Joel Fitzgibbon (Hunter, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I second the motion, and I rise in support of the motion moved by my friend, the member for North Sydney. Together, we convene the Australia-Armenia parliamentary group.

The International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and the Prevention of this Crime is an important one, and those of us who are making a contribution to the debate tonight would like to see it receive more attention. In particular, we'd like to generate more attention for the Armenian genocide. For too many years, survivors and their descendants of that terrible event have been ignored. Their calls for historic justice have largely fallen on deaf ears.

A little more than 106 years ago, more than three million Armenian, Assyrian and Greek peoples lost their lives for no other reason but for their ethnicity and their beliefs. That is genocide: there is no other word for it. And it's time that the Australian parliament joined with many others who have recognised it as such. This is important, not only to give closure to those affected by the events of 1915 but to send a clear signal to the world that genocidal behaviour will not be tolerated by our community of nations. Support for the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide means taking resolute action on all genocides—tolerating genocide denial does all of us harm. It's a stain on our conscience and it prevents survivors from achieving proper healing. I understand the events of 1915 are a sensitive issue amongst Australians of Turkish heritage. But recognition of the crimes of the Ottoman Empire's leaders is no more a reflection on our Turkish friends here in Australia than is the recognition of the crimes of the Nazis on Australians of German heritage—zero reflection.

Earlier this year, as indicated by the member for North Sydney, the United States took the important historic step of recognising the Armenian genocide. President Biden's recognition is a significant shift in US foreign policy. In recognising the genocide of 2015 he has led the way, and has joined some 32 other countries around the world in making such a recognition. It's time for the Australian parliament to do the same. By continuing to remain silent, and tolerating genocide denialism, we are effectively diminishing the very legacy established by our forefathers and the great work they did to help the victims of this horrible crime. Our Anzacs were there, by their side, in 1915, and Australia accepted many refugees. Armenian and other diaspora have generously continued to support those who have an ongoing disadvantage because of the genocide. I have seen the Australian Armenians do that firsthand.

I've had the confronting experience of visiting the former Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland. One million people were gassed to death in that camp. Six million Jews across Europe were murdered in the Holocaust. It is surely the worst atrocity in modern human history, if not all of human history. Visiting Auschwitz today, you see people shedding tears. Even the most hardened of them. It's difficult not to. The families of those Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks who were victims of the 1915 genocide do not ask for our tears; they simply ask for recognition.

Like the member for North Sydney, I have had the confronting experience of visiting the Armenian genocide memorial in Yerevan, Armenia's modern capital. There, too, it is difficult not to be overwhelmed by emotion. I predict that in coming years more parliaments around the world will add themselves to the list of those recognising the events of 1915. I hope the Australian parliament is amongst them—indeed, I hope the Australian parliament does that soon and leads the way for others.

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