SYDNEY: Member of the NSW Legislative Council, the Honourable Walt Secord acknowledged the importance of the Armenian Genocide Commemorative Week events in Australia held during the month of April in an adjournment speech on the floor of the NSW Parliament this week.
Secord, who joined the Legislative Council in 2011, rose to place on public record for the fifth time in as many months, his condemnation of the Armenian Genocide and the ensuing denial by the Republic of Turkey.
He said: " On 24 April I had the honour and privilege of representing State Labor at a national commemoration marking the 97th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. On 24 April 1915 Ottoman authorities arrested 250 Armenian intellectuals and community leaders. We see this as the start of the Armenian Genocide.
"I was there at the National Armenian Genocide Commemoration in three capacities: first, as the deputy co-chair of the New South Wales Parliamentary Friends of Armenia; secondly, as the son of a Mohawk-Ojibway man who belongs to a race that has been touched by genocide in North America; and, thirdly, as the first Australian parliamentarian to publicly visit Nagorno-Karabakh in support of the contemporary struggles of the Armenian people.”
Secord concluded: “I sincerely hope that one day, as Abraham Lincoln once said, ‘better angels of our nature’ eventually prevail in Ankara and Turkey accepts responsibility for the Armenian Genocide.”
Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC Australia) Executive Director Varant Meguerditchian applauded the NSW MP’s courage in bringing these issues to light.
"While Turkey maintains a policy of denial, the issue of the Armenian Genocide remains unresolved," he said.
" We thank Mr Secord for acknowledging that Armenian Genocide Commemorative Week renews our commitment and focus toward achieving a just resolution of the Armenian Genocide.”
Full text of Parliamentary Statement below.
APRIL COMMEMORATIONS
The Hon. WALT SECORD [May 1, 2012 - 6.49 p.m.]:
In addition to our national day of commemoration, Anzac Day, the month of April hosts many important commemorations for the Jewish, Armenian, Aboriginal and working communities of our State.
It is a solemn month for many communities and tonight I speak briefly on commemorations and events that I was honoured to attend.
Personally, I have often reflected on how we provide comfort to those who are grieving. Comforting a mourner is a gesture to both the deceased and the living.
This gesture takes on greater significance when it is a whole community that is grieving. That is the case with so many dates in April.
Yet I know from my personal experience that beyond showing support there is little that can be said by those who were not there at the actual events. Ultimately I have reached the conclusion that all we can do is simply be there with the mourners—our simple presence is our statement.
That is why I attended the Jewish community's Yom Hashoah commemoration, the Appin massacre commemoration of the Dharawal people, the 97th commemoration of the Armenian Genocide, the Unions NSW International Day of Mourning for those killed in the workplace, and several Anzac Day services.
The official Yom Hashoah ceremony at Rookwood Cemetery on 15 April commemorates the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust.
It was a moving service with addresses from Israeli Deputy Chief of Mission, Mr Meir Itzchaki; Sydney Jewish Museum president, Professor Gus Lehrer; and New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies executive director, Mr Vic Alhadeff. Mr Len Mahemoff, with his beautiful bass voice, led the memorial prayers. Surrounded by rabbis, Holocaust survivors and their descendants, it was a solemn event and a privilege to attend.
A day later, on 16 April, I attended a ceremony at Campbelltown to acknowledge the 196th anniversary of the Appin massacre of the Dharawal people. The event was jointly hosted by the council and the local reconciliation group.
In 1814 Governor Lachlan Macquarie sent military detachments to Windsor, Liverpool and the Cowpastures to "punish" and "clear" the country of Aboriginal people after clashes. The most notorious of the attacks saw 14 Dharawal women and children driven off a cliff on 17 April 1816.
On 24 April I had the honour and privilege of representing State Labor at a national commemoration marking the 97th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. On 24 April 1915 Ottoman authorities arrested 250 Armenian intellectuals and community leaders. We see this as the start of the Armenian Genocide.
I was there at the National Armenian Genocide Commemoration in three capacities: first, as the deputy co-chair of the New South Wales Parliamentary Friends of Armenia; secondly, as the son of a Mohawk-Ojibway man who belongs to a race that has been touched by genocide in North America; and, thirdly, as the first Australian parliamentarian to publicly visit Nagorno-Karabakh in support of the contemporary struggles of the Armenian people.
On 20 April I attended the western Sydney Armenian Genocide commemoration in Wentworthville and on 23 April I participated in a candlelight prayer service at State Parliament.
I commend the Armenian National Committee of Australia's Executive Director, Mr Varant Meguerditchian, for his work, and Garbis and Dr Sharon Simonian for their sponsorship of the event, as well as Mr Greg Soghomonian. They all work tirelessly to educate the wider community about the Armenian Genocide and ensure that it is remembered.
I sincerely hope that one day, as Abraham Lincoln once said, "better angels of our nature" eventually prevail in Ankara and Turkey accepts responsibility for the Armenian Genocide.
On Anzac Day I had the honour of attending and laying a wreath at a 5.00 a.m. dawn service at the Ingleburn RSL Sub Branch in the Campbelltown area.
Local president Ray James, assisted by his wife, Pauline, oversaw a moving service which was attended by a crowd of more than 2,000 people.
Later in the day I also attended the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Anzac Day commemoration in Redfern with Opposition leader John Robertson and deputy leader Linda Burney. I understand the solemnity of these days. I understand the gravity of the sacrifices made on behalf of our nation. I understand why we can never forget.
Finally, on 28 April, I attended Unions NSW's annual interfaith service marking the International Day of Mourning to remember workers who have died from workplace incidents or disease. In Australia it is reported that every year about 440 workers are killed in workplace accidents.
Among the attendees were Ms Karen Banton, widow of the late, great asbestos disease sufferers' advocate Bernie Banton, and Ms Kye Bandrowski, whose father died during the construction of the Chatswood to Epping rail link.
While all these events were different, both military and civil they each commemorate dates on which families and communities were unjustly torn apart.
While I have no words that could do justice to such losses, I was honoured just to be able to stand with those people and to help them remember and commemorate.
I thank the House for its consideration.
