SYDNEY: Member for Smithfield in the NSW Legislative Assembly, Andrew Rohan, declared in a parliamentary statement that as a result of the Armenian Genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Turkish government, the modern state of Armenia remains landlocked.
Rohan, who was elected to parliament in the March 2011 election, rose in the House to describe the impact the Armenian Genocide continues to have on the Republic of Armenia.
He said: "As a result of the Armenian Genocide, the modern state of Armenia remains landlocked and does not constitute all of the lands once historically occupied by Armenians."
He continued: "Turkey, the successor state and beneficiary of the Ottoman perpetrators of the Armenian, Hellenic and Assyrian Genocides, currently maintains an economic blockade of Armenia which endangers the socio-economic viability, security and sustainability of a people subjected to genocide less than a century ago."
Rohan also talked about the efforts of the Republic of Turkey to impede a just resolution of the Armenian Genocide.
He added: "The Turkish Government continues to destroy Armenian cultural monuments and churches; Turkish educators teach students a revised version of history, claiming that no genocide took place; and under article 301 of the Turkish penal code, courts prosecute and sentence anyone who openly accepts the occurrence of the Armenian Genocide."
Turning to the issue of Nagorno Karabakh, the Australian parliamentarian condemned the Azerbaijani aggression.
Rohan said: "Azeri military commanders continue to train snipers to shoot and kill innocent Armenians near the Nagorno Karabakh-Azerbaijan border; the Azerbaijani government plans to boost military spending to $3.3 billion this year, up from $2.15 billion a year ago and just $160 million in 2003; the Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev consistently employs war rhetoric, threatening to pursue a military solution to the issue of Nagorno Karabakh; and the Republic of Azerbaijan, like Turkey, maintains an economic blockade of the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian Republic of Nagorno Karabakh."
"I raise these issues today because Australia and the international community must support a just resolution of the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek Genocides; and I raise these issues today because Australia and the international community must acknowledge the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh’s right to self determination."
Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC Australia) Executive Director Varant Meguerditchian applauded the NSW MP’s courage in bringing these issues to light.
"While Turkey and its ethnic brethren in Azerbaijan maintain anti-Armenian policies, the issue of the Armenian Genocide remains unresolved," he said.
"Mr Rohan’s statement, on public record, makes a significant contribution to the just resolution of the Armenian Genocide."
Full text of Parliamentary Statement below.
Mr ANDREW ROHAN (Smithfield): I wish to discuss key issues that remain important to the Armenian Australian community of Smithfield and to all Armenians across the world. Throughout a turbulent history, Armenians have been subjected to invasion, occupation, persecution and discrimination. This culminated in 1915 when the then Ottoman Government implemented a policy of annihilation of the Armenians. Characterised by massacres and mass deportations, this policy led to the deaths of more than 1.5 million innocent Armenian men, women and children in what is known as the Genocide of the Armenians. But as heirs to an ancient civilization, a distinct language and a unique culture, the resilient Armenians rose from the ashes of genocide to establish an independent Armenia in 1918. After a period of Soviet occupation between 1921 and 1991, Armenia was again proclaimed a republic and this year Armenians the world over are celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Armenia.
However, the young independent Armenia faces a number of significant challenges to its sustainability. As a result of the Armenian Genocide, the modern state of Armenia remains landlocked and does not constitute all the lands once historically occupied by Armenians. Turkey, the successor state and beneficiary of the Ottoman perpetrators of the Armenian, Hellenic and Assyrian genocides, currently maintains an economic blockade of Armenia that endangers the socio-economic viability, security and sustainability of a people subjected to genocide less than a century ago. Despite wide international recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide, Turkey continues to deny this crime against humanity and impedes a just resolution of the Armenian Genocide. The Turkish Government continues to destroy Armenian cultural monuments and churches; Turkish educators teach students a revised version of history, claiming that no genocide took place; and under article 301 of the Turkish penal code, courts prosecute and sentence anyone who openly accepts the occurrence of the Armenian Genocide.
I also want to speak of the issues facing the historic Armenian region of Nagorno Karabakh. Nagorno Karabakh is a region located between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan. Placed under Soviet Azerbaijani rule by Joseph Stalin, its Armenian population was forced to endure discrimination, racism, violence and massacre, not dissimilar to the policy implemented by the Ottoman Government against the Armenians in 1915. Desperate to prevent further loss, the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh rallied to defend their livelihood and in 1991 under the Soviet constitution and in accordance with the principle of self-determination enshrined in article VIII of the Helsinki Final Act, the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh voted for an independent state.
In spite of a ceasefire between Nagorno Karabakh and the Republic of Azerbaijan, the security of the civilian Armenian population of Nagorno Karabakh remains threatened. Azeri military commanders continue to train snipers to shoot and kill innocent Armenians near the Nagorno Karabakh-Azerbaijan border. The Azerbaijani Government plans to boost military spending to $3.3 billion this year, up from $2.15 billion a year ago and just $160 million in 2003. The Azerbaijani president, Ilham Aliyev, consistently employs war rhetoric, threatening to pursue a military solution to the issue of Nagorno Karabakh. The Republic of Azerbaijan, like Turkey, maintains an economic blockade of the Republic of Armenia and the region of Nagorno Karabakh.
I raise these issues in Parliament today to bring to light the current challenges facing the Armenian people as they celebrate 20 years of independence. Australia and the international community must support a just resolution of the Armenian, Assyrian and Hellenic genocides and acknowledge the Nagorno Karabakh's right to self-determination. Today, I place on the public record and lend my support to the sustainability and security of Armenia, to the independence of the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh and to the prosperity of the Armenian Australian community of Smithfield.
