The Australian government's position on the Armenian Genocide was revealed in a radio program on SBS World View (
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN) this week.
A letter from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which was read on the program revealed:
- the Australian government does not refer to the Armenian Genocide with the word 'genocide';
- the Australian government supports the bogus 'historical commission' suggested in the Armenia-Turkey Protocols, which calls for a historical analysis of a well-documented and proven genocide.
ANC Australia President Varant Meguerditchian referred, in a recent video message (
CLICK HERE TO WATCH), that Prime Minister Kevin Rudd criticised Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad when he suggested a historical commission should study the Jewish Holocaust.
The letter below calls for no double standards in the human rights policies of the Australian government.
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This letter, with your signatures, will be sent to Prime Minister Rudd and Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith.
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Prime Minister, the Hon. Kevin Rudd
PO Box 6022
House of Representatives
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Cc: Foreign Minister Stephen Smith
RE: Government Position on the Armenian Genocide and Protocols
Dear Prime Minister Rudd,
We write to you in concern of a statement released by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) to SBS Radio's World View program, relating to the current issue of the Armenian Genocide, and the Armenia-Turkey Protocols.
The program, entitled 'Call for Armenian Genocide recognition', revealed your government's support for the creation of a ‘Historical Commission’ to scientifically examine the events of 1915, in accordance with the stipulations of the Armenia-Turkey Protocols.
This Australian government position raises serious concerns because:
- The record on the Armenian Genocide is clear and unambiguous. It has been recognised by more than 20 national parliaments including Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Russia and the Netherlands as well as the state parliaments of both New South Wales and South Australia. The creation of a ‘Historical Commission’ to study the events of 1915 would cast doubt over what is a well documented defining example of genocide which has been recognised by the International Association of Genocide Scholars and the wider academic & human rights community.
- The Australian government has appropriately and consistently criticised the President of Iran for his initiative to convene a ‘Commission’ regarding the history of the Jewish Holocaust as an attempt to revise & distort history and a violation of human rights designed to incite hatred.
In light of these concerns, we call upon the government of Australia to recognise the Armenian Genocide and seek that the it re-evaluate its support for the establishment of a ‘Historical Commission’ designed to study the events of 1915 to be consistent with that of its criticism of a 'Commission’ to study the Jewish Holocaust.
Sincerely,
All Signatories Below
