-
- 26 Sep
Darebin Ethnic Communities Council Supports Recognition of the Armenian, Greek and Assyrian Genocides
DECC Letter to the Victorian State Parliament
Dear Members of the Victorian State Parliament,
On behalf of the Darebin Ethnic Communities Council, we write to each of you to
demonstrate our unyielding support and solidarity with Greek-Australians, Assyrian-
Australians and Armenian-Australians in calling upon the Victorian Parliament to recognise
the Greek, Assyrian and Armenian genocides of 1915-1923.
We are informed that a motion to recognise the 1915-1923 Genocides will be introduced in
the Victorian Legislative Council and we strongly recommend all members elected to the
Upper House stand shoulder to shoulder with these three communities and stand on the side
of truth and justice in recognising the first genocide of the 20th century.
Between 1915-1923, the Ottoman Empire, led by Talaat Pasha, carried out numerous forced
deportations, death marches and massacres against Christian minority communities in the
Empire as part of a scheme to eradicate these groups from the region – communities which
had inhabited Asia Minor (today’s modern Turkey) for over three thousand years.
This was undeniably an attempt by the Ottoman Turks to entirely eradicate three distinct
ethnic groups – a view which is widely held amongst scholars, academics and institutions,
who all argue that this constitutes genocide as per its definition under the Convention on the
Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948). Furthermore, the International
Association of Genocide Scholars passed resolutions in 1997 and 2007 reaffirming that the
mass murder of Armenians, Greeks, and Assyrians committed by the Ottoman Empire
constitutes Genocide.
As a result of these genocidal policies, over 2.5 million Assyrians, Greeks and Armenians
perished, which has undoubtedly changed the lives of millions today. Descendants of
survivors have lost their ancestral homeland, their language and their history – these losses
are all compounded by the fact that their new home refuses to recognise the true reality of
their history. The reality is that the Ottoman government was not held to account for its
crimes against humanity over 110 years ago.
Recognition of the Genocides of 1915-23 are not intended to cast blame on Turkish-
Australians, hence from our understanding the motion does not even mention Turkey.
However, it sets the right precedent that crimes in human history, no matter who or where
they are perpetrated, will be called out.
We believe it is time to stand with the Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks living in Victoria
who have waited long enough to have their history recognised.
Therefore, on behalf of my members and our broader community, we urge all Victorian
Parliamentarians to join their parliamentary colleagues from New South Wales, Tasmania
and South Australia in recognising the Greek, Assyrian and Armenian Genocides. We hope
the motion will be supported unanimously as it was in these state parliaments.
Thank you for your attention to this issue, and I trust you will make the right decision when
this motion is presented to the Legislative Council.
Regards,
Darebin Ethnic Communities Council
