John Alexander (Bennelong, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Earlier this month the people of Bennelong were appalled to learn of the vandalism of a monument located in Meadowbank Park dedicated to the victims of the Armenian genocide. The simple plaque and foundation stone memorialising the 1.5 million Armenian men, women and children massacred by the Ottoman government were smashed and removed just weeks after the annual Armenian genocide commemoration by the Ryde City Council. The same monument was vandalised two years earlier. It is reassuring to note that the Ryde City Council will be constructing a larger, stronger and more vandal-proof Armenian genocide memorial in its place.

Our nation has been built on the values of inclusion, acceptance and respect for all cultures. Such acts of ancient hatred are therefore un-Australian. Bennelong has a vibrant and active Armenian constituency who have embraced their new home while also maintaining strong links to their history and culture. For the victims who no longer have a voice and for their descendants who suffer every day, it is essential that these dark pages in the world's history are remembered. It is only when the evil possibilities of humanity are forgotten that we are then capable of allowing history to repeat itself.

During World War I almost 400 Anzac soldiers witnessed the massacre of Hellenes, Armenians and Assyrians whilst imprisoned as POWs by the Ottoman Empire. In a number of their memoirs we read of the starvation, the massacre and the suffering of the inhabitants of these lands. Twenty countries and 42 of the United States' states have recognised the Armenian genocide as a bona fide historical event. This recognition is not designed to antagonise or repudiate the modern day Turkish government as so many Western nations enjoy productive and constructive diplomatic relations with this now great nation and their secular administration. In recent correspondence to the Turkish ambassador, I wrote of my own experiences in Turkey some 40 years ago. I recalled the hospitality I received and the incredible natural beauty of the land. I wrote of the metaphor of Istanbul, straddling the Aegean and Black seas, serving as the bridge between east and west. The recognition of these atrocities is an essential pillar in the bridge between this dark past and a peaceful future of respect and coexistence. The struggle for recognition will only intensify for the Armenian community in Bennelong. Just like their local memorial stone, if knocked down they will rise again, with greater determination. Their ancestors would expect nothing less. As a member of this parliament, I will continue to give them the representation they deserve.

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