Madam Speaker, I am pleased to speak on this motion and I commend the Bloc member for Ahuntsic who brought forward the motion to recognize the Armenian genocide of 1915.
I put on record that our party supports the motion that the House recognize, on the occasion of the 81st anniversary of the Armenian tragedy which claimed some 1.5 million lives on April 24, 1915, and in recognition of other crimes against humanity, the week of April 20 to 27 of each year as the week of remembrance of the inhumanity of people toward one another.
On Sunday I had the honour to participate in a ceremony at the Armenian community centre in Toronto. For two and a half hours we remembered the genocide of 1915. What impressed me most about the ceremony was that so many young people, through song, attendance, speeches and leadership, remembered what took place 81 years ago. It had become part of their lives and part of their culture that the genocide must never be forgotten.
This is not the first time I have participated in this type of ceremony. I have been privileged for a number of years as a member of Parliament to have met with my friends at the Armenian community centre.
When I was first introduced to the issue by the member for Don Valley North it was unknown to me. At that time he was the executive director of the community centre. He and other members of the community, including Aris Barbikian who has come from Toronto to be with us in the House today, talked to me about that incredible tragedy in which 1.5 million Armenians were indiscriminately wiped out simply because they were Armenians. This tragedy has been part the psyche of Armenians everywhere in the world.
After 81 years, we ask, why could people not forget? The answer is very simple. The Turkish government has never recognized its responsibility in this act of genocide. How can the survivors of that tragedy or the families or friends of survivors accept this historical canard where it has never been recognized by the perpetrators? Even the holocaust of the second world war has been recognized for what it was.
When we as individuals can accept and deal head on with the truth as opposed to putting our heads in the sand, then we can cope with whatever the world has thrown or may throw at us in the future. However it is denial which is an insult to those who were wiped out 81 years ago.
I am not particularly proud of the rest of the world. We have been slow in coming to grips with recognizing what actually took place. The historical record is clear. There is no room for ambiguity or ambivalence. That tragedy did take place. That genocide is a fact of history. Whatever we say about it cannot change that incontrovertible fact.
Why are we so reluctant to join with our brothers and sisters in the Armenian community in recognizing what is a plain and simple truth? Perhaps it is part of that world of realpolitik or doublespeak. Maybe we have other reasons which we do not want to talk about. I find it offensive.
As a member of Parliament I have spoken publicly calling for recognition of the Armenian genocide. It may not be in the cards today or in the exact words that we would like to see. However, I will be supporting the motion as amended by our party which puts in stark outline the fact that so many people were murdered and that it was a tragedy of enormous proportion. There is still suffering by those who remember. Perhaps one day we will find a way in the House to recognize, as a few other nations already have, the fact that the 1915 murder of 1.5 million Armenians was in fact the first genocide of the 20th century.
Why is it important that we dwell on an event which took place 81 years ago? I recall the words of Hitler who, when he was embarking on his crusade to wipe out Jewry in the world, said: "Who is to stop me? Who remembers the Armenian genocide?" That is one reason we must remember. If we cannot look history straight in the eye, if we cannot learn from the tragedies which took place, how apt are we to stand idly by and ignore other acts of genocide which are taking place?
We have seen the tragedy in Bosnia where people were wiped out simply because they belonged to a particular race or religion. We have seen the killing fields. We have seen wars throughout the entire world based on the fact that people because they were of a particular nationality, religion or race were considered to be inferior and our enemy. That is so against what every member in the House from every party stands for.
Not only in Canada do we have a human rights code but we also have a charter of rights that deals with discrimination based on race, colour, religion, creed, sex and age and is totally beyond the purview of any legislature and cannot be countered. We have spoken about the types of human rights we seek to respect within our own nation. We are the signatories to numerous documents and treaties which impose this obligation to recognize rights internationally.
Looking at the situation in Turkey today, we see a war led by the PKK, the Kurdish workers party, to try to create a separate state. What we have seen in terms of repression by the Turkish government has been extreme. It is also a matter of record that there have been many violations of human rights in Turkey.
Canada has condemned these violations quite properly, as it is our obligation to do as a member of the world community. We have called for a political solution rather than a military solution to the separatist issue. We hope that by working with our allies and the Turkish officials we are going to be able to achieve some progress in this regard.
My mind goes back to a couple of days ago at the wonderful ceremony of remembrance, the 81st anniversary of the Armenian genocide. I was joined at the commemorative service by the member for Don Valley North, the member for Scarborough and Senator Haidasz. All of us were impressed by the intensity of feeling we experienced during that ceremony.
I mentioned earlier the fact that so many young people had made the non-recognition of the genocide a part of their ethos, a part of their mission. These young people are not going to be content until the record is set straight. These people are not seeking reparations or international trials. All they want is a recognition of what their people went through, a recognition that this tragedy took place and that the rest of the world is prepared to join with them in solidarity in recognizing those who died, those who survived and their families.
The motion we see before us as amended by our party is a step in the right direction. It may not be all that we seek but it does not mean that we will give up our efforts to seek more. I commend the member for Don Valley North for the efforts he has made and all members of the House who support this motion.