HC Deb 13 August 1919 vol 119 cc1304-6
Mr. A. WILLIAMS

I desire to put to the Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs a question of which I have given him private notice. as a matter of special urgency Whether the British forces in Trans-Caucasia are to be withdrawn immediately, and, if so, whether any arrangements have been or can be made to prevent Woodshed among the different races inhabiting that region; whether the has information that the Kurds, Tartars, Turks, and Georgians are attacking, or preparing to attack, the Armenian Republic of Erivan, and, if so, whether the Armenians, having been our friends in the late War, will be rendered any assistance or left to their fate; further, whether the Italian Government has withdrawn its promise to send troops to Armenia to prevent massacre after the withdrawal of British troops; whether the Government of the United States has accepted a mandate for that region, and, if not, what steps have been taken to bridge the interval between the withdrawal of our troops and the establishment of some other separate government in the country?

Mr. HARMSWORTH

My hon. Friend gave me notice of this question only since the House assembled, and I have, therefore, not been able to refresh my memory in regard to all the questions. I can, however, assure him that this very important matter is under the immediate consideration of the Peace Conference at Paris.

Mr. T. P. O'CONNOR

May I ask my hon. Friend whether he will communicate to the Powers in Paris what I think would be the universal feeling of horror excited if the Armenians, who have already lost 1,000,000 people in this War by massacre, be handed over once more without protection, to the same people who were guilty of those foul and wholesale massacres?

Mr. HARMSWORTH

I will certainly convey that message to our representatives in Paris.

Mr. NEIL MACLEAN

Is this not a case where the League of Nations ought to act in a prompt manner to safeguard the people in Armenia?

Mr. HARMSWORTH

I should not like to give an answer off-hand to that question.

Lord R. CECIL

Will the hon. Gentleman say whether the Government have any hope of anything being done to relieve these unhappy people, and whether our obligations to the Armenians are not at least as strong as those to General Denikin?

Mr. HARMSWORTH

I am sure that all those considerations are in the mind of the Government.

Lieut-Commander KENWORTHY

The Armenians are not aristocrats.