First Minister of Wales recognises the Armenian Genocide on Holocaust Memorial Day

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.

Public Radio of Armenia