SYDNEY: Noted Armenian Genocide denier Justin McCarthy will be visiting Australia to take part in a series of events to deny the historical reality of the Armenian genocide, reported the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC Australia).
McCarthy is due to speak at a private event at Parliament House in Canberra, as well as deliver a lecture at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
He was due to take part in an event at the University of Melbourne, which was subsequently cancelled due to misrepresentations made by the organising committee.
The International Association of Genocide Scholars, which the leading authority on genocide, has widely discredited the works of McCarthy, who has received numerous awards and honours from the Turkish state on his denialist research on the Armenian genocide.
ANC Australia has written to the relevant authorities at the NSW Art Gallery and the Federal Parliament calling on them to cancel the planned events and not lend their stage to a Genocide denier.
ANC Australia Executive Director Vache Kahramanian remarked: “We would never allow a Holocaust denier to have the benefit of an audience anywhere in Australia and nor should an Armenian Genocide denier enjoy such a privilege.”
“The Armenian genocide is a well known historical fact, one which many countries have formally recognised and condemned, including states in Australia. The Prime Minister and much of his Cabinet also recognise the historical reality of the Armenian Genocide."
"The International Association of Genocide Scholars has also categorically classified the events of 1915 as genocide. We have called on the NSW Art Gallery and the Federal Parliament to immediately cancel the upcoming events,” Kahramanian added.
NATIONAL NEWS COVERAGE
Major Australian news outlets have taken a great interest in this story and ANC Australia will release details of articles and clips on its Facebook Page (CLICK HERE).
The national broadcaster, the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) has led the way with the coverage with a segment on Lateline and subsequent article. CLICK HERE TO VIEW AND READ.
The Sydney Morning Herald has quoted Kahramanian in their article. CLICK HERE TO READ.
