CANBERRA: On Wednesday 16th June 2021, representatives from the peak public affairs bodies of the Armenian-Australian, Assyrian-Australian and Greek-Australian communities came together in the nation's capital to advocate for Australia’s recognition of the 1915 Genocides committed against their ancestors.
The Joint Justice Initiative delegation included members of the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU), Assyrian National Council – Australia and the Australian Hellenic Council. They were supported by Vice President of advocacy group, Christian Faith & Freedom, Karen Bos.
The delegation met with several Federal parliamentarians from both chambers including Ms Alicia Payne – Member for Canberra, Ms Anne Stanley – Member for Werriwa, Mr George Christensen – Member for Dawson, Mr Steve Georganas – Member for Adelaide, Ms Gladys Liu – Member for Chisholm and Senator for Victoria, Mr David Van.
The meetings discussed a broad range of issues, including the Federal Government’s current position on the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek Genocides, Australia’s first major international humanitarian relief effort to aid victims of said genocides, and the increasing support for genocide recognition within Australia and the international community.
The Joint Justice Initiative, launched at Australia’s Federal Parliament in February 2020, has so far announced the support of Adam Bandt MP, Tim Wilson MP, Senator Janet Rice, Steve Georganas MP, Michael Sukkar MP, Senator Louise Pratt, Warren Entsch, Joel Fitzgibbon MP, Andrew Wilkie MP, Julian Leeser MP, Michelle Rowland MP, Senator Paul Scarr, Tony Zappia MP, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, Senator Hollie Hughes, Senator Rex Patrick, Mike Freelander MP, Senator Eric Abetz, Senator Larissa Waters, Senator Pat Dodson, Jason Falinski MP, Josh Burns MP, John Alexander MP, Senator Andrew Bragg, Bob Katter MP and Senator Susan Templeman, with a promise of more announcements to come.
“We are hopeful that by our communities coming together to make recognition of the 1915 Genocides a leading advocacy priority, we can end the foreign-induced gag order which has prevented Australia from recognising these crimes against humanity,” said Armenian National Commitee of Australia Executive Director, Haig Kayserian.
“It is always a pleasure to advocate for justice alongside the leaders of the Assyrian and Greek communities, and our Joint Justice Initiative remains hopeful that our efforts will continue to garner supporters across the Federal Parliament and provide tangible results for those we represent,” Kayserian added.
The delegation also met with local leaders of the Greek-Australian community-based in Canberra.
