CITY OF RYDE RECOGNIZES ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
15:44, 16 April, 2015
YEREVAN, APRIL 16, ARMENPRESS: The City of Ryde adopted a unanimous
motion dedicated to the centenary of the Armenian Genocide at its
Council Meeting on Tuesday 14th April 2015. Armenpress reports, citing
the official website of the Armenian National Committee of Australia
that the motion, which comes 10 years after the City of Ryde became
the first local council in Australia to recognize the events of 1915
to 1923 as Armenian Genocide, took the measure to honor the memory
of the 1.5 million victims of this crime in its Centenary year.
The motion, just like the one 10 years ago, was introduced by
Councilor Sarkis Yedelian before a packed gallery in the Council
chambers. Numerous members of the Ryde-Armenian community spoke at
the session on the importance of adopting such a motion.
This motion follows on from an unprecedented level of media coverage
in Australia on the Armenian Genocide. The Australian, the Sydney
Morning Herald, the Australian Financial Review, SBS TV and ABC TV
all extensively reported on the Armenian Genocide.
Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of Australia,
Vache Kahramanian welcomes the passing of motion by the City of Ryde.
“The City of Ryde has once again demonstrated its strong moral and
principled stance on the Armenian Genocide,” Kahramanian said. “I
thank Councilor Yedelian and all councilors for their steadfast and
unwavering support, especially in this centenary year.”
The motion, which was adopted reads:
Whereas 2015 marks the 10th anniversary of the City of Ryde passing a
motion recognizing the events of 1915-1923 as the Armenian Genocide,
this Council joins with the Armenian-Australian community in marking
the centenary of the Armenian Genocide by resolving to:
(a) honor the memory of the innocent men, women and children who fell
victim to the first modern genocide;
(b) condemn the genocide of the Armenians; and all other acts of
genocide as the ultimate act of racial, religious and cultural
intolerance;
(c) recognize 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) condemn 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) recall the testimonies of Australian WWI POWs who lay witness to
the genocide of the Armenians;
(f) acknowledge the significant humanitarian contribution made by
the people of Australia to the victims and survivors of the Armenian
Genocide; and
(g) call on the Commonwealth of Australia to recognize and condemn
all genocides including the Armenian Genocide.