SYDNEY: The Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC Australia) was saddened to learn that Thaddaes Panikian, a survivor of The Armenian Genocide passed away in Sydney on March 14 this year, aged 101.
Panikian’s belief in a just resolution of the Armenian Genocide was unwavering. Only last week he had sent forth his annual donation to the ANC Australia to support efforts to raise awareness of this crime against humanity.
“We send our deepest condolences to the Panikian family on behalf of all Armenian-Australians†said Mr. Varant Meguerditchian, Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC Australia).
“In his memory, we reaffirm our commitment to further raise awareness of the Armenian Genocide and seek condemnation of its denial, throughout Australia.â€
Panikian was born on 26th April 1910 in Margara Trakya near the Black Sea and lived there until being placed in an orphanage in Eastern Turkey prior to April 1915.
Smuggled and transferred from one orphanage to another by the caring humanitarians, Panikian survived the Armenian Genocide finally ending up at the Near East Relief orphanage in Greece.
From Greece, Panikian moved to Egypt where in 1936 he married Marie Gorgodian and they were blessed with 3 sons; Vahe, Berj and Zaven. In the Easter of 1963 the Panikian’s migrated to Australia and finally settled in Sydney.
The ANC Australia was privileged to have Panikian present and to place a wreath at the unveiling ceremony of the New South Wales Parliament’s Armenian Genocide Memorial in 1999.
Mostly self-educated in Armenian, French and English, last year Panikian was interviewed by ‘The Australian Newspaper’ for an article entitled Recognising the Armenian genocide is the final frontier. In it, Panikian remembered his experiences during the genocide and called for an end to the Turkish government denial of the Armenian Genocide.
Thankfully, Panikian’s testimony of his experience of the Armenian Genocide is preserved for future generations as a result of video documentation undertaken by ANC Australia in the late 1970s and early 1980s and more recently by film maker Shahane Bekarian.
Video of Panikian’s testimony will be screened as part of Armenian Genocide Commemorative Week events in April 2011.
His funeral will be held at the Armenian Apostolic Church at 10am, on Thursday, 17th of March.
