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:
27 April, 2008
MEDIA RELEASE: For Immediate Release
BALAKIAN SPEAKS FOR SYDNEY ARMENIAN GENOCIDE COMMEMORATION WEEK
SYDNEY: As the keynote speaker and guest of the Armenian Genocide
Commemorative Committee, Professor Peter Balakian delivered four lectures in
Sydney from 20-24 April.
On Sunday night, 20 April, before a crowd of about a thousand including
various Members of Australian and New South Wales Parliament, Balakian gave
the keynote address as part of a two-hour ceremony to commemorate the
Armenian Genocide of 1915. Speaking about the significance of the Armenian
Genocide for the twentieth century, Balakian discussed and analysed the
importance of the event as a template for genocide to follow in the 20th
century, emphasising that genocide in Germany, Cambodia, Rwanda, the
Balkans, Darfur and other places could be better understood in light of how
the Armenian Genocide was conceived and carried out.
On Monday, 21 April, Balakian spoke at the prestigious Sydney Institute
directed by Gerard Henderson. In his lecture, he presented the Armenian
Genocide as a landmark event in modern history and spoke about how the
Turkish government’s unprecedented campaign of denial has become an
embarrassment to Turkey in the face of one of the best documented genocides
in history. Balakian reflected on the importance of the Australian
government’s recent apology for its treatment of the Aboriginal peoples.
At the Shalom College of the University of New South Wales, Balakian spoke
on Wednesday 23 April, along with a Holocaust survivor, Mr. Feldman and a
Darfur survivor, Mr. Mansoul about genocide in the twentieth century and the
lessons of the Armenian Genocide. The lecture was sponsored by the
Australasian Union of Jewish Students, the Australian Institute for
Holocaust and Genocide Studies, and the Darfur Australian Network.
For Thursday 24th April, Balakian delivered the keynote address at the
Parliament of New South Wales. In a moving ceremony that preceded the event,
a wreath was laid by the young daughter of a Darfur survivor and by Mr.
Badelian, the oldest Armenian Genocide survivor in Sydney at the site of the
Genocide memorial on the grounds of the Parliament. In his address, Balakian
focused on the lessons of the Armenian Genocide and the problems that arise
when massive human rights crimes are committed with impunity. He focused on
the impact of the Turkish denial on the Armenian community and on Turkey,
noting that Turkey is further alienating itself from the modern world by its
refusal to own up to its history.
Balakian also noted the exemplary statement made by Australian Prime
Minister Kevin Rudd in apology for the Australian treatment of the
Aborigines.
"It’s a statement that sets a high standard for all the nations of the world
as they seek to come to terms with dark chapters of their pasts," he said,
adding that Prime Minister Rudd’s emphasis on Australia’s need to "deal with
unfinished business", and the "need to face the pain of past injustice", was
essential for a nation to "turn the page and move forward". Balakian
suggested that Australia might be the kind of nation that would see ethical
meaning in acknowledging the Armenian Genocide.
Balakian closed by thanking the Armenian Genocide Commemorative Committee
for their extraordinary work in planning the complex events of the week, and
for their grace and warmth and their many talents as a cultural community.
"Professor Balakian has raised the profile of the Armenian Genocide amongst
the wider Australian community," said Armenian Genocide Commemorative
Committee Representative, Stephen Abolakian. "As a result of Balakian’s
visit, progress toward affirmation of the Armenian Genocide by the
Government of Australia has gained greater momentum."
On Friday, Balakian headed to Melbourne for another week of lectures and for
the Australian Poetry Festival.
MEDIA COVERAGE
The following Australian news agencies covered April’s Armenian Genocide
Commemoration:
– ABC Radio National
– ABC Radio Sydney
– ABC Newsradio
– ABC Television
– SBS Radio
– The Australian
– The Daily Telegraph
– The Age
– Southern Courier
– North Shore Times
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. The Armenian Genocide is yet to be recognised by the Government of
Turkey.