CANBERRA: The Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU) has appealed again to Foreign Affairs Minister, Senator the Hon. Penny Wong, following the Australian Government’s silence on Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Republic of Artsakh, which has entered its fourth week.
Whilst the ANC-AU has welcomed responses from the Australian Greens Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs, Senator Jordan Steele-John and the Opposition Foreign Affairs Minister, Senator Simon Birmingham, the Armenian-Australian community is deeply concerned over the Government's silence and failure to acknowledge appeals for an appropriate condemnation of what is a developing humanitarian crisis.
This latest appeal comes as Artsakh’s 120,000 civilian population is suffering from food shortages and a lack of medical supplies, all of which have been severed during harsh winter conditions by Azerbaijan Government agents disguised as fake environmentalist protesters.
In their letter to Minister Wong, the ANC-AU calls on the Australian government to utilise its well-respected voice and echo the sentiments shared by Christian Solidarity International, Freedom House, Human Rights Watch, and Australia’s allies, including Canada, the United States of America, the European Union, Cyprus, the Uruguay Senate and the Dutch Parliament, by condemning the blockade and calling on Azerbaijan to re-open the humanitarian corridor immediately.
The ANC-AU’s appeal also brought to the attention of the Minister the statement released by leaders of the Armenian-Australian community’s largest religious, political, cultural, educational and humanitarian organisations.
“It is imperative, at this critical juncture, for the Australian Government unequivocally to raise its voice and join the growing international community’s condemnation of this gross human rights violation that is unfolding before us. Artsakh has been converted into a virtual concentration camp due to these actions, and this, under our watch in the 21st century,” read the ANC-AU letter.
“Silence and inaction by the international community has shown to only embolden the Azerbaijani autocratic regime's attempted subjugation of the indigenous Armenian population of Artsakh, who only seek to exercise their fundamental right of self-determination. Experience has also shown that the Azerbaijani regime is tempered, if not discouraged from such violations under international pressure,” the letter added.
On behalf of the Armenian-Australian community, the letter urges Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s government to:
Publicly denounce Azerbaijan’s illegal closure of the Berdzor (Lachin) corridor;
call for the re-opening of the sole route connecting Artsakh to the outside world and allow for the unfettered movement of people and goods; and
Support appropriate international guarantees for the Berdzor (Lachin) humanitarian corridor to prevent all future attempts to obstruct that essential lifeline.
“Our community is disenchanted by the Australian Government’s failure to acknowledge what is the latest in fragrant attempts by Azerbaijan to ethnically cleanse Armenians from their ancestral homeland with genocidal intent,” ANC-AU Executive Director, Michael Kolokossian said.
“If this crisis is enough for acknowledgement by the United States, Canada, the European Union and others, we demand to know why Australia feels its place is one of silence, when Canberra has been forthcoming to join the same allies in condemnations and actions against other perpetrators of war crimes and human rights violations,” Kolokossian added.
The referenced statement of joint leaders of the Armenian-Australian community, which follows similar statements by Australian representatives of the Assyrian community, is co-signed by the Diocese of the Armenian Church of Australia and New Zealand, the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption Armenian Catholic Church, the Armenian Evangelical Church of Sydney, Office of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic in Australia, the Social Democrat Hunchakian Party (SHDP), the Armenian Revolutionary Federation of Australia, Armenian Democratic Liberal Party of Australia, the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) Sydney, the Armenian Relief Society of Australia, the Armenian Missionary Association of Australia, Hamazkaine Australia, Homenetmen Australia, the Armenian Youth Federation of Australia, the Armenian National Committee of Australia, AGBU Sydney Youth, AGBU Sydney Sports, the Tekeyan Cultural Association of Australia, the Armenian Rights Council of Australia, the Nor Serount Cultural Association and the SDHP Dkhrouni Youth Association (read here).
