Mr. Speaker, yesterday, April 24, over 2,000 protesters rallied on Parliament Hill for the 25th time to remember and pay tribute to 1.5 million Armenian victims of the first major genocide of the 20th century. This genocide was planned and executed by the Ottoman Empire on April 24, 1915 as a brutal and final solution to the Armenian question.
The Permanent People's Tribunal in Sorbonne, France considered the Armenian genocide in April 1984 and ruled that it was an international crime for which the Turkish state must assume responsibility.
We must not allow the international community to simply dismiss Ottoman Empire crimes against the Armenian people. Benjamin Whitaker, a British writer, said if we cannot face yesterday's truth how can we ensure tomorrow's justice?