CANBERRA: The Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU) has received a response from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), following the Armenian-Australian community’s appeal on the 19th of September 2022, urging the Australian Government to end its silence and publicly condemn Azerbaijan's assault on the sovereign borders of Armenia.
Responding on behalf of Australia’s Foreign Affairs Minister, the Hon. Senator Penny Wong, DFAT cited the Federal Government's concern over the “armed clashes”, “reported strikes on Armenian territory” and the “substantial number of deaths of military personnel”.
“We thank Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s representatives for acknowledging that Armenian territory had been struck, however it is not satisfactory that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has failed to name the aggressor as Azerbaijan, preferring instead to refer to these indiscriminate attacks as armed clashes,” ANC-AU Executive Director, Michael Kolokossian.
“Not only is this an appeasement of Azerbaijan’s dictator Ilham Aliyev’s continued policy of ethnic cleansing through repeated territorial and human rights violations, it is inconsistent with statements from Australia’s own allies, like the United States and France, who have gone further by condemning the aggressor regime in Baku.”
“We expect Australia to stand with its allies and our community, by maintaining Canberra’s reputation as a leading voice in the international community which defends and upholds the values of international peace and democracy,” added Kolokossian.
In recent meetings with senior advisers of Minister Wong’s office in Canberra, ANC-AU Executive Director, Michael Kolokossian thanked them for their willingness to discuss the issue with the peak public affairs body of the Armenian-Australian community, while conveying the same community’s deep frustrations and extreme disappointment at the lack of a public statement from the Australian Government.
In light of the circulation of graphic videos showing Azerbaijani armed forces brutally executing unarmed Armenian prisoners of war, the ANC-AU re-appealed to the Foreign Minister, calling on the Australian Government to publicly condemn the aggressor.
The ANC-AU’s most recent appeal referenced statements released by the British Embassy of Yerevan, U.S. State Department Spokesperson Ned Price, as well as France, Greece and Cyprus.
“Our community is acutely aware that Australia has on several occasions outrightly expressed its outrage at war crimes being carried out in other parts of the world, yet, sadly, the cries of our community have not been satisfactorily addressed,” Kolokossian said.
