13:53, 6 March, 2020

YEREVAN, MARCH 6, ARMENPRESS. The Cypriot-Australian community has joined with the Armenian-Australian, Assyrian-Australian and Greek-Australian communities in calling on the Australian Government to reject a proposed visit by Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Armenian National Committee of Australia reported.

The President of the Federation of Cyprus Communities of Australia & New Zealand, Michael Christodoulou said that Erdogan had no place in Australia while denying genocides and practicing Turkey's expansionist policies in the region.

Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU) Executive Director, Haig Kayserian welcomed Cypriot-Australians joining the calls to reject Erdogan. "Cypriot-Australians, who are terribly concerned about the security of their compatriots back home, have every reason to be concerned about news that Australia is apparently considering hosting this despotic dictator," Kayserian said. “Australians remember that It was only last year, following the Christchurch terrorist attack, that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to return Australians and New Zealanders traveling to Gallipoli for ANZAC Day Commemorations ‘in their coffins like their grandfathers’”, Kayserian added.

Last week, the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek communities launched their Joint Justice Initiative with the goal of advocating "…against any attempt by the Turkish Government to use the sacred ANZAC graves in Gallipoli (and access by Australians to those graves and memorials) as ‘hostages’ or bargaining chips in coercing or persuading the Australian Government in being complicit in the Turkish State’s denial campaign with respect to the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek Genocides”.