ADELAIDE: On 17 September 2025, identical motions were unanimously adopted by both the South Australia House of Assembly and Legislative Council, calling for Pro-Armenian measures, reported the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU).
The motions, mark the fifth anniversary of the 2020 Artsakh war and the second anniversary of the ethnic cleansing of Artsakh, while also directly calling on Azerbaijan to: immediately release 23 Armenian hostages; withdraw from the internationally recognised borders of Armenia; end the deliberate destruction of Armenian Christian and cultural sites in Artsakh and; allow Armenians to return to their homes under international guarantees.
Mr Tom Koutsantonis MP, the Member for West Torrens, championed the motion in the South Australian House of Assembly, whilst the motion in the Legislative Council was championed by The Hon. Connie Bonaros.
In the Upper House, members of the Australian Friends of Artsakh network Tammy Franks MP and Jing Lee MP spoke in support of the motion, whilst in the Lower House, Leader of the Opposition, the Hon. Vincent Tarzia MP also spoke in support of the motion.
Discussions around a potential motion, commenced following the re-launch of the ANC-AU Adelaide branch in June 2025, when members of the ANC-AU National Office and Adelaide Branch, Elena Gasparyan and Koryun Movsesyan, met with legislators across both chambers to promote Armenian-Australian issues, including the ongoing issues faced by our compatriots ethnically cleansed from Artsakh.
South Australia has a strong record of supporting the Armenian-Australian community, having recognised the Armenian Genocide in 2009 and the rights to self-determination of the people of Artsakh in late 2020.
The ANC-AU has written to all members of the South Australian Parliament acknowledging their unanimous support of the motion. The letter said: “On behalf of the Armenian-Australian community of South Australia and Armenians across the country, we wish to express our heartfelt gratitude for your support of the recent motions tabled in the South Australian House of Assembly & Legislative Council on the Anniversary of the Artsakh War.”
Political Affairs Director Sebastian Majarian said, “For Armenians across Australia still carrying the scars of genocide and war, the South Australian Parliament’s unambiguous support tells us we are not forgotten — that our pain is seen, and that justice still matters."
“This motion underscores what has too often been left out of the international peace processes between Armenia and Azerbaijan: accountability. Azerbaijan continues to hold a proverbial gun to Armenia’s head, threatening its very existence, while our hostages rot in jail, and international laws are repeatedly violated. By passing this motion, South Australia has sent a powerful message: that justice and truth cannot be negotiated away," added Majarian.
The motion read:
That this House -
(a) notes that September 2025 marks the fifth anniversary since the start of the2020 Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) war of aggression by Azerbaijan and reaffirms the South Australian Parliament's decision to recognise the self-determination of the Republic of Artsakh;
(b) notes that 19 September 2025 marks two years since the ethnic cleansing of 100,000 Armenians from the Republic of Artsakh by Azerbaijan after 10 months.. 6 ..of siege, blockading the population from food, energy, medical supplies and humanitarian assistance;
(c) calls for the immediate release of twenty-three Armenian hostages, including leaders of the Republic of Artsakh, currently detained by the Azerbaijani regime, in contradiction to international law;
(d) calls on Azerbaijan to abide by the International Court of Justice's provisional measures handed down on 17 November 2023 and allow for the right of return for all Armenians forcibly displaced from Artsakh under enforceable international guarantees of their security and rights.
(e) calls on Azerbaijan to cease the deliberate destruction of the Armenian Christian and cultural heritage of Artsakh and take transparent steps to ensure the protection of all ancient Armenian cultural and historical sites;and
(f) calls on Azerbaijan immediately to withdraw its troops from, and respect, the internationally recognised borders of the Republic of Armenia.
