GORIS, ARMENIA: ABC News 24 crossed live to Goris today to interview Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU) Executive Director, Michael Kolokossian, who was there with the visiting Australian Delegation to Armenia to witness the influx of refugees from the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) flooding into the border town as Azerbaijan's genocidal campaign of ethnic cleansing continues against the region's indigenous Armenians.
Respected newsreader and journalist, Ros Childs conducted the seven-minute interview, which covered Azerbaijan's war crimes against Nagorno Karabakh's Armenians and their subsequent spin of the realities on the ground.
Kolokossian was also able to cover the adopted mandate of the biggest-ever Australian Delegation to the Republic of Armenia, who were all in Goris ready to see and hear first-hand what was transpiring in a dark moment in the history of the Armenian nation.
WATCH THE INTERVIEW BY CLICKING HERE OR CLICKING PLAY BELOWThe Azerbaijani petro-dictatorship accelerated its ethnic cleansing campaign against the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh last December, when they subjected the population to a crippling blockade, which attracted the criticism of the international community, including Australia. The International Court of Justice also ordered provisional action for Azerbaijan to end the blockade. In what was referred to as genocide by academia and legal experts, the blockade lasted nine months, before the latest military assault on Nagorno Karabakh, which has led to the current displacement and refugee influx into Armenia.
Seven Australian parliamentarians from the New South Wales and Victorian Parliaments are participating in the third Australian Parliamentary Delegation to Armenia, led by the Co-Chairs of the NSW Parliamentary Friends of Armenia,
Hugh McDermott MP and
Tim James MP. They are joined by NSW State parliamentary colleagues
Mark Coure MP - NSW Member for Oatley,
Matt Cross MP - Member for Davidson,
Susan Carter MLC - Member of the Legislative Council, as well as two sitting Victorian State MPs, including
Kim Wells MP - Victorian Member for Rowville and
Ann-Marie Hermans MP - Member of the Victorian Legislative Council, as well as former federal parliamentarian,
Tim Wilson - Former Federal Member for Goldstein and Australian Human Rights Commissioner, who is of Armenian origin.
The delegation also includes Australian business leaders and members of the ANC-AU National Board and Office.
