SYDNEY: Chair of the New South Wales (NSW) Armenia-Australia Parliamentary Friendship Group, the Hon. Jonathan O’Dea convened a special meeting of members to welcome Dr Arman Tatoyan to the parliament of Australia’s largest state and passed an important motion in solidarity with Armenia, reported the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU).
The meeting was convened on 1st December 2022 in the Speaker’s Dining Room at NSW Parliament, and was attended by legislators Dr. Hugh McDermott MP, the Member for Prospect and Mr Tim James MP, the Member for Willoughby.
O’Dea, who is Speaker of the NSW Parliament’s Legislative Assembly, warmly welcomed Dr Tatoyan on behalf of the state and Friendship Group, which has a strong tradition of welcoming guests from the Republics of Armenia and Artsakh.
Before presenting the Centre for Law and Justice Tatoyan Foundation’s most recent report based on Dr Tatoyan’s fact-finding mission to Armenia-Azerbaijani border villages one week before visiting Australia, the former Human Rights Ombudsman of Armenia praised the NSW Parliament for formally recognising the Armenian Genocide, the rights to self-determination of the Republic of Australia as well as the statements made in support of Armenia’s sovereign borders following Azerbaijan’s latest attacks.
During the meeting, the NSW Armenia-Australia Parliamentary Friendship Group passed a resolution, declaring the cross-party collective's solidarity with the Republics of Armenia and Artsakh, denouncing Azerbaijan’s human rights breaches against Armenians and calling on Australia and the international community to demand the withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from the sovereign borders of Armenia.
The motion unanimously adopted acknowledged:
That The NSW Armenia-Australia Parliamentary Friendship Group:
1. Condemns Azerbaijan’s aggressive military action and human rights abuses against Armenians both in Armenia and Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh);
2. Calls on the Australian Government and international community to demand the withdrawal of Azeri forces from Armenia, and respect Armenia’s territorial integrity;
3. Supports Armenia in its calls for a peaceful resolution to the conflicts.
Following the meeting, O’Dea and McDermott guided Dr Tatoyan around the oldest legislature in Australia, touring both chambers of the Parliament, the Speaker’s office and the Parliamentary garden, which hosts an Armenian Khatchkar (cross-stone) dedicated to the memory of the 1.5 million Armenians massacred during the Armenian Genocide and unveiled in 1997.
ANC-AU Executive Director Michael Kolokossian, who was joined by colleagues including ANC-AU Honorary Chair Greg Soghomonian and administrator Areg Grigorian, thanked the Friendship group for hosting the meeting and welcoming Dr Tatoyan to Australia.
The NSW Armenia-Australia Parliamentary Friendship Group is chaired by Jonathan O'Dea MP and vice-chaired by the Hon. Walt Secord MLC, and lists among its over 40 members representatives of all represented political parties across both the NSW Legislative Assembly and NSW Legislative Council.
