| Contact the Holocaust Memorial Day organizers, members of the Steering Committee, and others involved in the planning of this commemoration.
A sample letter that you can "cut and paste" is provided below, though it would be more appropriate and have more impact if you write your own letter. If you prefer to communicate by telephone, a sample phone script is provided.
(Send a note to british_armenian@hotmail.com to tell us what actions you have taken and to inform us of any responses that you
have received.)
List of Organizations to Contact
1) The official website for UK's Holocaust Memorial Day is: www.holocaustmemorialday.gov.uk
Please visit this site and send a letter to the organizers of this commemoration.
2) Contact the official government departments involved in this issue:
-- Race Equality Unit
Home Office,
50 Queen Anne's Gate
London SW1H 9AT
enquiries@holocaustmemorialday.gov.uk
-- Department for Education and Employment
Sanctuary Buildings
Great Smith Street
London SW1P 3BT
www.dfee.gov.uk
-- Department for Culture, Media and Sport
2-4 Cockspur St
London SW1Y 5DH
www.heritage.gov.uk
-- Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Post-Holocaust Issues
King Charles St
London SW1A 2AH
-- Inner Cities Religious Council (ICRC)
Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions
4/K10 Eland House
Bressenden Place
London SW1E 5DU
Tel: (020) 7944 3704
Fax: (020) 7944 3709
Email: icrc@detr.gov.uk
www.detr.gov.uk
2) Contact the following non-governmental organizations involved
in this issue:
-- Aegis Genocide Prevention Initiative
The Aegis Trust
PO Box 2002
Newark, Notts. NG22 9ZG
Tel: 01623 836978
Fax: 01623 862950
Email: jmsmith@aegistrust.org
www.aegistrust.org
-- Amnesty International
99-119 Rosebery Avenue
London, EC1R 4RE
Tel: 020 7814 6200
Fax: 020 7833 1510
Email: information@amnesty.org.uk
www.amnesty.org.uk
-- Anne Frank Educational Trust UK
PO Box 11880, London N6 4LN
Tel: 020 8340 9077
Fax: 020 8340 9088
Email: afet@afet.org.uk
www.afet.org.uk
-- Beth Shalom Holocaust Centre
Laxton, Newark Notts, NG22 0PA
Tel: 01623 836627
Fax: 01623 836647
Email: office@bethshalom.com
www.bethshalom.com
-- Board of Deputies of British Jews - Education Department
Education Officer
Commonwealth House
1-19 New Oxford Street
London, WC1A 1NU
Tel: 020 7543 5400
Fax: 020 7543 0010
www.bod.org.uk
-- The Commission for Racial Equality
Elliot House, 10-12 Allington Street
London, SW1E 5EH
Tel: 020 7828 7022
Fax: 020 7630 7605
Email: info@cre.gov.uk
www.cre.gov.uk
-- The Council of Christians and Jews
5th Floor, 87 Albert Embankment
London, SE1 7PP
Tel: 020 7388
Fax: 020 7388 3305
Email: ccjuk@aol.com
www.jcrelations.net/index.htm
-- The Disability Rights Commission
DRC Helpline
Freepost, MID 02164
Stratford-Upon-Avon, CV37 9BR
Tel: 08457 622633
Fax: 08457 622611
Email: ddahelp@stra.sitel.co.uk
www.drc-gb.org
-- Equal Opportunities Commission
Overseas House,
Quay Street, Manchester
Tel: 0161 833 9244
-- The Holocaust Educational Trust
BCM Box 7892, London, WC1N 3XX
Tel: 020 7222 6822
Fax: 020 7233 0161
Email: hetrust@compuserve.com
www.het.org.uk
-- Human Rights Watch
33 Islington High Street
London, N1 9LH
Tel: 020 7713 1995
Fax: 020 7713 1800
www.humanrightswatch.com
-- The Imperial War Museum
Lambeth Road
London, SE1 6HZ
Tel: 020 7416 5313/5444
Fax: 020 7416 5440
Email: lr-edu@iwm.org.uk
www.iwm.org.uk
-- Institute of Contemporary History and Wiener Library
4 Devonshire Street
London, W1N 2BH
Tel: 020 7636 7247
Fax: 020 7436 6428
Email: lib@wl.u-net.com
www.wienerlibrary.co.uk
-- Inter Faith Network
5-7 Taverstock Place
London WC1H 9SN
Tel. (020) 7388 0008
Fax. (020) 7387 7968
E-mail: ifnet@interfaith.org.uk
www.interfaith.org.uk
-- Jehovah's Witnesses
Public Affairs Office
Watch Tower House
The Ridgeway
London NW7 1RN
Tel: 020 8906 2211
Fax: 020 8371 0051
E-mail: pr@wtbts.org.uk
www.disc.co.uk/standfirm/
-- London Jewish Cultural Centre
The Old House, c/o Kings College
Kidderpore Avenue
London, NW3 7SZ
Tel: 020 7431 0345
Fax: 020 7431 0361
Email: admin@ljcc.org.uk
www.LJCC.org.uk
-- London Jewish Museum
80 East End Road
London N3 2SY
Tel: 020 8349 1143
Fax: 020 8343 2162
-- Manchester Jewish Museum
190 Cheetham Hill Road
Manchester, M8 8LW
Tel: 0161 834 9879
Fax: 0161 832 7353
National Union of Students
461 Holloway Road
London, N7
Tel: 020 7272 8900
-- Parkes Institute for the Study
of Jewish/non-Jewish Relations
University of Southampton
C/o Department of History
University of Southampton
Highfield, Southampton, SO19 1BJ
Tel: 023 8059 2261
Fax: 023 8059 3458
Email: Parkes@soton.ac.uk
www.soton.ac.uk/~parkes/welcome.htm
-- The Pink Triangle Coalition
Tel: 020 7706 3123
Email: info@pinktrianglecoalition.org.uk
www.pinktrianglecoalition.org.uk
-- The Refugee Council
3 Bondway
London, Sw8 1SJ
Tel: 020 7820 3085
Email: info@refugeecouncil.demon.co.uk
www.refugeecouncil.org.uk
-- Simon Wiesenthal Center - Museum of Tolerance
9760 West Pico Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90035-4792
Tel: 310 553 9036
Fax: 310 772 7655
Email: Library@wiesenthal.net
www.wiesenthal.com
-- Stonewall
46 Grovesnor Gardens
London, SE1
Tel: 020 7881 9440
-- Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation
UK liason: 020-7483-3981
U.S. office: 001-818-7802
P.O. Box 3168,
Los Angeles, CA, 90078-3168
www.vhf.org
-- Union of Jewish Students
1-2 Endsleigh Street
London, WC1H 0DS
Tel: 020 7387 4644
Fax: 020 7383 0390
-- United Nations High Commission for Refugees - UNHCR
www.unhcr.ch
-- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Education Resource Centre, USHMM
100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW
Washington, DC 20024-2156
Email: Education@ushmm.org
www.ushmm.org
-- The Wiener Library
4 Devonshire Street
London W1W 5BH
Tel: (020) 7636 7247
Fax: (020) 7436 6428
Email: lib@wl.u-net.com
www.wienerlibrary.co.uk
-- Yad Vashem Committee, UK
(Board of Deputies of British Jews)
Commonwealth House
1-19 New Oxford Street
London, WC1A 1NF
Tel: 020 7543 5400
Fax: 020 7543 0010
-- Yad Vashem, Israel
Education Office
PO Box 3477, Jerusalem 91034
Tel: 972 2 644 3400
Fax: 972 2 643 3511
www.yadvashem.org.il
Sample Letter
Dear Sir/Madam:
I am writing to express my profound disappointment with the exclusion of any mention of the Armenian Genocide from the upcoming Holocaust Memorial Day program on January 27th.
While I fully support this worthwhile commemoration, I am extremely troubled that the Turkish government has been allowed to pressure our government into compromising on this fundamental human rights issue.
The absence of discussion on the Armenian Genocide is particularly troubling given that the Steering Group's Statement of Commitment specifically notes that its mission is to "promote education and research about the Holocaust and other genocide... to make sure that the lessons of such events are fully learnt."
It is my understanding that the reasons cited by the Home Office for excluding mention of the Armenian Genocide were that such mention would somehow detract from the "contemporary relevance" of the commemoration and risk diluting its message by including "too much history." I respectfully disagree. In fact, exactly the opposite is true.
No discussion of genocide can be considered complete without appropriate consideration of the Armenian Genocide. The Holocaust Day memorial programs should include a careful examination of the implications of the Armenian Genocide for the systematic massacres which followed - including the genocide of European Jews, Gypsies, and Poles by Nazi Germany, and those that followed in Cambodia, Rwanda, and elsewhere.
The inclusion of Armenian Genocide is all the more important given the Turkish government's ongoing campaign to deny this crime against humanity. It is the responsibility of all of us who share a commitment to human rights to reject this shameful campaign and to resist any politically motivated efforts to deny or cover up genocide, past or present.
In recent weeks, we have seen the European Parliament, French Senate, and Italian Parliament all adopt Armenian Genocide resolutions Pope John Paul II, on November 9th, issued a powerful statement on the Genocide of the Armenians. The consideration of the Armenian Genocide, rather than including "too much history," would help illuminate the patterns and precedents of genocide in the 20th century.
I respectfully call upon you to take immediate steps to formally protest the exclusion of the Armenian Genocide from Holocaust Memorial Day.
Sincerely yours,
_________________
Sample Phone Script
(The phone will be answered by a receptionist. Ask to speak directly to the person handling the planning of Holocaust Memorial Day activities. If he/she is not available, leave a written or voice-mail message.)
Hello,
I am calling to ask you to protest the exclusion of the Armenian
Genocide from the upcoming Holocaust Memorial Day program on
January 27th.
While I fully support this worthwhile commemoration, I am extremely
troubled that the Turkish government has been allowed to pressure
our government into compromising on this fundamental human rights
issue.
No discussion of genocide can be complete without appropriate
consideration of the Armenian Genocide. The Holocaust Day memorial
programs should include a careful examination of the implications
of the Armenian Genocide for the systematic massacres which
followed - including the genocide of European Jews, Gypsies, and
Poles by Nazi Germany, and those that followed in Cambodia, Rwanda,
and elsewhere.
I respectfully ask that you file a formal protest with the
Government and contact me with the result of your actions. I can
be reached at ________________.
Thank you.
Background:
Genocide is a crime like no other. It literally means to murder or to try to murder an entire race.
The Armenian Genocide of 1915 to 1923 was committed by the Turkish government of the Ottoman Turkish Empire. One and a half million innocent people were murdered. At that time, the leaders of the United Kingdom, France and Russia condemned these "crimes against humanity". Newspapers from all over the world provided extensive coverage of the Armenian Genocide.
Correspondents for the Times wrote about entire towns in Turkey where "the whole Armenian population... numbering some 10,000 souls, was thus exterminated" (22 May 1916. Times, London). And where "women and children... were subjected to brutal treatment" (21 December 1915. Times, London).
In 1916 the British Government commissioned Viscount James Bryce to compile evidence in regards to the systematic and deliberate destruction of the Armenian people. He presented over 150 documents, which recounted eyewitness descriptions of the massacres. These documents were published as 'Treatment of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, 1915-16'. It remains to this day one of the most compelling works on the Armenian Genocide.
Raphael Lemkin, the scholar and historian who invented the word 'genocide,' explained its definition as being what "the Turks did to the Armenians, and the Germans did to the Jews". Since that time, many governments, institutions and parliaments all over the world have recognized and commemorated the Armenian Genocide, including, just this year, the French Senate, the Italian Parliament, and the European Parliament (for the second time), as well as the Swedish Prime Minister and Pope John Paul II.
Despite the overwhelming evidence the Turkish government still claims that the Armenian Genocide never took place. |
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