SYDNEY AND MELBOURNE: Over 1,500 Armenians in Sydney and 500 Armenians in Melbourne protested for justice for the Armenian Genocide at their respective states' Turkish Consulates on Friday, 24th April 2015.
In Sydney, the Armenian protesters were greeted with around 500 Turkish counter-protestors, who went on to play loud music and dance in an attempt to silence the protesters. They were not successful, with the message heard loud and clear by a crowd intent to mark the Centenary of the Armenian Genocide as a new beginning in advocacy efforts to ensure the crime is punished.
Chants from the strong Armenian crowd, who arrived at the Protest in over a dozen buses, included "WE WANT JUSTICE", "TURKEY FAILED", "SHAME TURKEY SHAME", among others. Armenian Protest banners and flags created a new cover for Sydney's Eastern Suburbs.
"We will not repent until justice is achieved," said Armenian Youth Federation of Australia (AYF Australia) member, Aram Tufenkjian.
Panos Borghonzian, also of AYF Australia, added: "We stand here to say that our battle for justice will only have one result; victory. Until this is achieved, and Ararat returns to Armenia, we will not stop."
A Seminar titled "A JOURNEY TO YOUR ROOTS" took place at Galstaun College earlier in the day, with over 300 Sydney Armenian school students in attendance, and a letter was read out to the NSW Turkish Consul General from the participating students. The letter was not accepted by the Consulate.
The media, including national broadcasters SBS and ABC, covered the Protest (
CLICK HERE FOR ONE NEWS VIDEO AND CLICK HERE FOR ANOTHER NEWS VIDEO).
Not far from the Protest site, in Bondi, the words "TURKEY FAILED" was written into the sky, arousing the interest of many thousands, who took to social media and were educated about the Armenian cause.
In Melbourne, over 500 Armenians marched from Federation Square to the Turkish Consulate chanting "WE WANT JUSTICE", "TURKEY IS GUILTY, TURKEY MUST PAY", "GET YOUR HANDS OFF OUR LANDS", etc. At the Turkish Consulate, some 150 Turkish counter-protestors gathered but failed to disrupt proceedings.
The protests were organised by the Armenian Genocide Centenary Commemoration Committee in Australia.
Smaller protests were organised in the barely Armenian-populated states of Queensland and Western Australia.
FOR MORE PICS OF THE SYDNEY PROTEST, CLICK HERE.FOR MORE PICS OF THE MELBOURNE PROTEST, CLICK HERE.
