Hans-Lukas Kieser to keynote Armenian Genocide lecture in Sydney

August 9, 2019 - 10:14 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Australian Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies (AIHGS) has announced that Dr. Hans-Lukas Kieser will keynote the 2019 Armenian Genocide Commemorative Lecture, which will be held at the New South Wales Parliament House Theatrette on August 22.

Kieser, who is Associate Professor at the University of Newcastle, focuses his research on the demise of the Ottoman Empire and how this shaped the modern history of conflict in the Middle East.

His lecture will draw from his latest book, "Talaat Pasha: Father of Modern Turkey, Architect of Genocide".

The Armenian Genocide Commemorative Lecture is an annual series hosted by the AIHGS that aims to engage with fresh academic perspectives on the issue of the Armenian Genocide, denial, and recognition.

Past speakers have included acclaimed international best-selling author Chris Bohjalian, New York Times best-selling author Peter Balakian, Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Los Angeles Dr. Richard Hovanissian, and the founder of genocide studies in Australia, Dr. Colin Tatz.

The lecture will begin at 7:30pm, and will be preceded at 7pm by the annual Wreath Laying Ceremony at the Armenian Genocide Memorial Khatchkar (cross-stone) in the Parliament's Peace Garden.

The Armenian Genocide

The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres and deportations, involving forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths reaching 1.5 million.

The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the Genocide survivors.

Present-day Turkey denies the fact of the Armenian Genocide, justifying the atrocities as “deportation to secure Armenians”. Only a few Turkish intellectuals, including Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk and scholar Taner Akcam, speak openly about the necessity to recognize this crime against humanity.

The Armenian Genocide was recognized by Uruguay, Russia, France, Lithuania, Italy, 45 U.S. states, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Argentina, Belgium, Austria, Wales, Switzerland, Canada, Poland, Venezuela, Chile, Bolivia, the Vatican, Luxembourg, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Sweden, Venezuela, Slovakia, Syria, Vatican, as well as the European Parliament and the World Council of Churches.