NSW Member of the Legislative Council, the Hon. Marie Ficarra (LIB) has joined a growing list of politicians calling for Federal Australian recognition of the Armenian Genocide during a speech made in State Parliament.
Inspired after attending the Armenian Genocide Commemoration in April, Ms Ficarra addressed her house, revealing her pride that NSW Parliament had a memorial dedicated to the memory of the victims of what she correctly refers to as "the first genocide of the 20th century".
However, she did express "sadness" at the fact that the Federal Government has not followed suit.
Ms Ficarra said: "It was with sadness that many members of Parliament attending this commemorative event expressed their disappointment with our successive Federal governments since 1922.
"We regret their unwillingness to officially condemn, first, the genocide of the Armenians and, second, any attempt to deny such crimes against humanity."
She added that the reasons such as "concerns for diplomatic friction, strategic defence or trading retaliation are simply unjustified".
Ms Ficarra said: "I was very moved with the pledge given by the Hon. Brendan Nelson to have his colleagues address this neglect before he leaves Parliament at the next election.
"I sincerely hope that his colleagues in both Houses support this expression of truth in a bipartisan fashion."
Armenian National Committee President, Mr. Varant Meguerditchian praised Ms Ficarra for lending her voice in support for this "important human rights cause".
"Ms Ficarra is a supporter of human rights and has clearly stated political threats by Turkey must not stand in the way of recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the government of Australia," said Mr. Meguerditchian.
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The Hon. Marie Ficarra's FULL ADDRESS:The Hon. MARIE FICARRA [6.07 p.m.]: It was with much respect and admiration for the Armenian people that on 19 April 2009 at Lindfield I attended the ninety-fourth anniversary of the Armenian genocide. I wish to acknowledge the keynote speakers at that event, Dr Paul Bartrop from Deakin University in Melbourne, and His Eminence Archbishop Aghan Baliozian, Primate of the Armenian Apostolic Church of Australia and New Zealand. The ceremony was a solemn reminder of the mass killings and torture of Armenians perpetrated by the then Ottoman Government, particularly between the years 1915 and 1922.
I joined with other members of Parliament to honour the memory of the 1.5 million men, women and children who died in the first genocide of the twentieth century. In 1915, on the eve of the Allied invasion of Turkey, the Ottoman Empire set in motion a plan to eradicate the Christian Armenian population living on their ancestral lands of eastern Anatolia, which is today within the borders of the Republic of Turkey. This State-sponsored program resulted in the brutal deprivation and extermination of some 1.5 million Armenian men, women and children. This Parliament recognises 24 April every year as a day of remembrance of the Armenian genocide. We condemn the Armenian genocide and all other acts of genocide as the ultimate acts of racial, religious and cultural intolerance. I am proud that this Parliament has a memorial to the Armenian people in the garden area on level 9.
It was with sadness that many members of Parliament attending this commemorative event expressed their disappointment with our successive Federal governments since 1922. We regret their unwillingness to officially condemn, first, the genocide of the Armenians and, second, any attempt to deny such crimes against humanity.
Concerns for diplomatic friction, strategic defence or trading retaliation are simply unjustified based on other international experience. In this age of enlightenment and accountability, all nations need to face up to their history, as did the German Government and people after World War II Nazi atrocities. Let us never forget Adolf Hitler's rhetorical and self-justifying question in 1939, before he embarked on his genocidal deeds against the Jewish people and others: "Who remembers now the destruction of the Armenians?" As political leaders in New South Wales we must always remember such atrocities, and we call upon the Federal Government to exercise moral leadership in this regard.
Our Commonwealth political colleagues should cease avoiding the issue as if it will go away. It will never go away, and we will never let it be forgotten. If we are genuinely mournful about our own national wartime loss, paying homage to their sacrifice each year, we must also be honest lest we forget about the suffering and great human loss that the Armenians experienced throughout history. Armenia was our enduring ally in all wars we confronted in the name of liberty and freedom from oppression. As a great nation valuing democratic principles and the pursuit of truth, we should respect the sacrifices and suffering of our Armenian allies in a real and meaningful manner by condemning at a Federal level—as this Parliament and so many other international parliaments and governments have done—the Armenian genocide. Our Federal Government should also condemn any attempt to deny this factually recorded historical crime. I was very moved with the pledge given by the Hon. Brendan Nelson to have his colleagues address this neglect before he leaves Parliament at the next election. I sincerely hope that his colleagues in both Houses support this expression of truth in a bipartisan fashion.
