AGBU Europe Calls on UK to Recognize the Armenian Genocide

5 November 2009

Today AGBU Europe called upon the government of the United Kingdom to rescind its established policy of denying the Armenian Genocide and initiate a more ethical and constructive policy towards Turkey and Armenia by acknowledging the 1915 genocide and its consequences in order to build confidence and contribute to security in the region.

The call follows the publication of a legal opinion by Geoffrey Robertson QC, an authority of matters of international criminal law, on the British government’s long-held policy of considering that there is “insufficient evidence” to consider the 1915 mass slaughter of the Armenians in Turkey as genocide. The United Kingdom is the only government in Europe that effectively denies the Armenian genocide.

Based on a thorough investigation of the written confidential/secret internal documents obtained under Freedom of Information Act (FIA) from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office since 1997, the Opinion concludes that the “advice [upon which the government’s opinion is based] reflects neither the law on genocide, nor the demonstrable facts of the massacres in 1915-1916, and has been calculated to mislead Parliament into believing that there has been an assessment of evidence and an exercise of judgement on that evidence”.

In fact, internal FCO documents make it abundantly clear, according to Mr Robertson’s analysis, that the British government’s position was adopted exclusively to placate its ally Turkey and that the UK’s stance is, as the FCO diplomats themselves put it “open to criticism in terms of its ethical dimension”.

The legal opinion published on Tuesday also refers to the agreement signed on October 10 between the Presidents of Turkey and Armenia to establish relations, which it terms a “welcome development” but warns that debate among historians about the Armenian genocide would be a “pointless exercise” and that the matter cannot be suitably addressed with Turkey until article 301 in its criminal code, which restricts public debate on such matters as the Armenian Genocide, remains in force.

AGBU Europe believes that the British policy of pandering to Turkey’s Armenian complex is not only unethical but also ineffective and short-sighted. The UK can play a role in promoting trust and stability between neighbours in the South Caucasus and in Turkey, but their policy must be based on the values and standards they would apply to fellow European nations.

In particular, the UK must support the forces of democracy and tolerance in Turkey. Earlier this year, for example, a group of Turkish intellectuals took the unprecedented step of issuing a public apology for the World War I extermination of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, even though they evaded to use the word genocide, perhaps understandably under 301, which, nevertheless helped to challenge the taboo about the Genocide in Turkey; in the face of such a bold public collective move, the Ministry of Justice took the equally unprecedented decision not to prosecute the initiators of the petition.

Genocide denial, by contrast, further casts doubt on Turkey’s questionable reputation, delays the transformation and modernisation of its society and institutions and feeds tensions and distrust between neighbours. The 2007 assassination of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink and the justice system’s dismal management of the prosecution of his murderers, for instance, have severely tarnished Turkey’s reputation abroad, particularly among the European public and decision-makers.

The Mr Robertson QC’s legal opinion Legal Opinion concludes by regretting that “there is no recognition at all [on the part of the British government] of the importance of nations acknowledging Genocide and their past crimes against humanity or of supporting the descendents of victims who still, almost a century later, have to live with the consequences”, suggesting that the contemporary relevance of the recognition of a past crime is self-evident to a prominent expert in international justice.

The outcome of the struggle between the forces of tolerance and democracy in Turkey and those who oppose them is by no means a foregone conclusion. As one of Turkey’s closest partners and advocates, the UK is ideally placed to help the country overcome its Armenian Genocide taboo. In doing so, the UK can furthermore continue to pursue its own long-term interests with Turkey and stay true to its values.

The Legal Opinion was drafted by Geoffrey Robertson QC, for of Doughty Street Chambers. It was requested commissioned by the Armenian Centre, London.

The report can be downloaded at: http://www.doughtystreet.co.uk/
For further information : j.flint@doughtystreet.co.uk
AGBU Europe press contact: Flora Hakopyan, email press@agbueurope.org, tel: 00 33 1 45 20 03 18

Background
The Armenian Genocide and relations between Turkey and Armenia

Armenians represented a substantial minority in the Ottoman Empire, of roughly 2 million people, both in their historic homeland and in the Empire’s major cities. They played an important part in the Empire’s economy as well as in its intellectual and artistic life and in the professions. In 1915, the Young Turk government of the Ottoman Empire, fearing foreign interference in Armenia, initiated the extermination of the Armenian population of the Empire, which led to the death of an estimated 1.5 million ethnic Armenians. After the establishment of the Turkish Republic in 1923, a policy of denial of the Armenian genocide was establish and accompanied by a sustained effort to remove all trace of their presence. Thousands of buildings were destroyed, place names changed and public reference to Armenians became a taboo. Across the world, the survivors of the slaughter were increasingly confronted with the efforts of Turkish diplomats to prevent them from commemorating and sharing their story, a policy which continues to this day.

Since 1993, Turkey has maintained a blockade of Armenia in an attempt to pressure the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh to surrender to the Azeri forces and to stop the campaign for the recognition of the Armenian genocide across the world. This policy was inspired by “Turkic” solidarity between Azeris and Turks against Armenians. It produced no result because it was premised on the idea that the Republic of Armenia should control the actions of all ethnic Armenians, whether in Karabakh resisting Azeri special forces or lobbying for genocide recognition in the Diaspora.

facebooktwitterpinterest