Holocaust Memorial Day (Hansard, 16 January 2001)

§ Mr. Dismore
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the programme for Holocaust memorial day. [144888]

§ Mr. Mike O'Brien
A national ceremony will be held in London on the evening of Saturday 27 January and will be attended by a wide audience including survivors, senior public figures, community representatives and students.
There is a wide range of activities being planned by local authorities and community groups around the country. They have been encouraged to put details of their activities on the dedicated website www.holocaustmemorialday.gov.uk.
We also anticipate that schools will use the new Holocaust education resource pack in the week leading up to Holocaust memorial day to mark the day in appropriate ways. We are receiving very positive feedback on its suitability and usefulness for this purpose.

§ Mrs. Lait
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reasons the Armenian genocide up to 1923 will not be included in the Holocaust memorial day programme. [144831]

§ Mr. Mike O'Brien
Holocaust memorial day is focused on learning the lessons of the holocaust and other more recent atrocities that raise similar issues. We took a conscious decision to focus on events around the holocaust and thereafter, although we did examine requests to consider the atrocities and other events that preceded the holocaust. Examples include the crusades, slavery, colonialism, the victims of Stalin and the Boer war. It is always difficult to draw a line and wherever it is drawn it runs the risk of being misinterpreted.
A particular focus on events around the period 1939–45 and thereafter should not be seen as failing to acknowledge, sympathise and respect the concerns about prior events.
The massacres of Armenians in 1915–16 were an appalling tragedy condemned by the Government of the day and now. We understand the strength of feeling about this terrible period and extend our sympathies to the descendants of the victims.
We fully understand that the Armenian community may feel that Holocaust memorial day is an appropriate one for them to recall the dreadful massacres of Armenia. 204W Others will also seek to highlight atrocities. The Government's decision to give a particular focus to the day does not prevent recollection of other appalling events which may raise similar issues. I understand Armenians remember the events of 1915–16 on another date.

§ Mr. Dismore
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the response to Holocaust memorial day by local authorities; and if he will make a statement. [144886]

§ Mr. Mike O'Brien
There is a wide range of activities being planned by local authorities and community groups around the country. They have been encouraged to put details of their activities on the dedicated website wow.holocaustmemorialday.gov.uk. The Local Government Association (LGA) issued a reminder circular about this on 9 January. The LGA also plan to conduct a survey of local authorities' response to the day next month. This will help to inform planning for future years.

§ Mr. Brady
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he has taken to encourage local authorities to support Holocaust memorial day. [145589]

§ Mr. Mike O'Brien
[holding answer 15 January 2001]: On 23 October the Local Government Association sent guidance to local authorities on ways they can mark the day, encouraging them to involve local communities and groups. This guidance was produced by a working group chaired by the Acting Chief Executive of the London borough of Barnet and involved a number of representatives of non-governmental organisations with experience and expertise in holocaust education and remembrance. The guidance has been distributed to a wide range of voluntary and community groups through the Commission for Race Equality, the National Association of Councils for Voluntary Service, Stonewall, the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the Holocaust Educational Trust, and the Inter Faith Network. This effort was reinforced by seminars for local authority chief officers run jointly by the Local Government Association (LGA) and Beth Shalom Memorial Centre.
A wide range of activities are being planned by local authorities and community groups around the country. They have been encouraged to put details of their activities on the dedicated website www.holocaustmemorialday.gov.uk. The LGA issued a reminder circular about this on 9 January. The LGA also plan to conduct a survey of local authorities' response to the day next month. This will help to inform planning for future years.