West London MPs and councillors paid tribute to the Armenian Genocide Memorial in Ealing Broadway last Saturday.

The memorial, a sculpture depicting an eternal flame, is a new installation which stands as a commemoration of the hundreds of thousands of lives lost during the first world war from the systematic persecution and execution of the Armenian People. 

In attendance were MPs Rupa Huq, Ruth Cadbury, James Murray, Virendra Sharma, Ealing Councillor Bassam Mahfouz leader of Ealing Council Peter Mason as well as Mayor Hitesh Tailor.

They joined the Armenian Ambassador to the UK, Varuzhan Nersesyan, to pay tribute to the community's culture and history.  

Speaking at the event, Huq said: "In Ealing we have a vibrant and sizeable Armenian community and many members are hyphenated Armenians—Iranian-Armenians, Syrian-Armenians or Turkish-Armenians—underscoring that this is a country that has had pogroms, massacres and genocides for many years.

"The Armenian community of Ealing and Acton reminds us of how wide the Armenian diaspora is: it is scattered throughout many countries, forced out by continuous persecution, genocide and displacement.  

"Ealing has long commemorated the Armenian genocide of 1915 and I call for the Government, as I have done time and time before, let's call this as it is.

"Our closest ally Joe Biden of the US has… let's recognise 1915 as a genocide." 

Ealing Central & Acton MP, Rupa Huq, talks to students from the Armenian Language Saturday School (credit: Image supplied).

The monument, upgraded last Autumn from the original apricot tree (national symbol) that had stood there, has already been vandalised by Turkish nationalists attempting to scratch out the word "genocide". 

Local resident Annette Moskofian, chair of the Armenian National Committee (ANC) UK later thanked those present stating: "On behalf of the Armenian Community in Ealing I would like to express our appreciation for your attendance and words of solidarity… your support is much needed in the next Labour government's recognition of the Armenian Genocide." 

Also at the memorial were students from the Armenian Language Saturday School and members of the Homenetmen London Armenian scouts. 

Huq added: "Although there are no up-to-date figures with the last census being back in 2021, we know that Ealing Central and Acton is one of the most Armenian and Armenian-origin Parliamentary constituencies in the UK evidenced in the fact that both Ealing and Acton each boast Armenian community centres.

"The Armenian Summer festival in Acton is an annual highlight." 

Last month, Huq spoke in the House of Commons at a debate on the Armenian refugees having previously laid a petition on the subject and in February 2024, Huq visited Yerevan and Jermuk in Armenia as part of a cross-party parliamentary delegation with the Inter Parliamentary Union following attacks on the area by Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabach region.

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