Dear Honorable Members of the House of Commons,
Timothy Loughton MP’s private members bill which will have a second reading on the 18th of March 2022 regarding the recognition of “Armenian Genocide” is not supported by history and law.
Genocide is a legal term internationally defined by the 1948 UN Genocide Convention. Article 4 of the Convention classifies crime of genocide as committed by persons, not by a state. And according to article 6, this crime must be heard and proven by a specific court.
Without a fair judicial trial, parliaments – e.g., the House of Commons – has no legal and legislative authority for characterising a historical event as genocide.
Moreover, Timothy Loughton’s bill portrays Turkish Nation as perpetrator of genocide, contrary to the framework of the Convention and sadly demonstrates the characteristics of an anti-Turkish, anti-Muslim hate speech