HISTORIC TREATMENT OF MINORITIES IN TURKEY

Early day motion 1588, tabled 3 June 2009 by Andrew Dismore (Labour). Signed by 24 members.

That this House notes the statement by the Turkish Prime Minister recognising that Turkey's minorities have been ethnically cleansed; calls on the Government also to recognise this fact; suggests that a measure of restitution which could be made by the government of Turkey to demonstrate its good intentions would be the return to the jurisdiction of the respective Patriarchates the 2,000 Armenian, Assyrian and Syriac churches and religious monuments which were expropriated in 1923 by the Turkish State under the law of abandoned properties following the events of the 1915 Genocide; and urges the Government to make representations to Turkey to this effect.

Signatures by party: Labour 16, Liberal Democrat 3, Social Democratic and Labour Party 3, Independent 2.