NSW Parliament’s Legislative Council passes motion on genocides

PanARMENIAN.Net - On May 1, in a historically unprecedented move at the request of the Assyrian Universal Alliance, the Australian Hellenic Council and the Armenian National Committee of Australia, the Legislative Council of the NSW parliament passed unanimously a motion recognizing the Assyrian, Greek and Armenian genocides, AINA reports.

Mr. Hermiz Shahen, the Deputy Secretary General of the Assyrian Universal Alliance said; "this constitutes an extraordinary moment in the history of the Assyrian nation. The Assyrian nation is struggling for years to gain the International recognition of the genocide perpetrated against them by the Ottoman government under the leadership of a chauvinistic party, the Young Turk between1914 - 1923. This recognition will act as a powerful counter to those, especially in present-day Turkey, who still ignore or deny outright the genocides of the Ottoman Christian minorities. Assyrians in Iraq, Syria and Turkey are continuously paying the price as a consequence of the denial of their genocide."

The motion reads that the NSW Parliament “joins the Assyrians, Armenians and Greeks communities of New South Wales in honoring the memory of the innocent men, women and children who fell victim to the first modern genocides.”

It “recognizes the importance of remembering and learning from such dark chapters in human history to ensure that such crimes against humanity are not allowed to be repeated.”