Commemorating the Armenian Genocide
|
Dear Members of the Armenian community in the United Kingdom,
Thank you for your continued support of ANC UK in our efforts to influence and guide UK policy on the issues of Artsakh and the recognition of the Armenian Genocide. This month we commemorate the 106th anniversary of the Genocide, where we remember all the victims of this terrible crime against humanity and continue to call for justice and recognition of the atrocities committed as genocide.
We will continue to represent the interests of the Armenian community in the UK political arena to ensure that the voice of Armenians in the UK remains strong. This newsletter provides a brief update on the actions we have taken over the past three weeks.
|
Social Media Campaign to Recognise the Armenian Genocide
|
We have reached out to a large number of MPs and APPGs to ask them to participate in a Social Media Campaign to raise awareness about the Armenian Genocide. Our followers can also share these images with appropriate hashtags and write to their MPs and ask them to do so as well.
When: between 23-25 April
Example 1: Today we commemorate the 106th anniversary of the #ArmenianGenocide,
which saw the systematic murder and ethnic cleansing of over half of the Armenian, Assyrian, Greek and other minority populations of the Ottoman Empire. I stand with all Armenians.
#RecogniseTheArmenianGenocide
Example 2: Every year on 24th April we remember the 1.5 million victims of the #ArmenianGenocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire in 1915. #Recognisethearmeniangenocide #JusticeforArmenians
Example 3: I stand with Armenians around the world and call upon the UK government to finally recognise the #ArmenianGenocide and correct a 106-year injustice. #Neveragain
Please feel free to write your own tweets adding the following hashtags:
#ArmenianGenocide #Neveragain #RecogniseTheArmenianGenocide #JusticeforArmenians
It would be helpful if you could tag ANC UK in your posts. On Twitter, our username is @ANCUK_org, on Facebook it is @ArmenianNationalCommitteeUK and on Instagram it is @armenian_national_committee_uk. In addition, you can use the assets available on our website and designed for Twitter and Instagram to make your message more impactful. We appreciate your continued support and hope you will join our campaign. We would be happy to assist with any materials or further information that you need for your posts.
|
Ruben Malayan, a renowned Armenian artist and calligrapher, has developed one of the images for our campaing this year.
|
|
|
Our campaign: Act to Help POWs
|
Hundreds of prisoners of war continue to be held captive by the Azeris over five months after the war ended. Our campaign “Release all POW’s now and stop the inhumane treatment of those held captive by Azerbaijan and allow Artsakh and Armenia to collect their dead” continues to be of importance.
The APPG for Armenia officers wrote to the Foreign Minister about the POWs last week and they received a reply stating that the Minister is raising this issue directly with Azerbaijan.
ANC UK also wrote to the UK Permanent Representative to the Council of Europe Neil Holland and the PACE UK delegation and asked them to support us by doing everything in its power, including the imposition of sanctions, to persuade the autocratic state of Azerbaijan to put an end to these serious human rights violations and to repatriate the imprisoned prisoners of war, servicemen and civilians.
Condemn Azerbaijan for not releasing the hundreds of POWs and the inhumane treatment of those held captive by Azerbaijan by writing to your MP today.
|
Our actions on your behalf
|
 |
Over the last few weeks, we have continued to raise our concerns with the government and raise awareness through media coverage and events. Here are the actions we have taken on your behalf:
1. We have launched a social media campaign on the issue of the Armenian Genocide encouraging APPG members and other MPs to express their support for the cause (see above).
3. We issued a press statement in response to Azerbaijan’s opening of a vile ‘War Trophies Park’, created solely to incite hatred against Armenians. The issue was covered by the Independent and EurasiaNet.
4. Baroness Cox, member of the APPG for Armenia, wrote a parliamentary question to ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will formally observe Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day on 24 April. You can read the government’s response (which is a positive move away from denial but still far from acknowledgement) on the Parliament website.
5. We have organised a private briefing for Members of Parliament, chaired by the chairman of the APPG for Armenia, Tim Loughton MP, which will focus on the history of
genocide and ethnic cleansing in Armenia and surrounding areas. MPs will hear
from genocide scholars and experts, including Anna Astvatsaturian Turcotte, Hayk Demoyan and Henry C. Theriault.
6. As part of the commemoration of the Armenian Genocide, ANC UK will accompany Tim Loughton MP to the Cenotaph on 23 April and Ealing MPs to the Apricot tree on 25th April.
A full list of events on how we are commemorating the Armenian Genocide can be found below. A march will potentially be planned this summer when it is hopefully safer for us to gather.
|
 |
We will also continue to provide direct support to Tim Loughton MP in the drafting and promotion of the private members’ bill on the Recognition of the Armenian Genocide, which he mentioned during our latest event.
We will continue to take action on your behalf to raise awareness, influence and guide UK policy and represent the collective British Armenian viewpoint on the issue of Artsakh. If you have any ideas or suggestions, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
|
1. Participate in our campaign by writing to your MP to raise awareness about what is happening to POWs. ANC has templates on our website. It’s just a click of a button.
|
2. Write to your MP using a personal message, with a compelling story about why the issue matters to you, asking them for a meeting. If you secure a meeting, ANC UK will be happy to brief you ahead of this and provide you with any necessary materials.
3. The committee has so far worked on volunteer capacity and we would like to raise funds to employ full-time staff in the near future and need our community to assist us in this. Please consider donating to ANC UK and help us continue our work. With everything that we’ve all been through and all that lies ahead, we need your faith, your friendship, and financial generosity more than ever before.
4. Get in touch with us by responding to this email if you are interested in becoming a rapid responder, giving you the opportunity to be more involved in our campaigning work and allowing us to use your name in contacting MPs quickly and directly.
5. If you haven’t already filled out the Census, please do so ASAP, and ensure that you mention your Armenian identity.
6. Get in touch if you would like to engage with your MP on the issue of the Armenian Genocide and would like support in contacting them.
|
Want to Support the work of ANC UK?
|
|
|
|
|
