Northern District Times (Australia)
May 25, 2005 Wednesday
Plaque theft reaction
THE theft of a plaque condemning the Armenian genocide from
Meadowbank Memorial Park has prompted a wave of responses from
Armenians across the world.
The feedback came after the Times reported the incident on May 11.
The plaque condemned the Armenian genocide, which killed 1.5 million
people.
Carol Aghajanian, who was reported saying the plaque served a clear
reminder that the Turkish community still denied the genocide,
however, denied the plaque’s disappearance had sparked a racial row.
Ms Aghajanian insisted the condemnation of the Armenian genocide was
not a racial dispute between the Armenian and Turkish communities in
Australia.
“It is a human rights issue involving one of the worst crimes against
humanity,” she wrote in an email to the Times.
Dr Tro Kortian from Sydney University’s economics and business
faculty said condemnation of the Armenian genocide was a “basic human
rights issue involving one of the worst crimes against humanity
genocide”.
Ara Kumjian from Los Angeles wrote: “At the very least we should
always place reminders such as plaques and monuments to remind us of
what people are capable of so as to prevent them in the future.”
Armenian communities have also called on Ryde Council to replace the
plaque.