SYDNEY: The Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC Australia) and the Australia-Armenia Parliamentary Friendship Group hosted an event in Canberra’s Parliament House last week, recognising the enormous human rights contribution of the Armenian Relief Fund of Australia.
The event, an Australian Institute of Holocaust and Genocide Studies’ (AIHGS) photo exhibit titled From Beyond Anzac Cove, was attended by key parliamentarians from both sides of the political spectrum.
The photos of the Armenian Relief Fund of Australia were uncovered by the AIHGS from various Australian archive sources, and represent the efforts of the Australian public who, from 1915-1929, provided humanitarian assistance to victims of the Armenian Genocide. Dr. Panayiotis Diamadis and Mr. Vicken Babkenian of the AIHGS were in attendance to guide the parliamentarians through the exhibit.
ANC Australia President, Mr. Varant Meguerditchian said: “The Armenian Relief Fund of Australia represents a proud moment in Australian history and today we thank you, as representatives of our great nation for the generosity of your forebears.â€
Throughout WWI, some 300 Australians were taken prisoner by the Ottoman Empire. Many of these POWs lay witness to the systematic destruction of the indigenous Armenian, Greek and Assyrian populations of Anatolia at the hands of the Ottoman government.
The first genocide of the 20th century triggered an incredible humanitarian response across the globe. In Australia, from 1915 to 1929, the Armenian Relief Fund of Australia provided food, clothing and shelter to victims of the Armenian Genocide. By 1922, these efforts had become the first major international humanitarian project and set a precedent for providing aid to disaster areas to this day.
During the last days of the Ottoman Empire, the Government implemented a policy of Genocide upon its Christian Armenian population. As a result, up to 1.5million Armenian men, women and children lost their lives between 1915 and 1922. The Armenian Genocide is yet to be recognised by the Turkish Government.
