April 17, 1997

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE COMMEMORATION

That, whereas 24 April 1997 marks the occasion of the eighty-second anniversary of the commemoration of the genocide of the Armenians by the then Ottoman Government between 1915-1922, this House:

(a) joins the members of the New South Wales Armenian community in honouring the memory of the 1.5 million men, women and children who fell victim to the first genocide to the twentieth century;

(b) condemns the genocide of the Armenians and all other acts of genocide committed during our century as the ultimate act of racial, religious and cultural intolerance;

(c) recognises the importance of remembering and learning from such dark chapters in human history to ensure that such crimes against humanity are not allowed to be repeated;

(d) condemns and prevents all attempts to use the passage of time to deny or distort the historical truth of the genocide of the Armenians and other acts of genocide committed during this century; (e) designates 24 April in every year hereafter throughout New South Wales as a day of remembrance of the 1.5 million Armenians who fell victim to the first genocide of this century; and

(f) calls on the Commonwealth Government to officially condemn the genocide of the Armenians and any attempt to deny such crimes against humanity.