Thousands across Australia commemorate 109th anniversary of Armenian Genocide as Australian leaders remain silent

April 2024 was a busy month for the Armenian-Australian community, with thousands of people 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 the Ottoman Empire during the First World War during the Armenian Genocide. , reported the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU).

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

In the presence of approximately 1,000 participants, the evening’s hosts, Lena Megerditchian and Krikor Demirjian, opened the proceedings by paying tribute to some of the more than 250 guests, including elected officials, media personalities, representatives of civil society and leaders from Armenian-Australian and ethnic communities.

The commemorative evening brought together a record number of parliamentarians, including MP Jérôme Laxale – federal deputy for Bennelong; Paul Fletcher MP – MP for Bradfield; Kylea Tink MP – Federal Member for North Sydney; Senator Maria Kovacic – Federal Senator for New South Wales and Parliamentarians for New South Wales; Hugh McDermott MP – Prospect MP; Tim James MP – Willoughby MP; MP for Jordan Lane – MP for Ryde; Matt Cross, MP – MP for Davidson; Mark Coure MP – Oatley MP; and NSW Legislative Council members Jacqui Munro MLC, John Ruddick MLC and Susan Carter MLC.

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

The highlight of the evening was the keynote address delivered by Dr. Khatchig Mouradian, Senior Lecturer in Middle East, South Asian and African Studies at Columbia University in New York. He is the author of the award-winning book The Resistance Network and traveled from the United States to present that evening.

Mouradian also participated in commemorations in Melbourne and Western Sydney during his visit, discussing the strength and resilience of the Armenian nation after the Armenian genocide and ethnic cleansing of Artsakh, leaving participants with feeling of being able to continue to defend the Armenian cause of truth and justice.

Cultural performances were presented at the national commemoration of the Armenian Genocide in Sydney by Anna Berberian and Lucy Setrakian of the Hamazkayin Nairi dance group, as well as young Armenian-Australian poet Nanar Marashlian who recited “Ghoghanch Yeghernagan” from Barouyr Sevag .

The resilience of Armenian genocide survivors was at the center of this year’s national commemoration. Attendees heard the survival story of Armenian-Australian genocide survivor Khatoun Megerditchian and were moved after Megerditchian’s descendants took the stage to honor all survivors of the genocide.

This year’s advocacy speech was once again delivered by ANC-AU Executive Director Michael Kolokossian, who denounced Australian leaders for their failure to accurately characterize the events of 1915 as genocide.

Watch the full speech here.

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 other clergy leaders and denounced the complacency of the Western politicians, whose inaction led to the ethnic cleansing of Artsakh.

Across Australia, several other commemorative events took place.

On Tuesday 23 April, an event organized by the Melbourne Armenian Genocide Memorial Committee was held in Rowville, Victoria, where over 300 community members gathered to pay their respects.

The commemoration included cultural performances by students from Aginian and Hamazkayin Mesrop Mashtots Madteossian Saturday Schools, as well as remarks from Victorian Parliamentarian Hon. Kim Wells MLC – MP for Rowville and Nick Staikos – MP for Bentleigh and Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and Minister for Multiculturalism.

Additionally, commemorative events in Perth, Adelaide and Western Sydney attracted more than 300 community members.

Importantly, the commemoration in Perth was attended by Western Australian Opposition Leader Shane Love MP, who said: “It is important that we learn from these past atrocities and that we officially recognize them at the state and federal level. »

In Ryde, the town council once again held a well-attended commemoration at Meadowbank.

Unfortunately, the success of this year’s commemorations was overshadowed by poor statements made by our country’s leaders on the anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. As noted during his speech, Kolokossian denounced the “weak” terminology used by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, who did not use the term genocide, which was contradicted by a record number of 35 Australian parliamentarians from the Federal Parliament, New South. Parliament of Wales, Parliament of Victoria, Parliament of Western Australia and Australian Capital Territory. To read more about the statement from the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition, click here.

The Armenian Genocide commemorative events concluded on Monday 13 May 2024 at the Legislative Assembly of the Australian Capital Territory, co-hosted by the Armenian National Committee of Australia – Canberra Branch and Pontos’ Canberra Association Trapezounta.”

The Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU) is the largest and most influential Armenian-Australian grassroots organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices, sections and supporters throughout Australia and with affiliated organizations around the world, the ANC-AU actively advances the concerns of the Armenian-Australian community on a wide range of issues. questions.