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According to The Weekend Australian, Turkish Ambassador to Australia, Mr. Murat Ersavci has attempted to prevent Australian lawmakers from accurately describing the organised annihilation of 1.5 million Armenians and 350,000 Greeks during World War I as genocide.

The newspaper on Saturday reported of unethical attempts by the Turkish Ambassador to block the Government of South Australia from passing a motion recognising the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek Genocides, thus acknowledging the role of the Armenian Relief Fund of Australia which provided immediate humanitarian relief to the victims and survivors of the genocide.

The report revealed that upon Ersavci’s request, "[Minister for Foreign Affairs] Mr. [Stephen] Smith's office said he had written to South Australian Premier Mike Rann outlining the federal Government's position 'on these historical events' in Turkey at the time the remnants of the once mighty Ottoman Empire gave way to the new republic".

Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC Australia) President, Mr. Varant Meguerditchian commented: "It is completely undemocratic that the ambassador of a foreign nation forces our Foreign Affairs Minister to make representations to the Premier of South Australia.

"Mr. Ersavci’s actions are a direct attempt to gag our politicians from speaking truthfully about our proud history."
 
In light of eyewitness testimony from ANZAC soldiers held captive in Turkey during WWI, and the overwhelming body of evidence which demonstrates Australia’s involvement in providing aid to the orphaned survivors of the Armenian Genocide, ANC Australia has called upon the Australian Government to review its official position.

Mr. Meguerditchian said: "Australia can no longer avoid or stay silent on this issue when it is so closely intertwined with Australia’s proud history.

"We call on the Federal Government of Australia to remain resilient in the face of foreign pressure and independently acknowledge the common history of the Armenian and Australian nations."



PRESS NOTE: During the last days of the Ottoman Empire, the Government implemented a policy of Genocide upon its Christian Armenian population. As a result, up to 1.5million Armenian men, women and children lost their lives between 1915 and 1922.

Adding weight to the importance of recognising the Armenian Genocide is the research conducted by the Australian Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies that discovered records of Australia’s humanitarian assistance to Armenians following the genocide and testimonies by ANZAC soldiers to atrocities against the Armenians as they occurred. Briefing notes outlining the testimony of ANZAC soldiers regarding the plight of the Armenians and the history of the Armenian Relief Fund of Australia can be found by clicking here.

In 1997, New South Wales became the first Australian state to recognise and condemn the Genocide of the Armenians. On March 25th 2009, South Australia became the second Australian state to affirm the history of the Armenian Genocide when the Parliament's Legislative Council passed a motion recognising the Armenian Genocide as "one of the greatest crimes against humanity". The full text of the South Australian resolution can be found by clicking here.

For further information, email ANC Australia Communications Officer, Mr. Haig Kayserian (info@anc.org.au).