Sarkis Assadourian

[Points Of Order, April 4th, 1995]

Madam Speaker, yesterday in the debate in this House, Private Member's Business, Crimes Against Humanity, on page 11375 of Hansard , I used the figure ``300,000 intellectuals''. That should read 3,000. I made the error and I hope to have it corrected in the next Hansard .

[Crimes Against Humanity, April 3rd, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I want to take a few minutes to thank those who supported my motion. I really feel that this motion was an important one for Canadians and for the people who suffered from crimes against humanity.

However, I especially want to express my sincere appreciation to members of the governing Liberal Party who supported it, the members of the opposition and also members of the Reform Party. He who runs away may live to fight another day.

[Crimes Against Humanity, April 3rd, 1995]

I will wait because there is going to be an amendment made to the motion.

[Crimes Against Humanity, April 3rd, 1995]

moved:

That, in the opinion of this House, the government should designate the period from April 20 to 27 of each year as the week in which we commemorate the issue of man's inhumanity to his fellow man to remind Canadians that the use of genocide and violence as an instrument of national policy by any nation or group at any time is a crime against all mankind which must be condemned and not forgotten.

Mr. Speaker, I welcome the opportunity to present my motion to the House. The motion calls for designating the week of April 20 to 27 to commemorate the issue of man's inhumanity to his follow man.

I chose April 20 to 27 because April 19 and 20, 1939 was the beginning of the Holocaust committed by the Nazis against the Jewish population. April 27 was the end of the apartheid regime in South Africa which gave the South African population the right to vote; the one man, one vote concept.

I want to present to the House the definition of crimes against humanity. The first time this term was used was in the London Charter of 1945, the structure and basis for prosecution of major war crimes before the international tribunal at Nurnberg. Crime against humanity presents a distinct category of international crimes. Article 6(c) of the charter defines crimes against humanity as murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation and other inhumane acts committed against any civilian population before or during the war; or persecution on political, racial or religious grounds in execution of all in connection with any crime within the jurisdiction of the tribunal whether or not in violation of the domestic laws of the country where the crime was perpetrated.

I have personal experience with violence, genocide, deportation and the beginning of a new life. On many occasions, Mr. Speaker, you have spoken on this crime. I invited you down when I was working for the Armenian community in my home town of Toronto.

I will tell the House about my experience this year in July when I went to the Middle East for the first time since 1967 when I left. It was my intention to visit Der-zor where documentation shows that hundreds of thousands of people were deported from their ancestral homelands and driven to Der-zor and left there to die or were killed by the Ottoman Turkish soldiers at the time.

Even today when one goes there and puts a hand in the sand one has to go down only six inches to pick up the bones and remains of human beings. The river running through Der-zor is a very historical scene to Canadians of Armenian origin and many other Armenians living throughout the world because in that river we saw bodies floating in the same way we saw bodies floating last year in Rwanda. I saw that river, I walked in that river and I remember the past, 1915.

My personal experience with the holocaust of Armenian origin was in 1965 when I was only 17. I knew the extent of the holocaust that my ancestors went through. Since then and before that many other people went through the same crimes against humanity.

I regret to say that so far humanity has never brought a single person to justice. Even with what we saw last year in Rwanda, today there is not one single person accused of crimes against humanity. When will we take charge and outlaw this crime and punish them so they will not be able to repeat the crime and then enjoy the fruits of their crimes against humanity?

As I mentioned, April 24 was the beginning of the Armenian genocide committed by the Ottoman empire in 1915. On that day 300,000 intellectuals were rounded up from their houses and taken into the desert. The leadership of the community was taken so there would not be resistance to this crime that was to be carried on for the next eight to twelve months.

As a result of the holocaust 1.5 million people were murdered and another 500,000 were deported from their homelands. As of now the crime remains unpunished.

My motion calls for this not to be forgotten, but it never says not to be forgiven. Forgiveness has to come when those who committed the crime ask for forgiveness. They also should be ready to be forgiven because forgiveness is the nature of human

beings. We cannot forget because if we forget we are condemned to repeat it.

We all know very well what happened to the Jewish population in World War II beginning in 1939. Adolf Hitler had many excuses, but as far as I am concerned there is no good reason to commit violence or genocide in any shape or form. This cannot be comprehended by an ordinary person. There is no reason to commit, especially in this case, crimes against humanity.

The world was silent. It stood silent while six million Jews were slaughtered. Nobody said a word until the war was over. Why did we have to wait until the number reached six million before we spoke up? Why did we have to wait until the numbers reached 1.5 million before we spoke up? Why can we not make our position known to everybody that this will not be tolerated?

In 1975 in Cambodia in a city of three million, two million were wiped out. We did not say a single word. The UN did not act in any way. Is this the way to treat criminals? We cannot tolerate this forever.

Today in Yugoslavia UNHCR estimates that more than 100,000 Bosnians were massacred and 300,000 were deported. Again, there is not a single international tribunal to punish those who commit these crimes so they will not be repeated.

I spoke earlier about Rwanda. We had discussions about whether to send our troops to Rwanda for peacekeeping. I stated in response to a member of the opposition that we should have discussed this issue further.

In two weeks half a million people were killed. Technology has advanced so much that half a million people can be killed in two weeks and yet we in this country and other countries sit back and ask what to do next. I propose we do something about it now. Let us declare the week of April 20-27 the week of man's inhumanity to his fellow man so we can educate the younger generation that crimes against humanity must be punished. There is no escape when a crime is committed, be it a small or a large crime.

Even today violence is taking place in the Middle East. Yesterday a three-year old child was killed for no reason. Who will stand up and condemn this violence against innocent people?

In 1939 when Adolf Hitler was giving his orders to SS units to slaughter the Jewish population, he said: "Who remembers the extermination of the Armenian people today?" That was on August 9, 1939. Today is April 3, 1995 and I hope and pray the House will remember the message of Adolf Hitler was wrong in 1939. A continuation of this cannot be tolerated.

Many ministers of the government and members of Parliament spoke against genocide in the past. I quote three of them. The hon. member for York West on April 24, 1985 in the House said: "Today the Armenian militia commemoration serves to remind us all in a profound way of the importance of fulfilling our commitment to human and minority rights".

The Deputy Prime Minister said: "It is not simply a question of a problem over there in a far away country. It is a question of human rights, not only for the Armenian community but for all communities".

For the last 25 years on April 24, I have demonstrated in front of the Parliament buildings along with many thousands of people. I and many members of the House have spoken against genocide. We should continue to do that because it is very important to remember. We have to ask ourselves what has happened over the last 25 years of protest, of demonstration and condemnation. The House was silent.

I call on the House to recognize these crimes against humanity and to make sure we know Hitler was wrong, that the world remembers and the House remembers.

Mr. Speaker, with the consent of the Chair and this House, I would like this motion to be a votable item if possible.

[Petitions, March 29th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, it is my pleasure to present to this House petitions signed by 100 Canadians living in North York, Scarborough, Richmond Hill, in the metro Toronto area.

These petitioners ask the House to recognize and condemn the Turkish genocide of the Armenians. This year they will be commemorating the 80th anniversary of the genocide and they ask this House for similar recognition as was done by the Israel, Russia, France and Uruguay parliaments. As well, the parliaments of Quebec and Ontario recognize this crime against humanity.

[Human Rights, March 28th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

In the face of worldwide condemnation of Turkey's invasion of northern Iraq which started last week, what is the Government of Canada doing to stop this invasion, the slaughter and the deportation of thousands of innocent Kurdish people?

[Racial Discrimination, March 27th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, March 21 to March 28 is the United Nations week of solidarity with the people struggling against racism and racial discrimination. During this week we bear in mind the threats to peace posed by lack of tolerance among the world's peoples.

Since the end of the cold war in many countries ethnic conflict and human rights violations against minorities have intensified. On a more positive note, next month we will celebrate the second anniversary of the end of apartheid and the first anniversary of democratic elections in South Africa.

In a world darkened by ethnic conflicts that tear nations apart our country has stood for the whole world as a model of how people of different cultures can live and work together in peace, prosperity and understanding. However, we must realize that many people still face racism and discrimination every day and that firm, forceful and repeated educational work must be done to eliminate it from Canadian society.

On behalf of all members of the House I urge all Canadians to recognize their responsibilities to one another and to society so that together we can continue to make this country the envy of the world.

[Internet, March 16th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Industry. Ernst Zundel, a convicted Nazi holocaust denier, and other Zundels of the world, intend to use Internet technology to spread direct propaganda.

What action can the minister take, first, to regulate the Internet from being used to spread hate propaganda, and second, will Internet users be made accountable?

[Internet, March 14th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday, March 7, 1995 Ernst Zundel, a leading Nazi propagandist, confirmed to the Globe and Mail that he is preparing a link to the global information network through a computer to be based in the U.S. or Europe.

His plans for Internet include posting the transcripts of his trials as well as material regarding the second world war, what the Canadian Jewish Congress calls Holocaust denial material.

Mr. Zundel's plan shows why it is necessary to regulate Internet. Other media outlets are accountable to someone. Internet is not.

I urge the House to condemn Ernst Zundel and Zundels afterward for racist and hate mongering activities. All members of the House must stand together and send a loud and clear message that promotion of hatred against any identifiable group is unacceptable and will not be tolerated by Canadians.

[Firearms Act, March 13th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, 128 years ago our founding fathers came together, gave this House power to enact laws, to ensure peace, order and good government in Canada.

Even President Clinton on his visit to this country on February 23 said Canada has shown to the world how to balance freedom with compassion and tradition with innovation. Canada set the example for the rest of the world on many occasions. This certainly is one of those occasions when we can say to the world that we set the standards and we make the examples for the rest to follow.

On October 25, 1993 the people of Canada voted for the Liberal Party. In the red book we made a promise to make our streets safe and offload the guns. Bill C-68 goes in that direction.

Public support for this bill has been enormous, 80 per cent to 85 per cent. Even in Alberta we are told 62 per cent of the population supports the bill. In my riding of Don Valley North, which I am proud to represent, 90 per cent of the population supports this bill.

In my riding I received only seven or eight representations opposing the bill. Out of those, one of them was a U.S. citizen complaining about the bill. When I asked him why he does not complain to U.S. senators, he said he lives here and has to complain to me.

Many of us receive many letters from various organizations and individuals regarding Bill C-68. I received maybe 200 letters from various parts of the country. One said in part: "It has come to my attention that someone has sent a number of misleading letters to various members of Parliament and some Reformers, including yourself".

These letters are on the subject of government policy proposals and gun controls. One says in part: "Many of these letters bear my name and address and are signed but were not written, signed or sent by me. My signature is false. I believe you have

received one of these letters as I have received correspondence from you on this topic. I hereby request that you remove me from your mailing list".

I am not saying that all the letters are forged but I am sure that 15 members received letters that are the same. They have not sent a letter to anybody but somehow someone took the liberty to send letters to members of Parliament so they can say they received 200, 300, 1,000 letters, and that is how they can make public opinion saying people oppose it. The fact is that people support this bill.

I want to raise the issue of rural and urban communities. In the last byelection in a riding in Quebec 62 per cent of the riding was rural and 38 per cent was urban. In that byelection nobody ever raised the issue of gun control. It is obvious that rural Canadians support the bill. They are happy with it and they want to go forward with it so we can build a new Canada, safe and sound for everybody.

On September 17, I invited members of Parliament in metro Toronto to attend meetings with the constable in charge of the gun depot in metro Toronto. He showed us 13,000 handguns, machine guns, AK-47s or M-16s, whatever the case may be. Some of them were legally owned, stolen from their owners so they could be used in crimes. They showed me replicas so similar it was hard to say which one was which.

Don Valley North is one of the few ridings in the country that has no gun shop. We would like to keep it that way.

Most people complain about the registration section of this bill. When this bill was presented last year I phoned the city of North York and asked how many dogs are registered there. The answer is 18,710. We asked the minister and members of this Parliament how many guns we have in the country. They tell us anywhere from 4 million to 15 million.

Four million to 15 million guns can do more harm to the country and its citizens than 18,000 dogs in North York. If we can register the dogs, the cats, the cars, why not the guns? I cannot understand. No one has been able to explain it to me. I am a reasonable person, more than the hon. member on the other side who shouts meaningless sentences. He should answer to Canadians why he opposes legislation when 80 per cent to 85 per cent of Canadians support it and want to go ahead with this bill.

Many guns used in a crime these days are stolen from rightful owners; as I said before, 3,800 guns. If legislation goes through the way it is, we will know exactly where the guns come from so we can follow up, trace them and hold the owner of a gun responsible.

It is my pleasure to support this bill to the best of my ability. I can assure the House, even my colleagues in the Reform Party, that the Don Valley North population supports this bill 100 per cent. We will make sure that by passing this bill Canada will be a safe place.

In the last two years Canada was rated the best country by the United Nations and we will make sure it continues to be one of the best and safest countries in the world.