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Siranush
Ghazanchyan September
2, 2020, 12:14
Australia’s former Defense
Minister and current Shadow Minister for Agriculture & Resources, Joel
Fitzgibbon MP has reaffirmed his longstanding backing for national
recognition of the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek Genocides by signing an
affirmation of support for the Joint Justice Initiative of the
Armenian-Australian, Assyrian-Australian and Greek-Australian communities.
The February 2020 launch of
the Joint Justice Initiative at Australia’s Parliament House featured the
signing of a Memorandum of Understanding by the Armenian National Committee of
Australia (ANC-AU), Assyrian Universal Alliance (AUA) and Australian Hellenic
Council (AHC), which declares Australia’s recognition of the Armenian, Assyrian
and Greek Genocides as a priority on behalf of their communities.
Fitzgibbon has long been a
committed and vocal supporter on this cause, and has spoken on this matter in
Parliament, including seconding a historic 2018 motion in Australia’s House of
Representatives recognising Australia’s first major international humanitarian
relief effort, which was in aid of orphans and survivors of the Armenian
Genocide.
During the debate on that motion,
the Federal Member for Hunter said: “I have come to the conclusion our
community of nation spends too much time playing word games, arguing about
whether what the Armenian people suffered in 1915 was or was not genocide.
Rather, we should collectively spend more time recognising that between 1915
and 1923 hundreds of thousands of Armenians had their lives cut short for no other
reason than their ethnicity. The Armenian genocide and seven decades of Soviet
rule would be enough to break the spirit of any culture or community, but
Armenians are resilient and tough.”
Armenian National Committee of
Australia (ANC-AU) Executive Director, Haig Kayserian said: “As the current
co-convener of the Australia-Armenia Inter-Parliamentary Union (Friendship
Group), Mr. Joel Fitzgibbon has consistently demonstrated his ongoing support
for Federal Australian recognition of the 1915 Genocide.”
“Armenian-Australians,
Assyrian-Australians and Greek-Australians are grateful for Mr. Fitzgibbon and
his growing list of colleagues urging Australia joins the correct side of
history on this important issue of human rights.”
The Joint Justice Initiative has
so far announced the support of Fitzgibbon, Andrew Wilkie MP, Julian
Leeser MP, Michelle Rowland MP, Senator Paul Scarr, Tony Zappia
MP, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, Senator Hollie Hughes, Senator
Rex Patrick, Mike Freelander MP, Senator Eric Abetz, Senator
Larissa Waters, Senator Pat Dodson, Jason Falinski MP, Josh
Burns MP, John Alexander MP, Senator Andrew Bragg and Bob
Katter MP, with a promise of more announcements to come.
On 25th February 2020, over 100
Federal Australian parliamentarians, diplomats, departmental officials,
political staffers, academics, media and community leaders were treated to
cultural performances, food, wine and brandy, as well as the historic signing
of a Memorandum of Understanding, which affirmed that the signatory public affairs
representatives of the three communities were jointly committed to seeing
Australia recognize the Turkish-committed Genocide against the Armenian, Greek
and Assyrian citizens of the Ottoman Empire during World War I.
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