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Armenian National Committee of Australia
The Peak Public Affairs Committee of the Armenian-Australian Community
259 Penshurst Street, Willoughby NSW 2068 ~ PO Box 768, Willoughby NSW 2068
Tel: (02) 9419 8264 ~ Fax: (02) 9411 8898
Email: info@anc.org.au ~ Website:

17 September, 2007

PRESS RELEASE

{CONTACT: Haig Kayserian (Communications Officer) ~ 0403 317 903 ~
info@anc.org.au}

BENNELONG ARMENIANS TO GATHER FOR GENOCIDE RECOGNITION

SYDNEY: Eastwood Park will host a large gathering of Armenian-Australians in
support of awareness and recognition of the Armenian Genocide. The
community’s 4000-strong voters in the electorate of Bennelong are shaping as
critical to the hopes of candidates in the upcoming Australian federal
election.

Nationwide media outlets have afforded much coverage to the seat of
Bennelong where sitting member Prime Minister John Howard faces a spirited
challenge by high-profile Labor candidate Ms Maxine McKew. A Sydney Morning
Herald article this week mentioned that the Armenian Australian community
represented a critical mass in Bennelong and "…in a tight election, the
Armenian vote will count big time".

Ms McKew recently met with a delegation of the Armenian National Committee
of Australia (ANC Australia) to discuss issues of concern to the
Armenian-Australian community. At the community’s request, the Prime
Minister has agreed to a similar meeting with ANC Australia in the lead up
to the election.

Armenian Family Day – A Rally for Genocide Recognition will be held on
October 14, at Eastwood Park’s Lower Oval to raise awareness of the
atrocities of genocide.

"It is the obligation of every Armenian-Australian to advocate awareness and
recognition of genocide," ANC Australia President, Mr. Varant Meguerditchian
announced. "As children and grandchildren of genocide survivors, we must
work toward ensuring that the experiences of the Armenians, Jews, Cambodians
and Rwandans are never allowed to be repeated."

Politicians, public figures and community representatives will be present
amongst the estimated 1000 attendees at the event. Armenian Family Day – A
Rally for Genocide Recognition will provide an opportunity for supporters of
genocide recognition to address the community regarding this sensitive
issue.
[End]

__________________________ ____________________________________

During the last days of the Ottoman Empire, the Government implemented a
policy of Genocide upon its Christian Armenian population. As a result, up
to 1.5million Armenian men, women and children lost their lives between 1915
and 1922. Adding weight to the importance of recognising the Armenian
Genocide is the research conducted by the Australian Institute for Holocaust
and Genocide Studies that discovered records of the Australia’s humanitarian
assistance to Armenians following the genocide and testimonies by ANZAC
soldiers to atrocities against the Armenians as they occurred. In 1997 the
Parliament of New South Wales became the first legislative body to recognise
and condemn the Genocide of the Armenians.

Armenian National Committee of Australia
259 Penshurst Street, Willoughby NSW 2068
PO Box 768, Willoughby NSW 2068
T: (02) 9419 8264 | F: (02) 9411 8898
E: <mailto:info@anc.org.au> info@anc.org.au | W: <;

The Armenian National Committee of Australia is the peak public affairs body
of the Armenian-Australian community. ANC Australia advances the concerns of
the Armenian-Australian community.