Back in 1978, the Armenian Community of London decided to hold a cocktail reception at the House of Commons to mark the 60th Anniversary of the foundation of the Armenian Republic.
ANC-UK (The Armenian National Committee), the organisers, needed to find a sponsor to enable us to hold such a function inside our Parliament. We didn't know any MP to sponsor us, nor how to find one!
The late Ben Whitaker, then Executive Director of MRG (Minority Rights Group) and ex-MP, already a friend, paved the way for us to reach Stan.
It was an honour for me to meet him at Westminster and to explain to him the purpose of the function we were planning to hold.
- ' Haig', he said with a smile, 'with respect, I don't know much about your people's past, except what I've read in history books - I believe your people, as well as other nationalities suffered persecution in Ottoman Turkey - am I right'?
After a chat over a cup of tea at the Cafe of the House, he kindly agreed to sponsor.
Stan spoke at the function to a group of leading members of the London Armenian Community, many of whom had never been inside the House.
Unknown to me, Stan had also invited his own guests to join us: 14 MPs from all parties of the House.
He delighted the audience with his speech and lifted our spirits. That was just the beginning of our friendly relationship, which was to last four decades.
Since that date, he always made himself available when we needed his advice or for speaking engagements including Rallies held at Trafalgar Square in the 1990s, campaigning for recognition, by Turkey, of the Armenian Genocide of 1915.
Fast forward, his last contribution to the Armenian cause was when he became MEP in 1984.
The issue of the ‘Recognition of the Armenian Genocide' was put on the EU Parliament’s agenda for discussion during his membership of EP. Stan lobbied and joined forces with other socialist MEPs from France and other EU countries, and in June 1987, the campaign group succeeded in passing a resolution about the Armenian Genocide, the paragraph 2 of which reads:
The European Parliament...
"Believes that the tragic events in 1915-1917 involving the Armenians in the territory of the Ottoman Empire constitute genocide within the meaning of the convention on the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide adopted by the UN General Assembly on 9 Dec 1948; ..."
Needless to say, the news delighted Armenian people everywhere.
Over the subsequent years, I remained in contact with Stan who maintained a keen interest in Armenian affairs. Just in December last year, we shared some thoughts about the aggression of Azerbaijan in Sept-Nov '20, to carry out ethnic cleansing of Armenians in Artsakh-Nagorno Karabagh.
Reading through Stan's political biography, "IN QUEST OF A FAIRER SOCIETY - My Life and Politics", the question that I often ask myself is: how could such a devoted family man, find the time to champion so many international human rights causes and do so much good - in one lifetime...
Rest in Peace Stan, my loyal friend, you'll not be forgotten.
Gratefully
Haig Vartanian
28.3.2021