the recognition of the Genocide of the Armenians.
The law draft was introduced by Conservative MP Tim Lawton and unanimously adopted by the House of Commons of Great Britain. He noted that the law draft contains three main provisions: the first is the physical extermination of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire and in Western Armenia in 1915-1923, which is described as genocide ( the Genocide of the Armenians was carried out on the territory of the Armenian state of Western Armenia by successive Turkish governments);
The second is the annual commemoration of the victims of genocides, including the Genocide of the Armenians. , and the third is the promotion of education and information about the Genocide of the Armenians and related human rights violations and war crimes.
The Government of Western Armenia stated that the adoption of the law draft is important for the UK for a number of reasons. For example, he will confirm Britain’s commitment to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and its core values, as well as its signing of the Treaty of Sevres of August 10, 1920, concerning the provisions of articles 142, 220-230.
On May 24, 1915, the Tripartite Agreement for the first time declared the Turkish government responsible for the massacres committed by Turkey in Armenia. Declaration of the Triple Entente, assigning responsibility to the Turkish government for the massacres committed by Turkey in Armenia, dated May 24, 1915 (SOURCE RDIP/HAVAS AGENCY).
“Over the past month or so, the Kurdish and Turkish populations of Armenia have been committing mass killings of Armenians with the connivance and often with the help of the Ottoman authorities. Such massacres occurred in mid-April (according to the new style) in Erzurum, Dertchun, Aegina, Acne, Bitlis, Muche, Sassoon, Zeitun and throughout Cilicia: residents of about a hundred villages in the vicinity of Van were killed; in the city itself, the Armenian quarter was besieged by Kurds; at the same time, in Constantinople, the Ottoman government brutally dealt with the harmless Armenian population.
In view of these new crimes against humanity and civilization, the Allied Governments publicly inform the Sublime Port that they will bring to personal responsibility for these crimes all members of the Ottoman Government and its agents involved in such mass killings.
In addition, by recognizing the Genocide of the Armenians, the UK will strengthen its obligations to protect human rights, since impunity for a crime of this magnitude is dangerous and fraught with repetition.
The UK, as a global player, by recognizing the Genocide of the Armenians, will contribute to the study of the genocide in order to raise awareness of crimes against humanity.
“Great Britain is one of the few Western countries that condemned the Genocide of the Armenians. on May 24, 1915. The recognition of this fact today through Tim Lawton’s law draft will allow the UK to begin correcting the injustice in relation to its obligations in 1919 (the Treaty of Versailles) and 1920 (the Treaty of Sevres),” the government of Western Armenia stated. The Genocide of the Armenians was the first genocide committed in the 20th century.
Turkey rejects the accusations that during and after the First World War it killed more than 1.5 million Armenians.
The Genocide of the Armenians. in Western Armenia has been recognized by many countries, including Russia, France, Bolivia, the USA, as well as by the parliaments of many countries, such as Greece, Cyprus, Argentina, Belgium, Wales, the National Council of Switzerland, the General Chamber of Canada, Poland and many other countries.
The second reading of the resolution is scheduled for March 22 next year (2022).
Karin Abrahamyan
Minister for the Consequences and Compensation of Damage from the Crime of Genocide