CANBERRA: Six prominent organisations representing a significant number of Australians have joined Armenian-Australians in respectfully engaging with Australian Foreign Affairs Minister, Senator the Hon. Penny Wong, calling on the Australian Government to get behind the International Court of Justice’s ruling for Azerbaijan to ensure unimpeded movement along the Lachin corridor for Artsakh’s blockaded Armenians, reported the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU).
The appeal launched by the peak public affairs body of the Armenian-Australian community has garnered support from the Australian Christian Lobby, the National Council of Churches in Australia, the Australian Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Barnabas Australia, the Assyrian National Council - Australia and Christian Faith and Freedom.
Their correspondence sent to the Foreign Minister of Australia said: “In the name of peace, human rights and dignity for all people - the values our great nation was founded on, we call on our Australian Government to help bring an end to this humanitarian crisis through more proactive measures. It is evident that quiet diplomacy has not yielded peace and only emboldened increasingly repressive and inhumane measures by Azerbaijan.”
The prominent organisations added: “Foreign Minister, we ask you to help prevent a second Armenian Genocide by unequivocally calling on Azerbaijan to adhere to the November 9 trilateral agreement, end its illegal blockade of Artsakh and adhere to the provisional orders set out by the International Court of Justice as well as supporting appropriate sanctions should Azerbaijan refuse to do so.”
The ANC-AU welcomed the support from these peak advocacy bodies from across the country, as pressure continued to build on the Albanese Government to call on Azerbaijan to immediately open the Lachin Corridor.
“Our calls to end the blockade have received bi-partisan, cross-party and now grassroots support from all across Australia. We are hopeful the calls from our allies will result in a much-needed shift in the Australian government’s position on this issue, one that is in line with international institutions and our allies,” ANC-AU Executive Director, Michael Kolokossian said.
On four different occasions, the most recent being Monday 14th July 2023, the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU) has written to the Foreign Minister, requesting an unequivocal statement publicly calling on Azerbaijan to adhere to the calls of the international community and most importantly the International Court of Justice.
