Mr. Speaker, today, by tabling a motion urging us as parliamentarians to recognize the Armenian genocide regardless of partisan considerations, the official opposition wants to show clearly that it remembers and hopes to help increase public awareness of what is probably the greatest tragedy, the most unacceptable, the most intolerable, the most shameful thing that can happen in the life of a society. Genocide must be condemned as a totally unacceptable instrument of national policy.
This is an extremely sad day in Canadian politics because we now know that there are hypocritical members in this Parliament. There are people who talk from both sides of their mouths. This is extremely sad, because we as parliamentarians had a rare opportunity to join together in reminding ourselves that violence has played too large a role in this century.
The history of the Armenian people is that of a persistent, continuous determination to survive and assert themselves. Historic Armenia, the great Armenia, which stretched from the Black Sea to Mesopotamia, covered an area of 300,000 square kilometres.
Armenia was independent until 1045, until the Middle Ages. Historiographers agree that what kept Armenia independent and united until the Middle Ages was its religion, its language and its settlement of ancestral lands. It is in the 19th century that the Armenians' world came crashing down.
According to historians, three successive governments are to blame for the scattering and genocide of the Armenian community.
Like the Armenian people, we remember the government of Hamid II. We also remember that, at the turn of the century, there was a hope for the future because of a democratic government, an apparently liberal government advocating greater freedom of speech, a government that could have been more sensitive to the Armenian community. However, the new Turkish government did not turn out that way. After the Republic of Armenia was proclaimed, one might have expected things to change, but they did not, which brings us to the events of 1915-17, when 1.5 million people died in the Armenian genocide.
Let us stop for a moment to try to understand what could be happening in this Parliament today. We have a member who, since he was democratically elected by the people of Ahuntsic, has been an extraordinary ally of the Armenian community. We have, in the person of the hon. member for Ahuntsic, someone who has made us sensitive to what has been the very first genocide of the 20th century. Without any partisanship, this member is calling on us, as parliamentarians, to remember. Why? Because by remembering, we avoid making the same mistakes over and over. I am convinced that all our fellow parliamentarians who will participate in this
debate today will remember and want to remember, without acrimony or hostility, so that history does not repeat itself.
Why did this government not hesitate for a moment to release $500,000 to help set up a war crimes tribunal in the former Yugoslavia? This tribunal will not only try to understand what happened, but also to identify and take action against those responsible. I clearly recall sitting in this House as the parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Immigration made her speech, in which she indicated that this tribunal would have nine members, including a Canadian lawyer, and the word "genocide" was used without hesitation.
The same with the recent events in Rwanda, although we were not afraid to take a lucid look at the situation in that particular case. We were not afraid to call things by their rightful name, seeing that, as parliamentarians, we believe in the power of words. Anyone who believes in the power of words is able to use the appropriate word. In this case, the word to use in our speeches-and we should say it loud and clear in a unanimous voice-is not tragedy, desolation, exaction or wrongdoing, it is genocide.
Why is this government afraid, insecure all of sudden and carrying partisanship to the point of acting like a tartuffe and an hypocrite, by making all kinds of amendments to dilute a motion that would have made us grow in stature as parliamentarians. I will tell you why. And I do not think it takes a Ph.D. in political science to figure out what the members opposite are up to.
We all know that Turkey is a middle power in the Middle East. We also know that Turkey plays a lead role, it is a key player within NATO. This government refuses to seize the opportunity to take its responsibilities and to truly promote human rights by calling a spade a spade.
Do you think Armenians are proud of the Canadian government today? Do you think anyone working for non-profit organizations, in the international co-operation sector, or for any of the major international organizations responsible for the protection of human rights is proud of the hypocritical attitude of this government? No.
A few days ago, I had the pleasure of attending the UN conference on human rights, in Geneva. The speeches made on that occasion by the Canadian delegation stressed how supportive and involved Canada was regarding any international mission that concerns human rights. Where is the consistency between being involved in any number of UN initiatives to promote human rights and being about to vote like this government?
Some might say that, when it comes to history, all sorts of interpretations can be made. I will conclude by reminding you of something very important. In April 1984, the Permanent People's Tribunal was asked to answer the three following questions: Was the Armenian people a victim of deportation and massacre during the First World War? Second question: Do these events constitute a genocide? Third question: What were the consequences, both for the international community and for the parties involved?
The answer is as follows, and I conclude with that: The Permanent People's Tribunal, whose members could all have sat on the International court of justice, concluded that: "Armenian populations were and are a people whose basic, individual and collective rights should or must be respected, in accordance with international law. The extermination of Armenian populations through deportation and massacre is an imprescriptible crime of genocide-genocide, Mr. Speaker-within the meaning of the convention of December 9, 1948".
The international law has spoken and the official opposition has taken its responsibilities. It is up to this government to show the integrity and the courage expected of it.