SYDNEY: Calls for official recognition of the Greek and Assyrian Genocides by the NSW Parliament grew as members of the Greek, Armenian and Assyrian communities gathered in the State Parliament theatrette on May 9, 2012 to commemorate the Pontian-Greek Genocide.
Keynote speaker at the commemoration, Prof. Colin Tatz discussed the historical ties between the Armenian, Greek and Assyrian peoples before stating that the suffering of the Greek and Assyrian peoples under Ottoman rule must be acknowledged alongside the genocide of the Armenians.
“The Greek and Assyrian communities must gather to remember the genocides of their ancestors just as the Jewish and Armenian communities do across the world,” said Tatz.
The Founding Director of the Australian Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, continued: “With this first public commemoration of the Greek Genocide in the NSW Parliament, we will move forward to ensure that we continue to remember and seek recognition of this crime against humanity.”
Lending his support to the recognition of the Greek and Assyrian Genocides, Armenian National Committee of Australia Executive Director Varant Meguerditchian said: “As descendants of survivors of the Armenian Genocide, we have a moral obligation to speak truthfully about genocide wherever and whenever it occurs.”
“The genocides of the Greek and Assyrian populations of the Ottoman Empire are crimes against humanity and must be recognised as such.”
