BRISBANE & SYDNEY: The Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU) was present at the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) Conference in Brisbane, after which it hosted a panel discussion in Sydney including six scholars discussing their latest research on the Armenian Genocide.
ANC-AU Admin Assistant Olivia Dilanchian and Alex Galitsky were in Brisbane on 12-13 July for the IAGS Conference, from where they interviewed presenting scholars, including the newly-named IAGS President, Armenian-American Professor Henry Theriault and some of the Armenian contingent who had made the journey from Yerevan.
Theriault was part of an all-star Panel Discussion in Sydney on 14 July, which also included, Professor Peter Balakian (Pulitzer Prize Winner, New York Times Bestseller), Professor Armen Marsoobian (Southern Connecticut State University), Suren Manukyan (Armenian Genocide Museum & Institute), Doris Melkonian (UCLA) and Arda Melkonian (UCLA).
The event at The Urban Hotel in Sydney's North Shore, which was moderated by ANC-AU Managing Director, Vache Kahramanian, was attended by over 150 Sydney Armenians. It covered the scholarly research of the six panelists, which continues to prove the undeniability of the Armenian Genocide as justice overtakes recognition as the Armenian world's focus.
Panellists were critical of the usage of euphemisms when referring to the Armenian Genocide by the Australian government and the country's ethnic broadcaster, SBS (Special Broadcasting Corporation).
The IAGS recently condemned the position of SBS in an open letter (read here).
Kahramanian said: "This was a unique opportunity for a scholarly Australian audience, where a concentration of some of the brightest minds studying genocide shared the podium and imparted their knowledge and findings to members of our community. We thank the panellists for helping us organise this event."
