News

SYDNEY: As the keynote speaker and guest of the Armenian Genocide Commemorative Committee, Professor Peter Balakian delivered four lectures in Sydney from 20-24 April.

On Sunday night, 20 April, before a crowd of about a thousand including various Members of Australian and New South Wales Parliament, Balakian gave the keynote address as part of a two-hour ceremony to commemorate the Armenian Genocide of 1915. Speaking about the significance of the Armenian Genocide for the twentieth century, Balakian discussed and analysed the importance of the event as a template for genocide to follow in the 20th century, emphasising that genocide in Germany, Cambodia, Rwanda, the Balkans, Darfur and other places could be better understood in light of how the Armenian Genocide was conceived and carried out.

On Monday, 21 April, Balakian spoke at the prestigious Sydney Institute directed by Gerard Henderson. In his lecture, he presented the Armenian Genocide as a landmark event in modern history and spoke about how the Turkish government’s unprecedented campaign of denial has become an embarrassment to Turkey in the face of one of the best documented genocides in history. Balakian reflected on the importance of the Australian government’s recent apology for its treatment of the Aboriginal peoples.

At the Shalom College of the University of New South Wales, Balakian spoke on Wednesday 23 April, along with a Holocaust survivor, Mr. Feldman and a Darfur survivor, Mr. Mansoul about genocide in the twentieth century and the lessons of the Armenian Genocide. The lecture was sponsored by the Australasian Union of Jewish Students, the Australian Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, and the Darfur Australian Network.

For Thursday 24th April, Balakian delivered the keynote address at the Parliament of New South Wales. In a moving ceremony that preceded the event, a wreath was laid by the young daughter of a Darfur survivor and by Mr. Badelian, the oldest Armenian Genocide survivor in Sydney at the site of the Genocide memorial on the grounds of the Parliament. In his address, Balakian focused on the lessons of the Armenian Genocide and the problems that arise when massive human rights crimes are committed with impunity. He focused on the impact of the Turkish denial on the Armenian community and on Turkey, noting that Turkey is further alienating itself from the modern world by its refusal to own up to its history.

Balakian also noted the exemplary statement made by Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in apology for the Australian treatment of the Aborigines.

“It’s a statement that sets a high standard for all the nations of the world as they seek to come to terms with dark chapters of their pasts,” he said, adding that Prime Minister Rudd’s emphasis on Australia’s need to “deal with unfinished business”, and the “need to face the pain of past injustice”, was essential for a nation to “turn the page and move forward”. Balakian suggested that Australia might be the kind of nation that would see ethical meaning in acknowledging the Armenian Genocide.

Balakian closed by thanking the Armenian Genocide Commemorative Committee for their extraordinary work in planning the complex events of the week, and for their grace and warmth and their many talents as a cultural community.

“Professor Balakian has raised the profile of the Armenian Genocide amongst the wider Australian community,” said Armenian Genocide Commemorative Committee Representative, Stephen Abolakian. “As a result of Balakian’s visit, progress toward affirmation of the Armenian Genocide by the Government of Australia has gained greater momentum.”

On Friday, Balakian headed to Melbourne for another week of lectures and for the Australian Poetry Festival.

MEDIA COVERAGE

The following Australian news agencies covered April’s Armenian Genocide Commemoration:

- ABC Radio National
- ABC Radio Sydney
- ABC Newsradio
- ABC Television
- SBS Radio
- The Australian
- The Daily Telegraph
- The Age
- Southern Courier
- North Shore Times