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SYDNEY: NSW Member for Ryde Victor Dominello has defended the right to self-determination of the Armenians of the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh in an address to State Parliament last week, reported the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC Australia).

Dominello, a close friend of the Armenian-Australian community and representative of the most densely Armenian-populated state electorate, becomes the second MP to discuss Nagorno Karabakh after colleague Jonathan O’Dea (NSW Member for Davidson) introduced it to the NSW Legislative Assembly in May this year.

On Friday 24 September, at approximately 1pm, Dominello stood to mark Armenia’s Independence Day before turning his attention to “the situation in the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh”.

Dominello said: “Whilst it is not an internationally recognised state, this does not mean they [Armenians] are not afforded the right to self-determination as outlined in article VIII of the Helsinki Final Act.”

The Member for Ryde went on to provide an accurate history of the region and its troubles, touching on the current volatility of the cease fire agreement which is often breached by Azerbaijan, causing needless deaths on both sides.

ANC Australia Executive Director Varant Meguerditchian said: "We thank Mr. Dominello for bringing light to the right to self-determination of the people of the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh in an Australian legislature.

“It is our expectation that this, following on Mr. O’Dea’s earlier address, will help achieve formal universal recognition of the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh."


THE FULL ADDRESS

Mr VICTOR DOMINELLO (Ryde) [1.05 p.m.]: This week, on Tuesday 21 September 2010, the Armenian-Australian community gathered on Sydney's North Shore to mark the nineteenth anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Armenia from Soviet rule. I make this contribution today in recognition of the many Australian Armenians in my electorate of Ryde.

The Armenian Republic has a long and turbulent history. It lies in the highlands around Mount Ararat, the mountain upon which Noah's Ark supposedly landed after the passing of the flood. The Kingdom of Armenia was established around 600 BC, with borders stretching from the Caspian to the Mediterranean Sea. The unique culture of Armenia flourished under the rule of King Tigranes the Great between 95 BC and 66 BC, with the adoption of Christianity as the state religion in 301 AD under His Holiness Catholicos St Gregory the Illuminator, the development of the 38-letter Armenian script in 408 AD and the establishment of the medieval city of Ani, known as "the city of a thousand churches".

Lodged between two continents, Armenia's strategic location was the envy of numerous invaders, most notably the Ottoman Empire, which gained complete control over Armenia in the fourteenth century. Five hundred years of persecution followed and culminated with the genocide of 1915, in which 1.5 million Armenians were killed for the simple reason that they were Armenian. I strongly condemned this abhorrent act in an address to Parliament last year. From the ashes of genocide the Armenian nation was reborn. In 1918 the survivors of the Armenian nation rallied to establish a republic, the first independent Armenian political entity in more than five centuries. However, this autonomy was short-lived. The Soviet Union annexed Armenia in 1920 and brought with it both a period of steadiness and an age of renewed terror, with deportations and executions.

Upon the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Armenia re-established its independence on 21 September that year and today it is a democratic republic. This anniversary is a cause for celebration for Armenia. Its enviable economy is dubbed the "Caucasian Tiger", its thriving capital city, Yerevan, predates Rome, and is a smorgasbord of life with cafes, ancient monasteries, bars, striking churches, restaurants and imposing forts. On this occasion—the nineteenth anniversary of its independence—I wish the Republic of Armenia a most prosperous future.

However, amidst this celebration we must not forget the situation in the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh. Many people may not be aware of the conflict in this region. I would like to draw members' attention to it. Nagorno-Karabakh has a predominantly Armenian population but is geographically located in the modern day state of Azerbaijan. Whilst it is not an internationally recognised state, this does not mean they are not afforded the right to self-determination as outlined in article VIII of the Helsinki Final Act. For 70 years the Armenian community in Nagorno-Karabakh was subject to social and economic discrimination after the Soviet dictator, Joseph Stalin, placed Nagorno-Karabakh under Azerbaijani rule in 1921.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Nagorno-Karabakh broke away from Azerbaijani rule in 1988 but at a cost—a great loss of life to both sides. The Armenian population of Karabakh, desperate to prevent a second Armenian genocide, rallied to defend their homes, their land and their ancient culture. They fought for survival and for the right of self-determination. On 10 December 1992 the people of Nagorno-Karabakh voted to establish an independent republic but the war continued until 1994 with the declaration of a ceasefire under the Bishkek Protocol, granting autonomy to Nagorno-Karabakh and granting sovereignty to Azerbaijan.

However, a series of breaches to this ceasefire have resulted in deaths from both sides of the conflict. The Russian, United States and French leaders from the OSCE Minsk Group, the mediators of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, condemned these breaches. I too join the OSCE Minsk Group and the Armenian-Australian community in the condemnation of all forms of violence. Violence must be condemned, regardless of who the perpetrator is, whether they are friend or foe, because the consequences are always abhorrent. Violence can never be justified regardless of the number of fatalities, whether it is the tens of thousands during the six-year war of Nagorno-Karabakh in 1988 or whether the casualty rate is a single digit number—the four Armenians killed in a skirmish in June this year and the two Azeri deaths during the recent Caucasus clash a little over a fortnight ago. Simply put, one death is a death too many. I conclude by adding my voice to the calls for a peaceful outcome in Nagorno-Karabakh. I hope a diplomatic resolution can be reached without any hostility. I hope no further blood is shed in the South Caucasus.