CANBERRA: The peak public affairs organisation of the Armenian-Australian community has appealed to both Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese, urging both to correctly characterise the 1915 Ottoman massacres of Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks as “Genocide” in their annual commemoration statements due by 24th April 2022.

As Armenians will gather worldwide to commemorate the 107th Anniversary of the first genocide of the 20th century, descendants of survivors in Australia expect full and proper acknowledgement of the crimes against their ancestors, which saw 1.5 million indigenous Armenians, as well as over 1 million Assyrians and Greeks, systematically massacred at the hands of Ottoman Turkey between 1915 - 1923––a crime still denied by today’s autocratic leadership of the Republic of Turkey.

The Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU) has written to both leaders of the major political parties on behalf of the 50,000 strong Armenian-Australian community, calling on them to acknowledge the will of the Australian people, which was most recently amplified in a November 2021 unanimous House of Representatives debate calling on the Australian Government to recognise the Armenian Genocide without any euphemisms or qualifiers.

ANC-AU Executive Director Haig Kayserian addressed Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s statement in 2021, which fell short of using the word Genocide, but referred to the “deportations, dispossession and deaths” suffered by the Armenian people in 1915.

“Whilst we acknowledge that the Prime Minister’s statement in the lead up to the 106th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide went further than past statements causing great offence to our community, it is time he takes the next step and answer his own calls as a backbench MP in 2011, when Mr. Morrison called on Australia to recognise the Armenian Genocide,” Kayserian said.

“Following recognition of the 1915 Genocide by US President Joe Biden in 2021 and over 30 nations worldwide, as well as clear consensus in the Australian Parliament, Canberra has run out of excuses to remain silent and appease a foreign dictator openly trying to distort the pages of history,” he added.

ANC-AU Political Affairs Director Michael Kolokossian addressed the community’s sincere disappointment and frustration following the failure to receive a statement from Opposition Leader, Anthony Albanese in 2021.

“Past Opposition Leaders, including Kim Beazley and Tony Abbott, have not shied away from proper characterisation of the Armenian Genocide, and what we expect from Mr. Albanese as the alternative Prime Minister of this country, especially ahead of an election, is a public declaration that represents the view of so many of his colleagues and the electorate, that the Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks suffered genocide in 1915,” Kolokossian said.

“Mr. Albanese was present at the launch of the Joint Justice Initiative at Parliament House in February 2020, when the Armenian-Australian, Assyrian-Australian and Greek-Australian communities declared proper recognition of the 1915 genocides suffered by our ancestors was our collective legislative priority, and it is now time he acts on those wishes by the voting citizens of this country.”

On Sunday 24th April 2022, members of Australia’s Armenian, Assyrian and Greek communities will take to the streets of Sydney and Melbourne at the annual #MARCHFORJUSTICE, to repeat the call on the Goverment and Opposition to accurately recognise the 1915 massacres as Genocide.

“The #MARCHFORJUSTICE will reveal the positions of both major parties on this issue prior to the May 21 Federal Election, and we are hopeful it will be a reason to celebrate a major advancement in our pursuit of justice,” Kolokossian added.

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The full letter to Prime Minister Scott Morrison can be read below:

Dear Prime Minister,

As you are aware, every year on 24th April, Armenian-Australians join our brothers and sisters from around the world in commemorating the 1.5 million innocent Armenians, and over 1 million Assyrians and Greeks who were targeted, deported and systematically massacred at the hands of the Ottoman Empire, between 1915- 1923, solely due to their ethnic background and Christian faith spanning approximately two thousand years.

As descendants of survivors of these heinous crimes against humanity that began with the capture and execution of hundreds of Armenian intellectuals in Constantinople on the fateful date before ANZAC Day, we expect your Government recognises the Armenian Genocide (as well as the genocides of the Greeks and Assyrians) without euphemisms in place of the word genocide.

Over the year, as the peak public affairs body of the Armenian-Australian community, we have cordially requested our Prime Minister take this step through his or her statement honouring our day of commemoration. While we acknowledge you took steps in 2021 to describe the events of 1915 with greater sympathy and accuracy, you sadly stopped short of characterising the events as genocide, which only serves to appease the foreign dictatorship overseeing a campaign of genocide denial – which is recognised as the last stage of genocide.

Academia has spoken on this issue. The Armenian Genocide was listed by Professor Raphael Lemkin, the man who coined the term “genocide” and authored the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, as a motivating factor for his legacy, The International Association of Genocide Scholars and the Australian Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies have since called on all nations to accurately recognise the Armenian Genocide.

Our nation’s elected representatives have also spoken on this issue. The House of Representatives, where you stood in 2011 calling for Australia to join the righteous in recognising the Armenian Genocide accurately, has since unanimously debated in favour of two separate motions unequivocally recognising the Armenian Genocide, most recently under your leadership in November 2021. Further, over 40 current Federal parliamentarians have signed affirmations of support for the Joint Justice Initiative, established by the Armenian-Australian, Assyrian-Australian and Greek-Australian communities, in support of national recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

It is time for Australia to take a principled stance on this issue and join the New South Wales Parliament, South Australian Parliament and over 30 of our international allies, including France, Canada, the United States and Germany, in characterising the 1915 systematic extermination of the Armenians, Assyrians, Greeks and other Christian minorities of Ottoman Turkey as Genocide.

Consistent with US President Joe Biden’s acknowledgement of this crime against humanity as Genocide in 2021, our community is hopeful, that your statement on 24th April 2022 will follow in the footsteps of our closest ally and help deliver us closure in our pursuit for justice on behalf of our fallen ancestors.

Another reason for hope is our nation’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Senator the Hon. Marise Payne declaring that Australia’s position on the issue was now “under review” and that your Government was “obviously viewing the actions of other countries on this matter and drawing those into our consideration as well”.

Domestic progress in Australia’s Federal Parliament demonstrates the political will of elected parliamentarians and the overall consensus that the Armenian Genocide must be recognised. We trust that you will honour this sentiment to honour your own calls from 2011.

On behalf of the 50,000 Armenian-Australians, we urge you to officially characterise the events of 1915 by their true name – Genocide.

Thank you in advance for your consideration, and we look forward to receiving your statement on the occasion of the 107th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

Yours sincerely,

[Signed]

Haig Kayserian

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The full letter to the Leader of the Opposition, Anthony Albanese can be read below:

Dear Mr. Albanese,

As you are aware, every year on 24th April, Armenian-Australians join our brothers and sisters from around the world in commemorating the 1.5 million innocent Armenians, and over 1 million Assyrians and Greeks who were targeted, deported and systematically massacred at the hands of the Ottoman Empire, between 1915 - 1923, solely due to their ethnic background and Christian faith spanning approximately two thousand years.

As descendants of survivors of these heinous crimes against humanity that began with the capture and execution of hundreds of Armenian intellectuals in Constantinople on the fateful date before ANZAC Day, we expect Australia’s political leaders to recognise the Armenian Genocide (as well as the genocides of the Assyrians and Greeks) without euphemisms in place of the word genocide.

Over the years, as the peak public affairs body of the Armenian-Australian community, we have cordially requested both the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader take this step through his or her statement honouring our day of commemoration.

While we acknowledge that the Prime Minister did take steps in 2021 to describe the events of 1915 with greater sympathy and accuracy, he stopped short of characterising the events as genocide, which only serves to appease the foreign dictatorship overseeing a campaign of genocide denial – which is recognised as the last stage of genocide.

Yet, our community, along with the Assyrian-Australian and Greek-Australian communities were left sincerely disappointed by your missing statement last year on this issue, particularly given the precedent set by past Opposition leaders such as Hon. Kim Beazley and Hon. Tony Abbott, when they correctly characterised the massacres perpetrated against the Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks by the Ottoman Empire for what they were – Genocides.

Academia has spoken on this issue. The Armenian Genocide was listed by Professor Raphael Lemkin, the man who coined the term “genocide” and authored the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, as a motivating factor for his legacy. The International Association of Genocide Scholars and the Australian Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies have since called on all nations to accurately recognise the Armenian Genocide.

Our nation’s elected representatives have also spoken on this issue. The House of Representatives has unanimously debated in favour of two separate motions unequivocally recognising the Armenian Genocide. In a further showing of non-partisan support, over 40 current Federal parliamentarians signed affirmations of support for the Joint Justice Initiative, established by the Armenian-Australian, Assyrian-Australian and Greek-Australian communities in support of national recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

While we are appreciative of your support at the February 2020 launch of the Joint Justice Initiative, which declared the Armenian-Australian, Assyrian-Australian and Greek-Australian communities’ priority to ensure Australia joins the long list of nations that have recognised the genocides committed against our ancestors, we ask that your words this April 24th match your private sentiments.

It is time for Australian leaders to take a principled stance on this issue and join the New South Wales Parliament, South Australian Parliament and over 30 of our international allies, including France, Canada, the United States and Germany, in characterising the 1915 systematic extermination of the Armenians, Assyrians, Greeks and other Christian minorities of Ottoman Turkey as the Armenian Genocide.

Consistent with U.S. President Joe Biden’s acknowledgement of this crime against humanity as Genocide in 2021, our community is hopeful that your statement on 24th April 2022 will follow in the footsteps of our closest ally and help deliver us closure in our pursuit for justice on behalf of our fallen ancestors.

Under your leadership, the Armenian-Australian, Assyrian-Australian and Geek-Australia communities are hopeful that the Opposition will reflect the values and growing will of the Australian people.

We believe now you have a unique opportunity to address the repeated failures of past Australian leaders and do what is right and just, prior to the 107th Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide and the upcoming Australian Federal Election.

A statement rightfully acknowledging the 1915 Armenian, Assyrian and Greek Genocides and your commitment to recognising these massacres as Genocide, as Prime Minister, will be favourably welcomed by the Armenian-Australian, Assyrian-Australian and Greek-Australian communities, thus bringing closure to the tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of descendants of genocide survivors who now call Australia home.

We thank you in advance for your consideration on this important issue and look forward to receiving your statement commemorating the 107th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

Yours sincerely,

[Signed]

Haig Kayserian