EvanL
04-21-2004, 11:02 PM
2 hours, 34 minutes ago
OTTAWA (AFP) - Canada's House of Commons rejected appeals from Foreign Minister Bill Graham by adopting a resolution to recognize that Turkey, Canada's ally in NATO (news - web sites), committed genocide in Armenia in 1915.
AFP/File Photo
The 301-seat House of Commons voted 153 to 68 in favour of the resolution, thanks to support from many members of the governing Liberal Party. Several MPs said Graham had asked them to vote down the measure during closed-door Liberal meetings.
The motion recognized Turkey's alleged genocide as "a crime against humanity."
It has symbolic value and will not define policy.
In the vote, several leading members of the Liberal Party, including parliamentary secretaries, voted in favour. However, no full cabinet minister voted against.
Aris Babikian, of the Armenian National Committee of Canada, pointed out that several key cabinet ministers, including Justice Minister Irwin Cotler and even Prime Minister Paul Martin, were absent for the vote.
He suggested they were absent because they did not want to vote against the motion.
However, Babikian said it was a great "moral victory," which would add pressure on Turkey to at least recognize the genocide and even apologize for it.
At a celebration party after Tuesday's vote, Babikian said he owed this victory to his grandfather who "lost six brothers and sisters in the genocide" and "saw his own six-year-old sister burned to death."
RIP
OTTAWA (AFP) - Canada's House of Commons rejected appeals from Foreign Minister Bill Graham by adopting a resolution to recognize that Turkey, Canada's ally in NATO (news - web sites), committed genocide in Armenia in 1915.
AFP/File Photo
The 301-seat House of Commons voted 153 to 68 in favour of the resolution, thanks to support from many members of the governing Liberal Party. Several MPs said Graham had asked them to vote down the measure during closed-door Liberal meetings.
The motion recognized Turkey's alleged genocide as "a crime against humanity."
It has symbolic value and will not define policy.
In the vote, several leading members of the Liberal Party, including parliamentary secretaries, voted in favour. However, no full cabinet minister voted against.
Aris Babikian, of the Armenian National Committee of Canada, pointed out that several key cabinet ministers, including Justice Minister Irwin Cotler and even Prime Minister Paul Martin, were absent for the vote.
He suggested they were absent because they did not want to vote against the motion.
However, Babikian said it was a great "moral victory," which would add pressure on Turkey to at least recognize the genocide and even apologize for it.
At a celebration party after Tuesday's vote, Babikian said he owed this victory to his grandfather who "lost six brothers and sisters in the genocide" and "saw his own six-year-old sister burned to death."
RIP