SYDNEY: The New South Wales (NSW) Legislative Council has passed a unanimous motion recognising the Assyrian and Greek genocides, and reaffirming its 1998 motion recognising the Armenian Genocide.
The motion, which was introduced by Rev. The Hon. Fred Nile MLC, formally recognises the "qualitatively similar genocides [of Assyrians and Greeks] by the then Ottoman Government between 1914 and 1923.”
The NSW Legislative Assembly recognised the Armenian Genocide in a unanimous motion in 1997, which was followed by a motion in the Legislative Council in 1998. The latest motion again calls on the Australian Government to “condemn the genocides of the Assyrians, Armenians and Greeks”.
The motion was the result of the combined efforts of the Assyrian Universal Alliance, the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC Australia) and the Australian Hellenic Council.
Executive Director of ANC Australia, Vache Kahramanian said: “Today is another historic day in the international quest for genocide recognition. We thank Rev. Nile for all his efforts in introducing the motion and to all members of the Legislative Council for taking this principled stance on genocide recognition.”
After the passing of the motion, Deputy Secretary of the Assyrian Universal Alliance, Hermiz Shahen said: “This recognition will act as a powerful counter to those, especially in present-day Turkey, who still ignore or deny outright the genocides of the Ottoman Christian minorities. Assyrians in Iraq, Syria and Turkey are continuously paying the price as a consequence of the denial of their genocide.”
Dr. Panayiotis Diamadis from the Australian Hellenic Council thanked the NSW Parliament for his historic motion, stating: “New South Wales has always stood as a beacon in ensuring that history is never forgotten and today is clear testament to the courage of every member of the Legislative Council.”
The text of the motion is below:
ASSYRIAN, ARMENIAN AND GREEK GENOCIDES
1. That this House notes that:
(a) on 5 May 1998, the Legislative Council passed a motion recognising and condemning the Genocide of the Armenians, and
(b) Assyrians and Greeks were subjected to qualitatively similar genocides by the then Ottoman Government between 1914 and 1923. Legislative Council Notice Paper No. 138—Wednesday 1 May 2013 8374
2. That this House:
(a) joins the Assyrian, Armenian and Greek communities of New South Wales in honouring the memory of the innocent men, women and children who fell victim to the first modern genocides,
(b) condemns the genocides of the Assyrians, Armenians and Greeks, and all other acts of genocide as the ultimate act of intolerance,
(c) recognises the importance of remembering and learning from such dark chapters in human history to ensure that such crimes against humanity are not allowed to be repeated,
(d) condemns and prevents all attempts to use the passage of time to deny or distort the historical truth of the genocides of the Assyrians, Armenians and Greeks, and other acts of genocide,
(e) recalls the testimonies of ANZAC prisoners-of-war and other servicemen who were witness to the genocides of the Assyrians, Armenians and Greeks,
(f) recalls the testimonies of ANZAC servicemen who rescued Assyrians, Armenians and Greeks genocide survivors,
(g) acknowledges the significant humanitarian relief contribution made by the people of New South Wales to the victims and survivors of the Assyrians, Armenians and Greeks,
and
(h) calls on the Commonwealth Government to condemn the genocides of the Assyrians, Armenians and Greeks.
