ASSYRIAN MEMORIAL ISSUE REFERRED TO STATE OMBUDSMAN IN AUSTRALIA

Today’s Zaman
Jan 19 2010
Turkey

A decision by a council in western Sydney to approve a monument
commemorating an alleged Assyrian genocide despite opposition from
the Turkish community and Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith
has been referred to the state of New South Wales’ ombudsman, news
reports said.

The erection of the monument, proposed by the Assyrian Universal
Alliance to commemorate the alleged Assyrian genocide, was approved by
the Fairfield Council in Sydney’s western suburbs in December. Denying
the Assyrians’ genocide claims, Turkey’s ambassador to Australia,
Oguz Ozge, called the council’s decision "very offensive," noting
that the Turkish government was considering legal action against the
council decision.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry had already condemned the council’s
decision while reiterating Ankara’s stance on controversial disputes
about history, saying the issue should only be discussed by historians
through objective analysis.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported on Monday that a complaint was
sent to the ombudsman last week alleging that conflicts of interest
should have prevented at least two councilors from voting.

Adem Cetinay, who is of Turkish origin and who organized a petition
opposing the monument, wrote a 14-page complaint highlighting links
between Assyrian community groups and several councilors who voted
for the monument.

The monument will commemorate the Assyrian victims of an alleged
genocide that supposedly took place between 1915 and 1918. According
to the allegations, approximately 750,000 Assyrians, or approximately
75 percent of the Assyrian population in the former Ottoman Empire,
were killed.