FIRST MINISTER OF WALES RECOGNISES THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE ON HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY
armradio.am
28.01.2010 15:32
Yesterday, exactly two years after the desecration of our Armenian
Genocide Monument, was an historic day for the Welsh and Armenian
nations. The road to Genocide recognition, which began on 24th April
2001, when Rhodri Morgan, (then First Minister), laid flowers in
memory of the 1915 Genocide Victims, was completed in Cardiff with
an explicit recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the new First
Minister Carwyn Jones.
The National Holocaust Day event was supported by the government
of Wales (Welsh Assembly Government) and Cardiff City Council, the
municipality of Wales’ capital. The Genocide was also recognised at
the event by guest speaker Rabbi Aron Hier from the Simon Wiesenthal
Centre, Los Angeles. The sharp diplomacy of Mr. John Torosyan, the
moving spitit of the Welsh Armenian community was an imprtant factor
in this historic acheivement.
Later Armenians, Welsh people and Assyrian-Chaldean-Syriacs
from the Iraqi Christian Association of Wales laid flowers
at the beautifully-restored Armenian Genocide Monument behind
the Temple of Peace. One of the bouqes read "In memory of the
Assyrian-Chaldean-Syriac Victims of the 1915 Genocide,of the 1933
Simel Massacres and of the 2003-2010 ethnic cleansing in Iraq". Fr
Shnork Baghdassaryan preyed at the Khatkar, and also took part at
the Holocaust ceremony earlier.
Carwyn Jones belongs to the Labour Party, as does Gordon Brown, Prime
Minister of the UK who will now be under huge pressure following
this crack in the UK Labour ranks. This recognition will also send
shock waves through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London,
which has been the architect of the Labour Party policy of supporting
the Turkish denialist position at all costs.
It is noticeable that while parliamnents throughout the World have
passed resolutions recognising the Genocide, this recognition is
of more signifigance as it comes from the government of Wales (in
addition to the past recognition by the National Assembly of Wales
(2002) and the Presiding Officer of the National Assembly (2007)
This is the first policy on an international issue created by the 10
year old Welsh government. It is supported by the quasi-totality of
Welsh Members of the UK parliament. This issue has been resolved even
though the size of the Welsh-Armenian community is under 40 people,
free-lance correspondent Jean Eckian reports.