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AUSTRALIA: April 2024 was a busy month for the Armenian-Australian community, with thousands gathering across the country, in Sydney, Western Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide to commemorate the 1.5 million Armenians who perished at the hands of Ottoman Empire during the First World War, reported the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU).

The marquee event of this year’s commemoration was the National Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide, which took place in Sydney at Chatswood Concourse on Wednesday, 24th April 2024.

In the presence of around 1,000 attendees, the hosts for the evening, Ms Lena Megerditchian and Mr Krikor Demirjian, commenced proceedings by acknowledging some of the over 250 guests, which including elected representatives, media personalities, civil society representatives and Armenian-Australian and ethnic community leaders.

The commemorative evening was attended by a record number of parliamentarians, including Jerome Laxale MP - Federal Member for Bennelong; Paul Fletcher MP - Member for Bradfield; Kylea Tink MP - Federal Member for North Sydney, Senator Maria Kovacic - Federa Senator for NSW and NSW Parliamentarians, Hugh McDermott MP - Member for Prospect;  Tim James MP - Member for Willoughby; Jordan Lane MP - Member for Ryde; Matt Cross MP - Member for Davidson; Mark Coure MP - Member for Oatley; and Members of the NSW Legislative Council, Jacqui Munro MLC, John Ruddick MLC and Susan Carter MLC.

To mark the 109th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, speeches were delivered by parliamentarians, including Jerome Laxale MP, Paul Fletcher MP, Kylea Tink MP, Hugh McDermott MP and Tim James MP.

The highlight for the night was the Keynote Address, delivered by Dr Khatchig Mouradian, a lecturer in Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies at Columbia University in New York. He is the author of the award-winning book ‘The Resistance Network’, and travelled all the way from the United States of America to present on the evening.

Mouradian also participated in the Melbourne and Western Sydney commemorations during his visit, discussing the strength and resilience of the Armenian nation following the Armenian Genocide and ethnic cleansing of Artsakh, leaving attendees empowered to continue championing the Armenian cause for truth and justice.



Cultural performances were delivered at the National Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide in Sydney by the Hamazkaine Nairi Dance Group’s Anna Berberian and Lucy Setrakian as well as young Armenian-Australia poet Nanar Marashlian who recited “Ghoghanch Yeghernagan” by Barouyr Sevag.

The resilience of survivors of the Armenian Genocide was a focal point at this year’s National Commemoration. Attendees heard the late Armenian-Australian Genocide survivor Khatoun Megerditchian’s story of survival and were raw with emotions after descendants of Ms Megerditchian rose to the stage to honour all survivors of the Genocide.

This year’s advocacy address was once again delivered by ANC-AU Executive Director, Michael Kolokossian, who called out Australia's leaders for once again failing to accurately characterise the events of 1915 as genocide.

Watch the full speech here or below.



The proceedings were concluded by the Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of Australia and New Zealand, His Eminence Archbishop Haigazoun Najarian who delivered a prayer with fellow clergy leaders and called out the complacency of Western politicians, who’s inaction led to the ethnic cleansing of Artsakh.

Across Australia, several other commemorative events were held in light of the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

On Tuesday, 23rd April, an event organised by the Melbourne Armenian Genocide Commemorative Committee was held in Rowville, Victoria, which saw over 300 members of the community gather to pay their respects.

The commemoration included cultural performances from the students of the Aginian and Hamazkaine Mesrop Mashtots Madteossian Saturday Schools, as well as remarks from Victorian State Parliamentarians, The Hon. Kim Wells MLC - Member for Rowville and Nick Staikos - Member for Bentleigh and Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier and Multicultural Minister.



Moreover, the events in Perth, Adelaide and Western Sydney saw over 300 community members gather to commemorate the 109th anniversary of the 1915 Genocides.

Of significance, the commemoration in Perth was attended by the Western Australian Opposition Leader, Shane Love MLA, who spoke on the day and said “It is important that we learn from these past atrocities and officially recognise them at both a State and Federal level.”

In Ryde, the City Council once again held a well-attended commemoration in Meadowbank.

Unfortunately, the success of this year’s commemoration were overshadowed by the poor statements delivered by our nations leaders on the anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. As addressed during his speech, Kolokossian called out the ‘weak’ terminology utilised by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton who failed to use the term Genocide, which was contradicted by a record 35 Australian Parliamentarians from the Federal Parliament, New South Wales Parliament, Victorian Parliament, Western Australian Parliament and Australian Capital Territory. To read more about the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition’s statement click here.

The Armenian Genocide commemorative events will conclude with a commemoration planned in the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly on Monday, 13th May 2024 at 6:30pm co-hosted by the Armenian National Committee of Australia - Canberra Branch and the Canberra Association of Pontos ‘Trapezounta’.