Armenian genocide condemned.

Ottawa--By a vote of 153-68 the House of Commons on April 21, 2004, passed a Bloc Quebecois motion acknowledging the brutal treatment of Armenians by the Turks in the Ottoman Empire as an act of genocide and a crime against humanity. Between the years 1915 and 1923, up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed and many others deported.

The present Turkish government denies genocide, claiming the number of deaths as low as 300,000, and blaming the Armenians themselves for being allied with their First World War enemy, Russia. The vote was passed in defiance of the recommendation by Foreign Minister Bill Graham to vote against it. He was responding to concerns of the business community. Two major Canadian companies, Bombardier and SNC Lavalin, are currently engaged in negotiations for million-dollar contracts in Turkey. Despite these concerns, Paul Martin, in line with previous promises for more backbench autonomy, allowed a free vote on the non-binding motion.

The motion was seconded by Liberal MP Sarkis Assadourian (Brampton Centre), himself of Armenian heritage. After the vote, he stated that it was about acknowledging the past and doing justice, rather than stigmatizing Turkey.

Groups from the Armenian diaspora have been advocating recognition of the WWI events as genocide for many years, but it has not been universally accepted. Pope John Paul II used the expression while visiting Armenia several years ago. Canada now joins a small group including France, Russia, and Greece. The U.S. Congress however refused to pass a similar motion in 2000 when the Turks threatened to cut their military air bases there. Our parliamentarians did the right thing (Files from Star, Globe, Post).