Protest Against Aris Babikian's Attempt to Exclude Greeks from Genocide Recognition in Ontario

Canadian politician Aris Babikian is currently seeking the passage of a Bill that will exclude many Greek victims of the Greek Genocide from recognition and deny them closure. Please read the following letter and if you agree, email it to Mr Babikian, and also cc it to Julie Dabrusin and The Armenian National Committee of Canada. You can also email individual Ontarian MPP's by visiting the following website.

 

Subject: Bill 97 and Mr Babikian's Attempt to Exclude Greeks From Genocide Recognition.

Recipients:
Mr Aris Babikian: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
cc: Julie Dabrusin: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
cc: Armenian National Committee of Canada: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

To whom it may concern,

I am writing to express my objection to Ontarian MPP Mr. Aris Babikian and his decision to exclude many Greeks from genocide recognition.

Mr. Babikian is currently seeking recognition for only a portion of the Greek victims of the Greek Genocide. He is asking the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to only recognize the genocide of “The Pontian Greeks from 1916-1923”; in other words, the genocide of Greeks only from the region of Pontus in Ottoman Turkey. This, despite affirmation by many genocide scholars that during this period, Greeks from many other regions were victims too. Mr Babikian's policy to exclude other Greeks from recognition is unjust and I am deeply disturbed by it.

Please note that in November 2018, a motion was put before the Senate of Canada to likewise only recognize the genocide of Greeks from the region of Pontus, and it was rejected. After the vote, Senator Sinclair who abstained from voting said:

"I would like to point out that I found the motion itself to be acceptable insofar as it related to Pontic Greeks, but it was not inclusive of all the Greeks who were subject to the genocide at that time. I thought it was too narrow. I abstained because it was not properly inclusive."

Genocide is the ultimate act of exclusion, therefore this attempt by Mr. Babikian to exclude so many Greeks from recognition is unacceptable and I urge the Legislative Assembly to only pass it if all Greeks are included. The Bill should simply seek the recognition of “The Greeks from 1914-1923”.

In 2007, the International Association of Genocide Scholars, one of the world's foremost experts on genocide affirmed the Greek Genocide as having occurred throughout all of Anatolia (current day Turkey). In 2013 the Legislative Assembly of New South Wales recognized the Greek Genocide, while only last month the State of Alabama in the U.S.A also recognized the Greek Genocide.

I urge the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to respect the historical record and include all the Greek victims of the Greek Genocide in Bill 97 and not follow the policy of exclusion which Mr Babikian has unfortunately taken.

Best,

 

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