Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - XI. Armenia in modern times
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
ARMENIA IN MODERN TIMES 323
relieving the desperate plight of the scattered rcmnants of the
Turkish Armenians. The most appropriate territory for their
settlement would surely be in Russian Armenia. FaciHtks are
ofFered by the local Government. . . .
Here follows an account of the plan which was then under
consideration, but which had not been so completely worked
out as the present project, and was more difficult to put into
practice. In conclusion the address says :
It is in our opinion the duty of Great Britain to give substantial
support to this scheme. We dcsire to express our view that, as
some compensation for unfulfilled pledges is morally due to the
Armenians, the British Government should forthwith make an
Stanley Baldwin.
One should think that this concise and challenging appeal
by two of the leading statesmen of Great Britain could not be
ignored ; and no doubt Mr. Ramsay MacDonald and the
Labour Party would gladly have done what was asked. But
he was shortly afterwards defeated, and the Conservative
Party, led by Mr. Baldwin, came into power. Surely the time
had come at last ! But Mr. Baldwin’s Government refused to
do anything whatsoever for the Armenian nation, or for the
refugees to whom some compensation was " morally due."
In despair one can only ask what it all meant. Was it, in
reality, nothing but a gesture—mere empty words with no
serious intention behind them ?
And the League of Nations—has it no feeling of responsi
bility either ? By compelling its High Commissioner for
Refugees, in spite of his repeated refusals, to take up the
cause of the Armenian refugees, the League has almost
certainly prevented others from organizing effective measures
to help the Armenians ; for it was assumed that the League
of Nations would not espouse a cause of this nature without
being able to deal with it satisfactorily, especially after all the
pledges given by the Powers. Does the League consider that
it has now done its duty, and does it imagine that it can let
the matter drop without undermining the prestige of the
League, especially in the East ?
important grant. . . .
{Signed) H. H. Asquith.
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
