Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement after reports that the Biden administration will formally recognize the century-old atrocities committed by the Ottoman Empire against Armenians as genocide, marking the 106th anniversary of the atrocities that took the lives of 1.5 million Armenians beginning in 1915.  
 
“It’s long past time that the United States formally recognized the crimes committed against the Armenian people for what they were – genocide,” said Senator Markey. “I applaud the Biden administration for taking this step that many have pledged, but none have fulfilled. As we approach the 106th anniversary of the first genocide of the 20th century, we not only remember the 1.5 million Armenians who lost their lives, but embark on a new era in history in which the United States formally recognizes the atrocities committed against them.

“I and many of my colleagues have been calling for years for the United States to take this step of acknowledgment and place us firmly on the right side of history. The only way to seek to live up to the phrase ‘never again’ is to honestly and openly accept the past. The Biden administration has rightfully placed human rights at the center of U.S. foreign policy and this step will send an important message to those around the world who think they can commit abuses without consequence. I thank the Armenian-American community for their decades of passionate advocacy in their fight for recognition, and I will continue to stand with them as we strive to heal the wounds of the past. Together we can build something positive, something hopeful, something good for the future – an Armenia that is respected and honored by its allies and neighbors.”

On March 19, 2021, Senator Markey joined Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and 35 colleagues in a letter calling on President Biden to become the first U.S. President to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide.

The National Assembly of Quebec on Thursday unanimously adopted a resolution on the 106th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the Armenian Embassy to Canada reported.

The resolution marks the 106th anniversary of the atrocities that took the lives of 1.5 million Armenian men, women and children.

It regrets that the political recognition of the Genocide throughout the world is still a subject of debates because of its denial by Turkey.

The National Assembly recalls that the Armenian people once again became victims of the bloody events and abuses in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) over the past year and unequivocally supports the decision of the Canadian government to suspend arms exports to Turkey.

The legislature body expresses its solidarity with the Armenian people and recognizes their right to live in peace and security while preserving their language, culture and faith.

Manouk Akopyan,

My grandmother Annik Khorsikyan lost her battle to COVID-19 on January 18. She was 87.

Nene, as her six grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren called her, was the backbone of the entire family.

The pandemic robbed her loved ones from visiting her during the holidays, or giving her a proper goodbye during her final days. As has tragically become the case for many around the world, she died alone in an overcrowded hospital, hers being the Hollywood Presbyterian hospital in Los Angeles—the location of my birth 35 years ago.

It’s still hard to process or heal from nene’s death because I couldn’t properly mourn the loss of our matriarch.

I heal and find solace knowing that her existence, and the life she persevered through as a widowed mother of three by the age 20, is a miracle itself.

Annik was the daughter of Hovanes Dakesian, an Armenian genocide survivor who escaped slaying at the hands of the Ottoman Empire when they persecuted and massacred over 1.5 million Armenians during World War I.

Ottomans ransacked Armenian-occupied land, forced them out of their homes, led them to death marches, all while murdering men, raping women and leaving children orphaned along the way. The 2016 film “The Promise” starring Christian Bale and Oscar Isaac documents some of the harrowing details.

Hovanes’ brother Gevork, who was 8-years-old at the time, wasn’t so fortunate to survive, as he was kidnapped and never found again.

The attempted ethnic cleansing of Armenians, the world’s first Christian nation, is one of the darkest chapters in history. Assyrians and Greeks were grouped in the mass killings as well. Turkey till this day vehemently denies a genocide ever took place in order to avoid paying reparations for its human rights violations.

That hasn’t stopped an overwhelming number or countries, politicians, public figures and historians alike to call the killings what they are—a genocide.

If my great-grandfather had not escaped his death sentence, there never would have been a nene to commemorate, or a grandson to commemorate her.

My family and I would never exist, and an entire clan would be reduced to a red stroke of the paintbrush, as depicted in the “Our Wounds Are Still Open” mural on Hollywood Boulevard near Alexandria Avenue, the cross-streets where nene lived in Los Angeles’ Little Armenia.

My parents emigrated to the U.S. four decades ago from Yerevan, Armenia and coincidentally first settled right near this mural, too. I was conceived nearby on Lexington Avenue. Every time I visited nene’s house, I quickly entered a hazy time machine piecing a puzzle around my identity.

Many Armenians left the land they knew to pursue greener paths around the world because they were bereft of their history, belongings, land and identity.

Both the image and message in Tinseltown’s mural serve as a stark reminder of the strength and resilience of the Armenian people. It also proves the wound is still blistering and far from being able to heal.

Backed by Turkey and Syrian jihadists, Azerbaijan waged a 44-day war against Armenians and seized historical land in the Republic of Artsakh last November.

Several thousand young Armenians soldiers lost their lives, and several thousand more citizens were displaced once a ceasefire agreement was arranged by Russia.

Artsakh was populated and controlled by ethnic Armenians for centuries, and a heavier war between Armenians and Azerbaijanis took place in 1994. The internationally known region as Nagorno-Karabakh sits inside Azerbaijan’s borders after the territory was annexed by Joseph Stalin soon after Armenians died or dispersed in 1918.

My cousins, friends and former co-workers were all forced to leave their families and careers behind in the recent battle to fight in a hopeless war ignited by the opposition. Over 100,000 Armenians—myself included—marched the streets of Hollywood during the pandemic, desperately trying to bring attention to a second attempt of genocide. Armenians around the world held similar demonstrations.

Azerbaijan meanwhile has since used the seizure of sacred land to glorify its racism, highlighted by a war “park” it recently created in Baku to boast about their victory by depicting Armenians in a humiliating light. One such putrid part of the park presents the helmets from fallen soldiers. Other areas show dead mannequins. The degrading display invites children to attend, further teaching the systematic hatred and harboring of hard feelings and brainwashing of an innocent generation.

Nene was born in Sofia, Bulgaria in 1933 because her father was forced to flee from his original home in Tekirdağ, Turkey to Burgas, Bulgaria. They did not live in Armenia until her family was awarded a relocation program from Armenian officials in 1946.

Shortly before her death, nene relived the trauma of her past because the atrocious wrongs of the last century were never righted. The stained hands of the perpetrators were never cleansed. The war in Artsakh was one of the last emotional pains she experienced before COVID-19 took over her fragile body.

Nene’s stories can never be heard again, but they’ll be carried in our identities, much like millions of others who share a similar past.

The seeds from strong genocide survivors from over a century ago still remain, sprinkled in concentrated areas from Los Angeles, New York and Boston to Beirut, Iran, Russia, London, Amsterdam, Argentina, Uruguay, Australia and all around the world, presently reaching nearly 11 million.

They exist to preserve their identities and fight against the violation of human rights for people of all backgrounds and beliefs.

To help prevent history from repeating for its people, and other groups.

To raise awareness and educate in order to revitalize a country for a prosperous and promising future ahead.

To protect political interests, the United States has forever pandered to Turkey’s problematic stance even when the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member has always had crises in the west.

Like several presidents before him, President Joe Biden promised to recognize the Armenian genocide.

“The Armenian Genocide is not an allegation, a personal opinion, or a point of view, but rather a widely documented fact supported by an overwhelming body of historical evidence,” former President Barack Obama once said as an Illinois senator running for office. “The facts are undeniable.”

The entire Armenian nation around the world awaits to see how the United States’ pen can once and for all be mightier than Azerbaijan and Turkey’s swords, guns and drone bombings.

My nene, and every Armenian who’s no longer with us, would be able to rest in peace with a resolution and restitution.

Manouk Akopyan is a journalist who’s written for USA Today, Los Angeles Times and The Guardian, among countless other publications.

The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.

The “Day of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide” is an anniversary always special for the peoples of Greece and Armenia, linked by centuries of ties, and also a friendship that has been forged in difficult conditions, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a statement on the 106^th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the Armenian national Committee of Greece reports.

“One hundred and six years after the crime of 1915, humanity does not forget the ethnic cleansing of a people, a massive and systematic crime, which, in fact, was organized when the eyes of the planet were focused on the muddy trenches of the First World War,” the Prime Minister said.

“Today, therefore, as every April 24th, we honor the memory of the innocent victims, declaring our faith in respect for human life and dignity, because only peaceful coexistence leads peoples forward, turning their diversity into mutual wealth,” he added.

“Over time, Greece and the Caucasus walked together in mythology and history, culture and traditions. That is why our country could only stand by the side of the Armenians in their latest ordeal. It immediately responded to the request for humanitarian aid. And today, it supports the consolidation of security in the region, based on international law, for a solution that respects the rights of the local population, away from a new, unjust bloodshed,” Mr. Mitsotakis said.

“Greece also does not forget that at the beginning of the 20th century Greeks and Armenians lived together moments of martyrdom. That is why, even in difficult conditions itself, our country was one of the first to treat persecuted Armenians and recognize the Genocide of their people,” the Greek PM stated.

He said this historical coexistence over the centuries continues today thanks to the two communities in the two countries, two stable bridges between, which participate fruitfully in the economic and social life of the two states, renewing their long-standing friendship.

Neil Hauer

Many countries have war museums, paying tribute to a conflict’s combatants and chronicling the battles that usually resulted in a great victory for the nation.

What’s less usual is for such a museum to open mere months after the war and to feature cartoonish-like mannequins of the enemy soldiers.

Yet that is what is on display in downtown Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, in a museum that was inaugurated on April 12 by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

Dubbed the Military Trophies Park, the sprawling exhibit features dozens of Armenian tanks, trucks, and other heavy military equipment captured on battlefields during last year’s 44-day war between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

The park opens with a rather chilling display — an enclosure adorned with the helmets of Armenian soldiers killed in fighting just a few months ago.

It then takes visitors through a number of makeshift Armenian positions, including mock bunkers and barracks, adorned with wax models of Armenian soldiers.

While the park unveiling was met with shock and disgust in Armenia and further abroad, it is the mannequins — who bear exaggerated features such as hooked noses and distorted faces — that have drawn the most outrage.

“I couldn’t believe it,” said Vahram, 32, an entrepreneur in Yerevan, the Armenian capital. “I thought I had lost the ability to be shocked by… [Azerbaijanis], but I was wrong. This is the most hateful, racist thing I’ve seen in my entire life.”

A few days after the park’s opening, the creators of the mannequins gave an interview removing all doubt as to their intentions, stating that they had “tried to create the most freakish depictions” of Armenians possible.

Anush, a 26-year old fashion designer in Yerevan, was similarly disgusted.

“They brought their kids here to pretend to kill Armenians,” she said, referencing images circulated in the Azerbaijani media following the park’s public opening on April 14. “How can we ever live with such people?”

For those better acquainted with the Aliyev government and its history of anti-Armenianism, the park was hardly a surprise.

“I was shocked, but I can’t say I was really surprised,” said Arzu Geybulla, an Azerbaijani journalist. “The [anti-Armenian] rhetoric from Baku hasn’t really changed [since the war]. From a broader perspective, I thought it was disrespectful to the lives lost even on the Azerbaijani side.”

Racial-Focused Rhetoric

Anti-Armenianism and demonization has been a part of Aliyev’s ideological stance for nearly two decades of his authoritarian rule and his government has projected it onto Azerbaijani society.

Laurence Broers, the South Caucasus program director at the London-based Conciliation Resources, saw it as the culmination of over a decade of racial-focused rhetoric.

“Anti-Armenianism started to become more salient in the late 2000s, in the period leading up to the return of Ramil Safarov,” he said. “That’s around the time that restrictions on Armenians visiting [Azerbaijan] became much tighter.”

Safarov was an Azerbaijani military officer who used an ax to murder an Armenian counterpart during a NATO partnership training exercise in Hungary in 2004. Despite his murder conviction, he was pardoned by Aliyev and hailed as a hero upon his return to Baku in 2012.

“Anti-Armenianism was one of [Aliyev’s] strongest arguments as a leader, and it still is,” said Geybulla. “This is how he rallied people during the war and I can’t say the rhetoric has changed much since. Even before the war, he would go to the OSCE Minsk Group (the main international format for talks on resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict) meetings, speak diplomatically, and then come back and speak the same [negative] way as before.”

This dichotomy between seemingly conciliatory external messaging and a harsh, warlike tone to a domestic constituency — the primary audience of the new military park — has only strengthened since the war ended on November 10.

In winning the war and regaining large amounts of territory held by Armenians for nearly 30 years, Aliyev’s anti-Armenian dynamic could prove more challenging to maintain.

Broers sees potential difficulties for Aliyev domestically, especially in light of his regime’s messaging that Azerbaijan has fully resolved the Karabakh conflict.

“The image of Armenians as the external enemy that society was rallied against is still there, but it’s not the same as before,” said Broers. “This museum, if we can call it that, is a spectacle meant to keep society mobilized and focused on the war, and not other issues. But you can only have so many spectacles.”

Point Of No Return?

Aliyev’s hard-line approach toward Armenia, Armenians, and the conflict has become something the regime could hardly roll back even if it wanted to, said Geybulla.

“Different issues are interlinked,” she said. “If the leadership starts to go soft on the Karabakh issue and move towards reconciliation, it would raise questions [in society] about other topics too: human rights [for Azerbaijanis], the [extremely dire] economic situation, and others. I’m not sure if that’s a risk [Aliyev] wants to take.”

Maintaining this posture, however, will seriously harm any potential for the “rebuilding of regional trade links” stipulated in the November 10 cease-fire agreement and something the Aliyev government has repeatedly stated that it wants.

“I think we’re going to see contradictory tendencies,” said Broers. “There will be new and continuing victory celebrations and building up the image of the ‘victorious president’ that will inevitably come with an ambiguous stance towards Armenians,” Broers said.

“At the same time, Baku wants regional connectivity. How is that going to work if you’re still promoting an atmosphere of victory, humiliation, and antagonism [towards Armenians]?” Broers asked.

That remains very difficult to envision — especially as each new spectacle of victory in Baku is seen by many Armenians.

In the village of Armash, an hour south of Yerevan near the Azerbaijani border, local farmer Tigran Matevosyan said he saw pictures of the war park just days after its opening.

“Can you imagine living next to such people?” said Matevosyan, who has recently arranged for Armash villagers to receive military training in case of a new conflict. “This is exactly why we must always prepare.

For Geybulla, it’s hard to be optimistic.

“We’ve dehumanized the other side almost to the point of no return,” she said. “When you call a race of people ‘dogs’ [a slogan repeated by Aliyev during the war], how do you come back from that?”

BY CHRIS BOHJALIAN,

If Las Vegas were taking bets on whether Joe Biden will use the word “genocide” in the president’s annual statement about the Armenian Genocide on April 24 — this Saturday — I would put my money on yes. 

You would think that was a no-brainer, since historians agree that the Ottoman Empire’s systematic annihilation of 1.5 million Armenians, 300,000 Assyrians, and countless Greeks between 1915 and 1923 was genocide by any definition. The eyewitness testimonies and memoirs alone fill a library and the news media covered the genocide extensively at the time. The New York Times was especially committed to raising awareness of the massacres, running well over 100 articles about the atrocities and the staggering numbers of Armenians being slaughtered. 

We also know what the American diplomats saw in what is today eastern Turkey, and how ferociously the American ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Henry Morgenthau, fought Talat Pasha — the architect of the Genocide — over the policy of extermination.

Likewise, the Germans witnessed it, too, and while some were appalled, some were inspired. Rudolf Hoess, the commandant of Auschwitz, was there during the first world war; Heinrich Himmler considered moving to Ataturk’s new Turkey in the early 1920s; and Hitler kept a bust of Ataturk in his office. 

The Holocaust might have happened without the precedent of the Armenian Genocide. But historian Stefan Ihrig argues persuasively in his book, “Justifying Genocide,” that the young Nazis were there when the Young Turks were at work and saw how easy it was to blame the problems of the nation on a small ethnic minority — and then rationalize their murder. As Hitler told his Wehrmacht commanders on Aug. 22, 1939, a week and a half before unleashing his Panzers on Poland, “I have placed my death-head formation in readiness with orders to them to send to death mercilessly and without compassion, men, women, and children of Polish derivation and language. Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?”

But no American president has ever used the word “genocide” on the 24th, the day we commemorate the start of the Armenian Genocide, for fear of angering Turkey, which vehemently insists that its Ottoman grandparents and great-grandparents have no blood on their hands. (Why do Armenians remember the dead on April 24? Because that was the day when the Armenian religious, business, and intellectual leaders of Istanbul were rounded up, almost all of whom would be dead within months. That was the day the genocide began.) Instead, American presidents have always found synonyms that are more palatable to Turkey. 

I believe this year might be different. 

First of all, on the campaign trail, then-candidate Biden said he would call the slaughter “genocide.” I view him as a man of his word. 

Second, we have seen consistently over the past decade what a reprehensible ally Turkey is. In 2015, I stood on Turkey’s Syrian border and saw firsthand what a sieve it was for ISIS soldiers to move back and forth. In the autumn of 2020, Turkey aided Azerbaijan’s unprovoked attack on the fledging Armenian democratic republic of Artsakh, providing arms (including kamikaze drones) and transporting mercenary soldiers to further assist the Azeri army. According to Human Rights Watch, in 2020 Turkish President Recep Edrogan’s government had 58,409 citizens on or awaiting trial for the 2016 “coup” attempt; 132,954 under criminal investigation on trumped-up terror charges; and another 25,912 held in in prison on remand. 

Third, the United States did nothing to stop that Azeri attack on Artsakh last year: we never sanctioned Turkey or Azerbaijan, or demanded the countries stand down. We have done nothing to demand that Azerbaijan return the Armenian prisoners-of-war. Acknowledging that the Ottoman Empire was responsible for genocide a century ago will not rectify either of those moral lapses, but in the world of

realpolitik, it will send a signal to Erdogan that once more the United States is re-engaged with international diplomacy and we are not oblivious to the Caucasus.

Fourth, the U.S. Senate and House voted overwhelmingly in 2019 to pass resolutions that the slaughter was “genocide,” and the sky didn’t fall. I still get emails from Turkish Airlines asking me to fly with them. Congressional action makes President Biden’s use of word even less risky. 

Fifth, historians note how the last stage in genocide is denial, and that denial becomes the first stage in the next one. As a character in one of my novels remarks, “There is a line connecting the Armenians and the Jews and the Cambodians and the Bosnians and the Rwandans. There are obviously more, but really, how much genocide can one sentence handle?” 

Now, I’m wrong all the time. I wrote in The New York Times in 2016 that I never thought Artsakh and Armenia would lose a war to Azerbaijan. Four years later, they did. 

But if the sports books in Nevada start taking bets this week, I know where I would put my money. The fact is, it’s time for an American president to call massacres and removal of the Armenian people from our homeland — the template for the Holocaust — genocide. Chris Bohjalian, an Armenian American who lives in Vermont, is the author of 22 novels, including “The Sandcastle Girls,” “The Flight Attendant,” and “Hour of the Witch,” which goes on sale May 4.
Read more here: https://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/readers-opinion/article250870654.html#storylink=cpy

Washington D.C., Apr 19, 2021 / 11:15 am America/Denver (CNA). “A Genocide denied is a genocide repeated,” they stated.

The U.S. bishops’ conference issued a statement on Monday recognizing the upcoming anniversary of the Armenian genocide.

“April 24 is Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, marking the 1915 start of a campaign that resulted in the death of as many as 1.2 million Armenian Christians — victims of mass shootings, death marches to distant camps, torture, assaults, starvation, and disease,” stated Bishop David Malloy of Rockford, chair of the USCCB’s international justice and peace committee, on Monday.

“Thousands of Armenian children were torn from their families and forcibly converted,” he added. “This horrific tragedy was intended to eliminate the Armenian people and their culture in what has been called the ‘first genocide of the 20th century.’”

Saturday, April 24, marks the 106^th anniversary of the beginning of the Armenian genocide in 2015. Over the span of eight years, the Ottoman Empire targeted the mostly Christian Armenian minority for mass displacement, family separation, death marches, mass shootings, starvation, and other abuses. An estimated 1.5 million Armenians were killed in the genocide.

Turkey has historically denied that the genocide took place, claiming that the number of Armenian deaths was lower than estimated, and that many deaths were due to the First World War.

Leaders of the U.S. Armenian Catholic Church wrote President Biden on April 17, asking him to recognize the Armenian genocide.

“On the 106th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide we appeal to you with a keen, existential sense of urgency to recognize the first Genocide of 20th century perpetrated by the Ottoman Turks and request fair reparation for this crime against humanity,” the letter stated.

Signing on to the letter were Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, primate of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church; Archbishop Anoushavan Tanielian, prelate of the church’s Eastern Prelacy; Bishop Daniel Findikian, primate of the Eastern Diocese; Bishop Torkom Donoyan, prelate of the Western Prelacy; Bishop Mikhael Mouradian, eparch of the Armenian Catholic Eparchy; Rev. Berdj Jambazian, minister of the Armenian Evangelical Union; and Zaven Khanjian, executive director of the Armenian Missionary Association of America.

They said that denial of the genocide even today threatens Armenia. A historic conflict between Armenia and neighboring Azernaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh territory erupted again in 2020. Turkey has declared support for Azerbaijan in the conflict.

“The Armenian Genocide is not only a historical tragedy, but as a Damoclean sword today is pending and threatening the extermination of Armenia, the hosting country of Noah’s Ark,” they wrote, noting that Erdoğan in December held a “victory parade” in Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan, praising one of the architects of the genocide.

The Australian National Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide, which will be premiered live on Facebook and YouTube this Friday 23rd April 2021, will feature over 20 political leaders, including Federal Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts, Hon. Paul Fletcher MP; New South Wales Premier Hon. Gladys Berejiklian MP; Federal parliamentarians Tim Wilson MP, Joel Fitzgibbon MP, John Alexander MP, Trent Zimmerman MP, Senator Kristina Keneally, Julian Leeser MP and Senator Eric Abetz among other colleagues; as well as New South Wales legislators Speaker Hon. Jonathan O’Dea MP, Minister Hon. Victor Dominello MP and Shadow Minister Hon. Walt Secord MLC.

The Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU) reported that the Australian politicians will offer messages of solidarity for Federal recognition of the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek Genocides on the occasion that marks the 106th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, which saw the Ottoman Empire systematically massacre over 1.5 million of its Armenian citizens, and a further 1 million Assyrians and Greeks.

Minister Paul Fletcher will continue his steadfast activity calling for national recognition of the Armenian Genocide by his Government, as he has consistently done since his entry into federal politics in 2009.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian, who currently leads Australia’s largest state of New South Wales, is a grandchild of Armenian Genocide survivors and will share how genocides unrecognised and unpunished lead to further attempts at ethnic cleansing, as was witnessed in the Republic of Artsakh last year.

Minister Fletcher, Leader of the Australian Greens Adam Bandt, Member for Berowra Julian Leeser, Member for Goldstein Tim Wilson, Member for Hunter Joel Fitzgibbon, Senator Andrew Bragg, Senator Eric Abetz, Senator Kristina Keneally,  Member for Mackellar Jason Falinski MP, Member for Reid Fiona Martin, Member for Macarthur Mike Freelander, Member for Macnamara Josh Burns, Member for Bennelong John Alexander, Member for North Sydney Trent Zimmerman and Member for Adelaide Steve Georganas are among the Federal parliamentarians that will feature in the Armenian Genocide Commemorative Committee’s broadcast.

Premier Berejiklian will be joined by fellow New South Wales parliamentarians, including the co-convenors of the state’s Armenia-Australia Parliamentary Friendship Group, Member for Davidson Jonathan O’Dea and Walt Secord, Member for Ryde Victor Dominello, Member for Prospect Hugh McDermott, and Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin.

ANC-AU welcomed the swell of non-partisan support being received by the Armenian-Australian community.

“Making sure our community hears from the representatives we elect is a fundamental part of a democracy. It shows the power of the grassroots effort that we have spent so much time building up as a community. The outcome of this effort is seeing the significant support call for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide,” said ANC-AU Executive Director Haig Kayserian, who will deliver the Commemoration’s Advocacy Report.

In addition to these political messages of support, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has received letters calling for his accurate recognition of the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek Genocides from Mr. Trent Zimmerman MP and Hon. Joel Fitzgibbon MP – as co-convenors of the Armenia-Australia Inter-Parliamentary Union, Senator Janet Rice – as the Foreign Affairs Spokesperson of The Australian Greens, Hon. Jonathan O’Dea MP and Hon. Walt Secord MLC – as co-convenors of the New South Wales Armenia-Australia Parliamentary Friendship Group, the New South Wales Young Liberals, the New South Wales Ecumenical Council representing 16 churches, Christian Charity Barnabas Fund Australia, Kurdish Lobby Australia, as well as from numerous prominent academics. On 20th April, the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies passed a motion joining their peak Executive Council of Australian Jewry reiterating their call on the Australian Government and all governments to recognize the Armenian Genocide at a plenum held in Sydney titled “Learning from the Holocaust: Why countries should recognize the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek genocides”.

On 20th April, the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies passed a motion joining their peak Executive Council of Australian Jewry reiterating their call on the Australian Government and all governments to recognise the Armenian Genocide at a plenum held in Sydney titled “Learning from the Holocaust: Why countries should recognise the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek genocides”.

“The unprecedented number of federal parliamentarians, state parliamentarians, prominent individuals and organisations lending their support for this cause means Australia has spoken. We are just waiting for Prime Minister Scott Morrison and our Government to join us,” Kayserian added.

The Australian National Commemoration will also showcase a keynote feature, which links the Armenian Genocide with the 2020 Artsakh War through testimonies from the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Artsakh, Mr. Davit Babayan and the Republic of Armenia’s Human Rights Defender, Mr. Arman Tatoyan.

The 75-minute Commemoration, which premiers live at 7:30 pm (Australian Eastern Standard Time) via the Facebook and YouTube pages of Armenia Media and other organisations on Friday 23rd April 2021, will also be encore streamed on the same channels at the same time on Saturday 24th April 2021.

The member organisations of the organising Armenian Genocide Commemorative Committee are the Social Democrat Hunchakian Party, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, the Armenian Democratic Liberal Party, the Armenian General Benevolent Union, Armenian Missionary Association, Hamazkaine, Nor Serount, Homenetmen, Tekeyan, Armenian Relief Society, Armenian Missionary Association of Australia, Dkhrouni, AGBU Youth and the Armenian Youth Federation, in addition to Sahagian Sporting Club in Victoria and the Armenian National Committee of Australia Head Office and Branches in Melbourne, Perth and Canberra.

This event is held under the auspices of His Eminence Archbishop Haigazoun Najarian, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, and the Armenian Evangelical Church.