1915 Armenian Genocide

John Whittingdale Excerpts

Monday 23rd March 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr John Whittingdale (Maldon) (Con)]

I congratulate the hon. Member for Ealing North (Stephen Pound) on obtaining this debate and putting with his customary eloquence the case for why it is important that we in this House remember what was one of the first great crimes of the 20th century. He has worked on behalf of his constituents from Armenia and the Armenian community generally for a long time, and it was a pleasure to be in Yerevan with him just over a year ago.

It is entirely right that we in this House mark the centenary of the Armenian genocide. We have commemorated other genocides here, such as those that took place in the Balkans and in Rwanda and, of course, the holocaust. As the hon. Gentleman said, the term “genocide” was originally coined by Raphael Lemkin who, when he came to describe what had happened to his own people—the Jewish people—initially had the experience of hearing about the massacre of the Armenians, which undoubtedly influenced him.

The hon. Gentleman made a strong case, and I concur that we should use the term “genocide” to describe what was clearly a deliberate attempt to kill an entire people. In a sense, whether we use that word or not there is no question but that the massacre of more than 1 million people—perhaps 1.5 million Armenians who were either massacred or starved to death—was a horrendous crime. Both he and I have visited the memorial to the genocide in Yerevan and the museum, and anybody who goes there can be left in no doubt of the true horror of what occurred. The evidence is overwhelming. Those who try to dismiss it cannot argue with the records, photographs and accounts of witnesses, both Armenian and international, not least those from this country whose testimony is perhaps among the most powerful. As a result, it is important that we remember what happened, and renew our determination to ensure that that kind of event never happens again.

The hon. Gentleman is right to say that this is not about apportioning blame, certainly not to the present Turkish Government, and I welcome the fact that the Prime Minister of Turkey talked about the shared pain and offered his condolences a year ago. I hope that that provides an opportunity to try to build reconciliation between Armenia and Turkey, and to normalise relations and perhaps in due course to re-open the border between those two countries. I hope that can still be achieved.

I was very struck by a speech that I heard not long ago by the former Prime Minister of Armenia and Armenian ambassador to this country, Dr Armen Sarkissian. He said that of course we should remember what occurred and commemorate the loss of life, but that more importantly it is an opportunity to celebrate the survival of a great people and a great country. I am delighted that we have had the chance this evening to put that on record in this place, and in four weeks’ time I shall be honoured to pay my own tribute in Yerevan to those who died.