Mr. Speaker, as the grandson of a Holocaust survivor, I appreciate the opportunity to mark in the House of Commons the 107th anniversary of the Armenian genocide.
The Armenian genocide was the first genocide of the 20th century. Well over a million Armenian Christians and members of other communities of the Ottoman Empire were systematically and brutally killed. This genocide was barely recognized for decades and it continues to be denied today, most notably by the Turkish state.
Genocide denial matters. Denial of past genocide enables future criminals to hope their crimes will be ignored as well. When he was planning the Holocaust, Hitler said, in 1939, “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?” Those who deny historical genocides are not just debating history; they are paving the way for current and future crimes. Crimes against the Armenian people continue today from those who deny the right of self-determination and the importance of resolving disputes peacefully.
What happened to Armenians 107 years ago impacted the life of my grandmother, a German, Jewish girl who had not been born yet. The continuing denial of genocide affects the safety and security of all of us and of generations to come. To honour the survivors and for our own safety's sake, we remember.