Nick Xenophon (SA, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak tonight on an issue that is sensitive for many reasons. From 1915 to 1923, the Armenian, Greek and Assyrian people were the victims of one of the first modern genocides. The exact figures are not known, but it is estimated that over 3.5 million people died as a result of deliberate, systematic actions by the Ottoman empire. The Armenian, Greek and Assyrian people endured forced marches into the desert with little or no food or water, and imprisonment in so-called relocation camps, which were effectively concentration camps. Ottoman troops also massacred countless victims in vicious attacks on cities and local villages, which included mass drownings, burnings and poisonings.

The Republic of Turkey, which succeeded the Ottoman empire, does not recognise these events as genocide. The government of Turkey says that these hundreds of thousands of people were not deliberately killed. Instead, they died as a result of actions taken by the Ottoman empire to protect their country during the war. This position is rejected by the overwhelming majority of genocide scholars and experts in international law who concur that the massacres indeed constituted genocide because they were 'acts committed with intent' as stipulated in article 11 of the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

Eminent Queens Counsel Geoffrey Robertson, in his paper examining the legal aspects of the issue, also disagrees with the Turkish government's assessment of these events. He writes:

To the extent that 'deliberately inflicting on a group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part' involves some kind of order that amounts to an 'infliction', the Interior Minister's orders for deportation of Armenians is an obvious example. Collective or organised action may follow as when others pursue a common plan, eg to rob or rape or murder the deportees. However, this does not need to be a government policy: it can be conduct which has the acquiescence of the authorities. There is no doubt that in 1915, the Ottoman government willingly acquiesced and even continued the deportations in the knowledge that many of the deportees would die.

They are the views of Geoffrey Robertson QC, who has an eminent reputation when it comes to fundamental issues of human rights.

Over 20 countries around the world have formally adopted resolutions acknowledging this genocide as a true historical event. Without the acknowledgment of past injuries it is impossible for healing to begin. I have recently been approached by the Armenian National Committee of Australia and the Australian Hellenic Council, who are seeking Australian recognition of these horrific events. They hope that later this year the Senate will formally acknowledge this genocide and join with the Armenian, Greek and Assyrian people in honouring the memory of those who lost their lives. This acknowledgment is not a snub or an insult to the Republic of Turkey. It is merely another step in bringing buried history into the light. The past has valuable lessons to teach us, no matter how dark.

As elected representatives in our country, it is our job to learn and remember these lessons so that we can play our part in making sure they do not happen again. There is nothing to be gained by denial or excuses, but there is much to be gained by facing up to the truth, no matter how painful. In the coming months I will be working with the Armenian National Committee and the Australian Hellenic Council to formulate a motion to put to the Senate, and I will encourage all of my colleagues to support it.

The Armenian, Greek and Assyrian communities in Australia and around the world deserve to have these past atrocities acknowledged as what they were: genocide. Without acknowledgment, there cannot be acceptance and without acceptance there cannot be healing. We live in a world where we are surrounded by violence. Images and stories of violent acts saturate news coverage and have permeated our music, games and entertainment. We must not become desensitised to these stories and images. The more we distance ourselves, the more we say it is not our problem, the less real they become. And the less real they become, the less we try to do to stop them. The Armenian, Greek and Assyrian genocides should not be allowed to fade into history but should be kept alive and remembered, just as any act of genocide should be. US Congressman Jerry Costello once said:

... genocide is the most potent of all crimes against humanity because it is an effort to systematically wipe out a people and a culture as well as individual lives.

I understand the concerns of those who say that refusing to acknowledge genocide could in a sense make us complicit in this destruction. Previously, Australia has not formally acknowledged this genocide because of our diplomatic relationship with Turkey. I acknowledge these relationships are important, and our bond with Turkey, forged in our shared history of the events at Gallipoli, is a special one. But friends tell each other the truth. I do not call for condemnation of the Republic of Turkey; I only call for our nation to acknowledge the facts. If we do not acknowledge this history for fear of offending another country, where do we draw the line? When is an event or issue serious enough for us to take the risk? Or do we simply keep moving the boundaries further and further away, so we never have to act?

It is time for Australia to choose a position. Either we acknowledge these genocides, or we refuse to. If we do not take a stand on this issue, we need to consider what it says about our country. Are we a country that can accept and acknowledge the past? Or are we a country that turns its back for fear of offending? We cannot change the past; we can only choose to accept or deny the lessons it has to teach us.