HC Deb 28 February 1921 vol 138 cc1424-5
Mr. A. WILLIAMS

(by Private Notice) asked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he can give the House any information as to the wholesale massacres reported to have been committed recently by the Turks in the Armenian territory occupied by them in the district of Kars and Alexandropol?

Mr. HARMSWORTH

His Majesty's Government have no authoritative information later than 24th December, when it was stated, on Armenian and British authority, that no massacres had occurred and that American relief was continuing. Later news, however, reports from Armenian sources that deportation and murder have occurred, and that the Armenian Government have protested. His Majesty's Government have no information of wholesale massacres.

Mr. WILLIAMS

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that private individuals can get information in much less time than two months from the Caucasus?

Mr. HARMSWORTH

I am afraid there are different grades of value in the information.

Lord R. CECIL

May I ask whether we have not a representative at Tiflis, and whether inquiry has been made of him?

Mr. HARMSWORTH

I think that at the moment we have not a representative at Tiflis, but I will inform the Noble Lord to-morrow.

Mr. WILLIAMS

Does the hon. Gentleman suggest that my information is not correct, when he says that the information is of different values?

Sir C. WARNER

Is it not the case that some of these massacres which have been reported have been found never to have happened at all?

Mr. HARMSWORTH

I hope my hon. Friend (Mr. A. Williams) will not think that I meant any discourtesy to him, but there is grave discrepancy sometimes between information from some sources and that which we get officially.

Mr. WATERSON

Does not that apply in the case of Ireland?

Lord R. CECIL

Will the hon. Gentleman really make some inquiry into this matter? If there are no British representatives there, possibly he could get some foreign Government to inquire of its representative?

Mr. HARMSWORTH

We shall explore every avenue we can in order to get information.