CANBERRA: As Armenian-Australians across the country commemorated the 109th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, a record number of elected officials shared video messages and statements expressing condolences and affirming their support for accurate recognition of the Armenian Genocide, contradicting Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, who both failed to utilise the word Genocide in their commemorative statements, reported the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU).
In total, 35 Australian parliamentarians, including Federal, New South Wales, Victorian, Western Australian, and Australian Capital Territory parliamentarians, affirmed the Armenian Genocide in 2024.
At the National Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide on 24 April 2024 at the Chatswood Concourse, ANC-AU Executive Director Michael Kolokossian said the statements from both the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader were "weak", with both leaders lacking the “moral courage to stand on the right side of history instead, curtseying to the foreign dictatorship of Turkey”.
Kolokossian conveyed the sentiments of 50,000 Australians of Armenian origin, as well as many in the Assyrian-Australian and Greek-Australian communities, who have combined forces as the Joint Justice Initiative to bring truth to Australia's foreign policy on the 1915 genocides suffered by the ancestors of the three communities.
Kolokossian said: "They are tired. They are fed up. They have had enough and no longer want to be the pawns in your game of chess. They don't want to volunteer, vote or promote anyone peddling lip service and lies."
In his commemorative statement, Prime Minister Albanese said: “On behalf of all Australians, I offer my respects to the Armenian people who on this day commemorate the tragic events that began in 1915.”
The statement continued, “We must never forget the Armenian men, women and children who died or were deported or displaced by acts of unconscionable violence.”
In the statement from the Opposition Leader Dutton said: “Today, we commemorate the 109th anniversary of the day when the Young Turk regime rounded up, arrested and deported hundreds of Armenian leaders and intellectuals living in Constantinople."
“The events of 24 April 1915 were just the start of the Young Turks' systematic campaign of cruelty across the Ottoman Empire which targeted Armenian children, women and men…Some 1.5 million Armenians were slaughtered. Indeed, more than one million Assyrians and Greeks were also murdered under the barbarism of the Ottomans.”
Despite the record number of Australian Federal and State parliamentarians who called upon the Australian Government to recognise the Armenian Genocide, both the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader failed to accurately characterise the events of 1915 as Genocide in their official statements, which were released on April 24th, 2024.
Statements accurately characterising the genocide were submitted by 11 Federal Parliamentarians, including:
Senator Jordon Steele-John - Senator for Western Australia and Australian Greens Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs
The Hon. Paul Fletcher MP - Member for Bradfield and Co-Chair of the Australia-Armenia Inter-Parliamentary Union
Mr Jerome Laxale MP - Member for Bennelong and Co-Chair of the Australia-Armenia Inter-Parliamentary Union
Mr Josh Burns MP - Member for Macnamara
Dr Mike Freelander MP - Member for Macarthur
Mr Julian Leeser MP - Member for Berowra
Ms Allegra Spender MP - Member for Wentworth
Ms Kylea Tink MP - Member for North Sydney
Senator Andrew Bragg - Senator for New South Wales
Senator The Hon. Jonathon Duniam - Senator for Tasmania
Senator Maria Kovacic - Senator for New South Wales
The Armenian-Australian community also received statements from state politicians from several jurisdictions, including:
The Hon. Chris Minns MP - Premier (NSW)
The Hon. Mark Speakman MP - Leader of the Opposition (NSW)
Mr Shane Love MLA - Leader of the Opposition (WA)
Dr Hugh McDermott MP - Member for Prospect (NSW)
Mr Tim James MP - Member for Willoughby (NSW)
Mr Tri Vo MP - Member for Cabramatta (NSW)
Mr Nathan Hagarty MP - Member for Leppington (NSW)
The Hon. Stephen Lawrence MLC - Member of the Legislative Council (NSW)
The Hon. Chris Rath MLC - Member of the Legislative Council (NSW)
The Hon. Jacqui Munro MLC - Member of the NSW Legislative Council (NSW)
The Hon. Natalie Ward MLC - NSW Legislative Council (NSW)
Mr Mark Coure MP - Member for Oatley (NSW)
Mr Jordan Lane MP - Member for Ryde (NSW)
Mr Matt Cross MP - Member for Davidson (NSW)
Mr Mark Hodges MP - Member for Castle Hill (NSW)
Ms Tanya Davies MP - Member for Badgerys Creek (NSW)
Ms Stephanie Di Pasqua MP - Member for Drummoyne (NSW)
Mr Nick Staikos MP - Member for Bentleigh (VIC)
Ms Kat Theophanous MP - Member for Northcote (VIC)
The Hon. Ann-Marie Hermans - Member for the South Eastern Metropolitan Region (VIC)
The Hon. Kim Wells MP - Member for Rowville (VIC)
Mr Chris Crewther MP - Member for Mornington (VIC)
Mr Michael Pettersson MLA - Member for Yerrabi (ACT)
Mr Peter Cain MLA - Member for Ginninderra (ACT)
In addition to the record number of parliamentarians who accurately characterised the Armenian Genocide in statements in 2024, the Joint Justice Initiative – made up of the peak public affairs bodies of the Armenian-Australian, Assyrian-Australian and Greek-Australian communities – announced 18 civil society bodies who signed the Joint Justice Initiative Accord calling on the leaders of Australia to recognise the 1915 massacres as Genocide. The cohort included Christian, Islamic, Jewish, Asian, Kurdish, Egyptian, Yazidi and Youth political wings.
New South Wales Premier, The Hon. Chris Minns MP, shared the following statement: “We acknowledge the truth of what happened in Armenia, both as an act of respect to the victims and their families, but also as a guard against future hate and bigotry and violence… On the 24th of April we stand with your community to mourn and to remember.”
Contradicting his own leader alongside parliamentary colleagues Josh Burns MP and Mike Freelander MP, the Member for Bennelong, Mr Jerome Laxale MP, said: “As we remember the incredible heartache and tragedy of 1915, we also know that today persecution of many millions still exists; the Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh region has been under siege for quite some time. Armenia of course, continues to suffer from continued persecution by Azerbaijan… I'll continue to use my role to call out for proper recognition of the genocide and for continued help for Armenia…”
Significantly, in Victoria, the Member for Rowville, the Hon. Kim Wells MP, became the first Victorian MP to outright call on the Victorian Parliament to formally recognise the Armenian Genocide, saying that it is a “genocide that we must all remember and never forget. That's why I'm calling on the Victorian Parliament and the Federal Parliament to recognise this important event."
To watch the over 30 video messages provided by Australian Parliamentarians head to the Armenian National Committee of Australia’s YouTube page by clicking here.
